Andrew Ackerman

WASHINGTON — Independent municipal advisers are strongly opposed to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s draft proposal that would temporarily expand the board’s membership to 21 while reserving just three, or 14%, of those slots for advisers that will fall under its oversight Friday for the first time.

Initial jobless claims rose to 465,000 for the week ending Sept. 18, from a revised 453,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The composite index of leading economic indicators rose for the second straight month in August, increasing 0.3% to 110.2, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The composite index of leading economic indicators rose for the second straight month in August, increasing 0.3% to 110.2, the Conference Board reported Thursday morning.

Initial jobless claims rose to 465,000 for the week ending Sept. 18, from a revised 453,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported today.

WASHINGTON — An issuer official and former head of a governmental group strongly refuted the Securities and Exchange Commission’s claims that disclosure and accounting standards for the municipal bond market are lacking and said the SEC simply doesn’t understand the market.

SAN FRANCISCO — On the eve of its first field hearing on the municipal securities market here, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an “investor bulletin” highlighting the key characteristics and risks of munis, while two self-regulators jointly released a notice reminding dealers of their obligations to investors while selling them munis in the secondary market.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is disputing Standard & Poor’s claims that the board’s plans to display municipal bond ratings on its EMMA website would cause it to lose significant revenue, provide few benefits to ­retail ­investors, and erode its intellectual ­property rights.

WASHINGTON — Michael Bartolotta, vice chairman of First Southwest Co., a dealer financial advisory and underwriting firm, has been elected the new chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board beginning Oct. 1, drawing concerns from non-dealer advisers that will fall under the board’s regulatory regime at the start of his term.

WASHINGTON — Led largely by an increase in the deficit on goods, the imbalance in the U.S. current account rose in the second quarter to $123.3 billion from a revised $109.2 billion in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Led largely by an increase in the deficit on goods, the imbalance in the U.S. current account rose in the second quarter to $123.3 billion from a revised $109.2 billion in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

A high-ranking Securities and Exchange Commission ­enforcement official warned Tuesday that issuers risk running afoul of the federal securities laws if they hide materially important information deep within bond-offering documents.

WASHINGTON — Several derivatives market participants attending a federal roundtable here were supportive of a lag in the reporting of large or “block” over-the-counter derivative transactions that can move the market, but they were not sure how much of a delay would be reasonable.

WASHINGTON — Market participants attending a federal roundtable here Tuesday are expected to raise concerns about price reporting requirements for dealer counterparties to municipal swaps that will be proposed in coming months by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Nonfarm payrolls fell for a third consecutive month in August, pushing the number of jobs lost during that period past a quarter million, according to Labor Department data released Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls fell by 54,000 in August and private nonfarm payrolls increased by 67,000 as the federal government continued to shed Census workers, the Labor Department reported today. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.6% after Labor upwardly revised its July estimate by 0.1% from an originally reported 9.5%.

WASHINGTON — The decline in U.S. nonfarm productivity in the second quarter was twice as much as originally reported, according to updated figures the Labor Department released Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Initial jobless claims fell for the second week, decreasing 6,000 to 472,000 the week ending Aug. 28, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON-- U.S. nonfarm productivity decreased by 1.8% in revised second quarter figures released this morning by the Labor Department, a much greater drop than the 0.9% decline reported in the preliminary reading last month.

WASHINGTON - Initial jobless claims decreased 6,000 to 472,000 for the week ending Aug. 28, dropping for the second week in a row, the Labor Department reported today.