Andrew Ackerman

WASHINGTON – A fourth market participant, Mark Zaino, has pleaded guilty to participating in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies in connection with municipal investment contracts and derivatives, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to vote on proposed changes to its Rule 15c2-12 on municipal market disclosure at an open meeting May 26, according to a notice the SEC released Tuesday evening.

WASHINGTON — The Senate yesterday voted down an amendment to financial regulatory reform legislation that would have imposed a blanket prohibition on federal assistance to states and localities in financial trouble for reasons other than a natural ­disaster.

The Securities and Exchange Commission should clarify the responsibilities of elected issuer officials who approve or authorize primary offering documents and secondary market disclosures, the National Association of Bond Lawyers said this week.

WASHINGTON — Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction increased 5.8% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 672,000, as building permits fell 11.5% to 606,000, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Tuesday voted 50 to 47 to reject an amendment to financial regulatory reform legislation that would have imposed a blanket prohibition on federal assistance to states and localities in financial trouble for reasons other than a natural disaster.

WASHINGTON - Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction increased 5.8% in April to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 672,000, as building permits fell 11.5% to 606,000, the Commerce Department reported today.

WASHINGTON — As the Senate moves toward finishing consideration of financial regulatory reform legislation this week, state treasurers are making last-minute efforts to change some of the bill’s muni-related derivatives and rating provisions, though it’s unclear if they were making any headway with lawmakers.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed an administrative complaint against David Lerner Associates Inc. and its head trader, William Mason, charging they excessively marked up some 1,538 municipal bond transactions over a two-year period.

A group of 11 California issuers are charging that an affiliate of Goldman Sachs & Co., J Aron & Co., is pressuring a member of the group to remove Goldman as a defendant in its civil suit charging that 36 Wall Street and other firms participated in a vast bid-rigging conspiracy for municipal swaps and investment agreements.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced yesterday that it has promoted Gerald Hodgkins to become an associate director in its division of enforcement.

GE Funding Capital Market Services Inc., a subsidiary of General Electric Capital Corp., does not agree with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s plans to file charges against it in connection with an industry-wide investigation of guaranteed investment contracts and derivatives, but is discussing the matter, including a “potential resolution,” with SEC staff.

Bonds backed by federally guaranteed student loans are subject to greater short-term basis risk because of a mismatch in the way the interest rate on the bonds is calculated compared to the way the Department of Education sets interest on the underlying loans that flow into bond trusts, according to a report released by Fitch Ratings yesterday.

WASHINGTON — Goldman, Sachs & Co. has hired Christopher J. Cowen as managing director and co-head of higher education in its public sector and infrastructure banking business.

WASHINGTON — An amendment to financial regulatory reform legislation that would impose a broad fiduciary duty on financial services firms when they give advice and recommendations to public entities and pension funds is pitting dealers against advisers in the municipal market.

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — The National Federation of Municipal Analysts presented awards to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and five individuals last week, including Wisconsin state capital finance director Frank Hoadley and B.C. Ziegler & Co. director of research Ed Merrigan, during its annual conference here.

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — Even as the major municipal market groups have pledged to work to improve continuing-disclosure practices, voluntary improvements to their timeliness and quality remains elusive after years of debate, some analysts say.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to propose easing draft rule changes so dealers would only have to disclose the political action committees controlled by bank-related and other affiliates and not the amounts of political contributions the PACs make to issuer officials, or the names of those who receive them.

An employment index used to track overall labor costs rose 1.7% for the 12-month period ending in March, after increasing 0.6% at a seasonally adjusted rate during the first quarter of 2010, according to a report the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday.

An employment index used to track overall labor costs rose 1.7% for the 12-month period ending in March, after increasing 0.6% at a seasonally adjusted rate during the first quarter of 2010, according to a report the Bureau of Labor Statistics released this morning.