Andrew Ackerman

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.

WASHINGTON — As the full Senate began to debate financial regulatory reform legislation Thursday, dealers pushed back against several provisions they said could shut down the swaps market for states and localities.

WASHINGTON — In a surprise bipartisan development, Senate lawmakers announced Wednesday evening that they would begin to debate financial regulatory reform legislation on the Senate floor by unanimous consent, a method that allows the bill to proceed without a cloture vote to limit debate on the measure.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Manhattan has ruled that a group of 11 California localities, including Los Angeles, may go forward with their civil cases against Goldman, Sachs & Co., Citigroup, and several other high-profile firms because they may have participated in an alleged conspiracy to rig bids for municipal investment contracts and derivatives.

WASHINGTON — At a meeting today and tomorrow in Philadelphia, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to discuss proposed rule changes that would dictate the priority of retail and other customer orders in primary offerings, as well as where the board stands on its push to provide rating changes over its EMMA site.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats Tuesday failed for the second straight day to garner the 60 votes they needed to move forward with consideration of a massive financial regulatory reform bill by the full Senate.