Andrew Ackerman

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission Monday proposed a lengthy new rule to establish a permanent registration system for municipal advisory firms as well as individual advisers that would replace a temporary system for firms the SEC put in place in September.

WASHINGTON — Initial jobless claims dropped 3,000 to 420,000 for the week ending Dec. 11, matching economist expectations for new filings for unemployment benefits, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is giving the market advance notice that, as of Feb. 14, it will begin requiring dealers acting as underwriters, placement agents, or remarketing agents to provide its EMMA website with certain information about the continuing disclosure agreements for new bond issues.

WASHINGTON - Initial jobless claims dropped 3,000 to 420,000 for the week ending Dec. 11, matching economists' expectations as the four-week moving average for initial claims dropped to its lowest level in more than two years, the Labor Department reported Thursday morning.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined New York-based Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $400,000 for violations of securities rules involving municipal and corporate bonds.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board's proposed changes in public pension accounting and reporting standards, if adopted, will not have immediate credit implications, but probably would make the reporting of year-to-year unfunded pension liabilities more volatile, Standard & Poor's will say in a report Wednesday.

Producer prices jumped more than economists expected in November, rising 0.8% due partly to higher energy prices, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Producer prices jumped 0.8% in November, led by a 2.1% increase in energy goods prices, while core prices, which exclude food and energy, increased 0.3% on rising prices for new autos, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Since the Securities and Exchange ­Commission and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rolled out separate registration systems for municipal advisers this fall, there has been ­widespread confusion over the requirement that advisers register with both regulators.

WASHINGTON — Import prices jumped more than economists expected in November, rising 1.3% as export prices surged by 1.5%, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

WASHINGTON - Import prices jumped 1.3% in November, as both fuel and non-fuel imports rose, while export prices surged 1.5%, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission Thursday unanimously agreed to propose pay-to-play restrictions and other business-conduct standards for swap dealers and major swap participants working with “special entities” such as states and localities. The pay-to-play restrictions mirror new Securities and Exchange Commission rules for investment advisers.

The Justice Department has filed a new indictment against CDR Financial Products and three current and former officials that expands on some of the original October 2009 charges against them to include so-called honest services fraud — a criminal statute that survived a Supreme Court challenge earlier this year and is often used to prosecute wrongdoing by public officials.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is initiating a study of the municipal market with an emphasis on pre-transaction pricing efficiency and liquidity, Securities and Exchange Commission member Elisse Walter announced Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is initiating a study of the structure of the municipal market with an emphasis on pre-transaction price discovery, Securities and Exchange Commission member Elisse Walter announced Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to propose a draft pay-to-play rule for municipal advisers by the end of the month that will mirror existing political contribution restrictions imposed on dealers under its Rule G-37, chairman Michael Bartolotta told reporters in a conference call Monday morning.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to propose a draft pay-to-play rule for municipal advisers by the end of the month that will mirror existing political contribution restrictions imposed on dealers under its Rule G-37, chairman Michael Bartolotta told reporters in a conference call Monday morning.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has upped the ante in its dispute with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board over the self-regulator’s proposal to nearly double the fees it collects from dealers, warning that the MSRB must do a better job of explaining the need for the increase.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission has hired two attorney-fellows to double the staff in its office of municipal securities, but efforts to comply with a congressional mandate to heighten the office’s stature so it directly reports to the chairman is being stymied by short-term budget stopgaps, sources said.

WASHINGTON — Three key Republicans in the House of Representatives introduced a bill Thursday that would impose punitive action on any state or locality with a public pension fund that fails to file annual reports to the U.S. Treasury Department that adhere to a uniform set of accounting standards.