Jonathan Hemmerdinger

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has asked financial industry participants and members of the public for suggestions about legislative alternatives to the so-called Volcker Rule.

Regulatory efforts to improve municipal bond pricing transparency have resulted in lower prices paid by retail buyers of muni bonds, according to preliminary results of a study on muni pricing and trading being conducted by Erik Sirri, former director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's trading and markets division.

A diverse group of municipal market participants has criticized the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's recent concept release related to third-party payments.

New orders for manufactured goods decreased $2.1 billion, or 0.5%, to $465.8 billion in June, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

A House Financial Services Committee panel approved a bill Wednesday that would exempt municipal advisors from having a federal fiduciary duty to place muni issuers' interests first, but lawmakers said the bill's final version will leave the fiduciary requirement in place.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Wednesday announced the seven individuals who will join its 21-member board of directors on Oct. 1 for three-year terms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a long-awaited report on the $3.7 trillion municipal securities market Tuesday that recommended at least 15 major legislative and regulatory changes to improve disclosure and price transparency for retail and other investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled a conference call with reporters at 11 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the agency's long-anticipated report on the municipal securities market.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced it will begin a multi-month review of muni bond indexes with the aim of increasing transparency and educating market participants about how the they are developed and used.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has named Jay Goldstone, chief financial officer and chief operating officer of San Diego, as its new board chairman, effective Oct. 1 for a one-year term.

Members of the Senate Banking Committee grilled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Thursday about his knowledge of manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, and raised concerns about its potential impact on state and local governments that entered into Libor-based swaps.

Former employees of financial firms who have already pleaded guilty to rigging muni bond contracts will be allowed to testify in the upcoming bid-rigging trial against former UBS Financial Services Inc. bankers Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz and Michael Welty, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The federal judge assigned to the upcoming bid-rigging trial against three former UBS Financial Services Inc. bankers has struck down requests to drop all six criminal counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, and witness tampering.

A group of Senate Democrats is urging the U.S. Department of Justice and federal banking and securities regulators to investigate allegations that domestic and foreign banks manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, which is used as a benchmark in municipal bond-related swaps and other financial products.

Municipal market participants are praising rules finalized by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that except most state and local governments from having to clear interest rate swaps through a derivatives clearing organization.

Lawyers for former UBS Financial Services Inc. bankers Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz and Michael Welty requested permission from the court to present evidence on municipal bond transactions other than 38 specific deals highlighted by prosecutors.

Lawmakers and financial market participants sparred over the economic and business impact of the Dodd-Frank Bill and the so-called Volcker Rule, as well as fallout from potential new money market rules.

A House Financial Services subcommittee will hold a hearing July 20 to discuss a bill that would eliminate the fiduciary duty imposed on municipal advisors by the Dodd-Frank Act and limit the kinds of firms that would be regulated as municipal advisors.

Bond Dealers of America released a guide Thursday designed to help the group's members comply with recently-approved guidance from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board regarding what underwriters must disclose to muni bond issuers.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is releasing draft rule changes that would prohibit municipal securities dealers from consenting to amendments in bond authorizing documents, except in very limited circumstances.