Kyle Glazier

Legislation providing for a federally-sponsored vote on Puerto Rico's admission as a state is now pending in both chambers of Congress.

A gradual economic recovery helped the credits of municipal bond issuers in 2013, Fitch Ratings said Wednesday, with the agency reporting that the past year witnessed fewer downgrades and more upgrades than 2012.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has received dozens of filings for arbitration investors who say they were harmed by unsuitable advice doled out by UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico when the market for the commonwealth's bonds declined.

Former Bank of America executive Phillip Murphy pleaded guilt Monday in a North Carolina federal court to rigging municipal bond investment bids, while convicted bid-rigger Mark Zaino's sentencing has been delayed yet again in New York.

Consumer credit increased by $18.7 billion, or 7.3%, in December to $3.106 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud case against Miami and its former budget director Michael Boudreaux is on hold pending Boudreaux's appeal of the court's decision to invalidate his effort to claim immunity from the lawsuit.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board unveiled an updated look to its EMMA website Feb. 7, with a focus on improving ease of navigation for new users, the MSRB said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's muni office will spend the coming months implementing the final municipal advisor rule and reviewing MA rule filings by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, but the commission needs more resources to meet its expanded responsibilities.

Convicted bid-rigger Michael Welty and two co-defendants are moving for a new trial, claiming the government suppressed evidence in the form of an email that could have allowed Welty to challenge some of the government's claims against him.

Congressional and Treasury sources said Puerto Rico won't get direct financial help in the wake of its downgrade.

Convicted bid-rigger David Rubin should pay more than $11,5 million in restitution to 99 municipal victims who have not been compensated for losses they incurred due to "kickbacks" and depressed interest rates resulting from criminal activity, according to U.S. Justice Department filings with a federal court this week.

WASHINGTON – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has decided to propose an explicit best execution rule for dealers in the municipal market, MSRB officials said Tuesday, calling it "a very significant development for the municipal market."

The Securities and Exchange Commission will spend the next few years acting on the recommendations in its 2012 municipal market report as well as strengthening muni advisor oversight, according to the SEC's draft strategic plan released Monday.

The growth of shipping fleets is outstripping demand, leading Moody's Investors Service analysts to slap a negative outlook on U.S. ports for the next 18 months.

Dealer groups told issuer officials Jan. 30 that they have many unanswered questions under the Securities and Exchange Commission's registration rule, as broker-dealers work to keep municipalities informed about their efforts to comply with the rule before its July 1 effective date.

The SEC will release more guidance on technical aspects of its municipal advisor registration rule prior to the rule's July 1 effective date, John Cross told issuer officials Thursday.

Sentencing for convicted bid-rigger David Rubin has been pushed back until March 6 because his attorney will not be able to be present during the previously scheduled Feb. 3 date.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a proposal to consolidate its existing rules on pricing and execution, as well as fair dealing guidance, into a single new fair pricing rule.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Michael Piwowar said Monday that he has asked the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities to work with him on proposals to improve the market.

Miami and former budget director Michael Boudreaux have requested a jury trial and denied most of the Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud allegations in recent federal court filings.