Kyle Glazier

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the operator of Miami-Dade County, Fla.'s largest hospital with defrauding investors by failing to disclose its financial woes prior to an $83 million bond offering.

A proposal to modify the standard of independence for Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board members is inconsistent with federal law, the National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors told the Securities and Exchange Commission Sept. 12.

A coalition of mayors from across the country is urging SEcurities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Jo White not to support structural changes to municipal money market mutual funds, especially the adoption of a floating net asset value.

Holders of debt issued by Detroit; Harrisburg, Pa.; Jefferson County, Ala.; and Stockton, Calif.; are unlikely to get outcomes even as favorable as investors during the Great Depression, according to a report issued Thursday by Moody's Investors Service.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, Miami, Fla., and the city's former budget director agree they are unlikely to settle a bond-related securities fraud case and that the trial will be lengthy, according to a joint scheduling report they filed with a federal court in Miami.

House Transportation Committee leaders unveiled Wednesday a water infrastructure funding bill that would explore the possibilities of a new tax-exempt bond program and encourage public-private partnerships.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed revised amendments with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to modify earlier rule change proposals governing retail order periods.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board sent letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission defending the MSRB's proposal to loosen the standard of independence for public board members.

Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher has sworn to take up the cause of municipal market reform at the SEC, accepting the baton from Elisse Walter, who recently left the commission.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers announced Thursday that it will present service awards to three recipients when the group meets in Chicago later this month.

U.S. transportation secretary Anthony Foxx on Thursday announced that 52 transportation projects in 37 states will receive a total of about $474 million from the Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant program.

Groups representing broker-dealers and issuers have sent a joint letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission complaining that the Municipal Securities Rulemaking board had sent SEC an amendment for approval without offering it for public comment, a charge the MSRB denied.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve rule changes on standards for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, saying they will increase investor representation on the board.

Several state and local groups have filed a comment letter with the Securities and Exchange Commission urging the SEC not to adopt a money market fund reform proposal which would of require a floating net asset value instead of the current $1 per share fixed value.

The Financial Accounting Foundation Board of Trustees has revised a proposal to clarify the type of information that the Governmental Accounting Standards Board may incorporate into the financial accounting and reporting concepts, standards, and guidance that it issues for state and local governments.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Thursday that it has fined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC $1 million and ordered the company to pay $188,000 in restitution plus interest for violations of municipal and corporate bond rules.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking board has released new guidance for issuers in deciding when to hire and how to compensate municipal advisors.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined four firms and two individuals a total of $270,000 for violations of municipal securities rules, FINRA announced this month.

Michael Piwowar has officially joined joined the Securities and Exchange Commission after taking the oath as its newest commissioner Thursday.

Issuers, non-dealer municipal advisors, and financial reform advocates are upset that the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board' "public members" continue to have close ties to dealer firms, complaining this undermines the Dodd-Frank Act intent that the board be majority public.