Kyle Glazier

The Senate confirmed Michael Piwowar and Kara Stein as members of the Securities and Exchange Commission by unanimous consent Thursday evening.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is seeking input from market participants on whether it should collect pre-trade pricing information from broker-dealers and make it available over its online EMMA system.

Alternative trading system operator BondDesk has teamed up with market information company Fabkom to distribute bid-wanted requests in a move the companies said will help retail investors get better prices.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Tuesday named new officers and board members who will assume their posts Oct. 1.

Twelve dealer firms are asking the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to adopt further restrictions on bond ballot contributions by broker-dealers, and each of those firms has pledged a two-year moratorium on making any such contributions related to bonds they seek to underwrite.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will issue two concept releases next month, one seeking public comment on whether to develop a best execution rule and another requesting input on enhancing post-trade data reporting and developing standards for collecting pre-trade information.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's proposal for money market funds to use floating net asset values could cost state and local governments millions dollars and force them to abandon MMF investments, market participants and a new study asserted Thursday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Miami, Fla. signals the commission's seriousness about both upholding prior cease and desist orders and holding public officials accountable, market participants said.

A coalition of dealers, issuers and other muni market participants have sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee leaders urging them to preserve the federal tax exemption for municipal bonds.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board said Monday that in the wake of Detroit's bankruptcy filing, investors need to be mindful that not all general obligation bonds carry the same level of security in the event of issuer insolvency.

Dealer groups are concerned provisions of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed rules on retail order periods could be burdensome, while independent financial advisors say the rules will be almost useless without a definition of "retail."

Existing home sales fell 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted 5.08 million-unit rate in June from a revised 5.14 million pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit Friday against Miami, Fla. and the city's former budget director, charging them with securities fraud for making faulty disclosures in connection with three 2009 bond offerings totaling $153.5 million.

Pressure is mounting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to complete its rulemaking defining municipal advisors, with congressional aides saying a House panel will likely hold a hearing on potentially preemptive legislation after the August recess.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, at its quarterly meeting in Boston next week, will consider whether to create a rule to crackdown on front running as well as request comments on applying best execution practices in municipal bond.

The Senate Banking Committee will meet Thursday to vote on whether to recommend the Senate confirm two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A Virginia circuit court is preparing to reconsider Fluvanna County's lawsuit against financial advisor Davenport & Co., after the state supreme court rejected the firm's motion for a rehearing of the state Supreme Court's decision to reverse a ruling that had favored it.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined four firms $106,000 and fined and suspended an individual for municipal securities rule violations.

Retail sales climbed 0.4% to $422.8 billion in June after rising a revised 0.5% in May, originally reported as a 0.6% increase, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Municipal market participants say two Securities and Exchange Commission nominees, near toward confirmation, could influence both rulemaking and enforcement actions.