Kyle Glazier

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Municipal Securities has added two members to its staff, SEC muni chief John Cross announced Monday.

The House approved on Friday legislation requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission to perform cost-benefit analysis of its regulations, which Republicans characterized as common sense and Democrats decried as an attempt to weaken federal oversight.

President Obama signed a presidential memorandum today that the White House said will modernize the Federal infrastructure permitting process, cutting timelines in half for major infrastructure projects.

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Jo White told lawmakers Thursday that unfinished Dodd-Frank Regulations are a top priority, and that the SEC needs tough enforcement penalties to maintain order over an increasingly complex market landscape.

WASHINGTON -- Housing starts dropped 16.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000 in April, the largest decline since a 17.9% fall in February 2011, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined five firms nearly $200,000 for violations of municipal securities rules, and ordered that they pay many thousands more in customer restitution.

The Senate voted 83-14 Wednesday to pass the Water Resources Development Act of 2013, which authorizes federal water program spending and includes a a pilot program that would offer low-interest loans and loan guarantees for water infrastructure projects.

WASHINGTON — Industrial production dipped 0.5% in April after rising a revised 0.3% the previous month, while capacity utilization ticked down to 77.8% from a revised 78.3%, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts presented its 29th annual industry awards during its annual conference dinner in San Diego earlier this month.

The House is likely to vote Friday on legislation that would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of any new regulations, a move Democrats see as a bid to weaken financial reform.

Managed toll lanes carry greater credit risks than traditional toll roads because they are challenging to implement and subject to extreme traffic volatility, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service.

Reps. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, have sent a letter to new Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Jo White urging her to make sure that the SEC's final definition of municipal advisor reflects their bill, which is pending before the House Financial Services Committee.

Business inventories remained virtually unchanged at $1.64 trillion in March, while sales fell 1.1% to $1.27 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Retail sales ticked up 0.1% to $419 billion in April after falling a revised 0.5% in March, originally reported as a 0.4% dip, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

A bipartisan team of House transportation leaders have introduced legislation to spend $13.8 billion over five years on water infrastructure through the State Revolving Fund.

The federal government posted a $112.9 billion budget surplus in April after running a $106.5 billion deficit in March, the Treasury Department reported Friday.

A new U.S. Conference of Mayors report shows that local governments have spent big on water and wastewater infrastructure, but worries that rising costs of water service and increased long-term debt might make increased investment unsustainable for some communities.

Sales of merchant wholesalers dropped 1.6% to $414.7 billion in March, while inventories gained 0.4%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Wednesday marked the deadline for companies interested in developing a pair of major rail projects under Maryland's new public-private partnership law, and the private sector is jumping at the chance.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts presented Excellence in Disclosure awards to four issuers at a dinner at its annual conference in San Diego May 2.