Kyle Glazier

Securities and Exchange Commission commissioners and panelists at a roundtable Tuesday wrestled with how to improve the transparency of municipal bond trading and prices, particularly for retail investors.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has introduced legislation granting commercial banks an exemption from municipal advisor registration under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined a firm $37,500 for trade and books and records violations, and a broker $5,000, giving him a four-month suspension, for telling a customer he redeemed bonds rather than sold them without the customer's permission.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Municipal Securities will shrink to two members after attorney Dave Sanchez departs April 19.

Business inventories rose 0.1% to $1.6 trillion in February, while sales climbed 1.2% to $1.3 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Retail sales dipped 0.4% to $418.3 billion in March after rising a revised 1% in February, originally reported as a 1.1% increase, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Federal Regulators have been dropping in on non-dealer financial advisors for examinations that have sometimes lasted days, sources said Thursday.

The federal government posted a $106.5 billion budget deficit in March after running a $203.5 billion deficit in February, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

The Bond Dealers of America have hired Urban Swirski and Associates to advocate for the group's legislative and policy priorities, BDA announced Wednesday.

Mary Jo White has been sworn in as the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC announced Wednesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's April 16 fixed-income markets roundtable will include regulators and representatives from most municipal market groups, the SEC announced Tuesday.

Sales of merchant wholesalers rose 1.7% to $422.5 billion in February, while inventories fell 0.3%, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Contracts between dealer firms and public officials show that dealers are engaging in wordplay in an apparent attempt to avoid duties and restrictions placed on them by both federal statute and MSRB rulemaking.

Former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Monday to serve as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Consumer credit climbed $18.2 billion, or 7.8%, in February to $2.799.1 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will hold an on-the-record briefing about municipal securities at a National Press Club luncheon on May 8 to attempt to educate a wider audience of journalists about the municipal market.

The U.S. international trade deficit was $43 billion in February, a 3.4% decrease from the revised $44.5 billion deficit in January, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

A new study released by the Federal Railroad Administration lays out numerous diverse options for high-speed rail investment in the nation's heavily-populated Northeast corridor.

The Virginia General Assembly on Wednesday approved Gov. Bob McDonnell's amended transportation plan, which slashes gas taxes and is projected to pump billions into Virginia's transportation infrastructure over the next five years.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., has introduced legislation that would make $1 billion available for federal transportation grants.