Patrick McGee

Warren Buffett called his purchase of the railroad operator Burlington Northern Sante Fe an “all-in wager on the economic future of the United States,” but analysts at Standard & Poor’s don’t appear to share his optimism. The agency on Wednesday placed Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and its affiliates, including Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp., on negative watch.

M.R. Beal & Co., a New York City-based investment banking firm, is beefing up its public finance team with the addition of two veteran bankers.

Financial Securities Assurance Inc. is getting a makeover. The company was acquired by and became a subsidiary of Assured Guaranty Ltd. in July, and it was announced Monday its name would be changed to Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp.

The Municipal Bond Club of New York is hosting a charity event to raise money for children with Down syndrome.

When taxable Build America Bonds were introduced to the market in April, one attraction for issuers was said to be the wider investor base they would garner, in contrast to the limited market for traditional, tax-exempt municipal bonds. But while BABs have been successful in expanding liquidity in the muni market, purchases from abroad remain relatively shallow.

Wells Fargo & Co., currently ranked eighth among underwriters of municipal bonds by Thomson Reuters, is taking steps to up its ranking by expanding its public finance group.

First New York Securities LLC, a privately owned investment firm with more than 200 money managers in Manhattan, is expanding its reach into the arena of public finance.

TD Securities, the wholesale division of TD Bank Financial Group, is adding to its arsenal in the municipal market along the eastern seaboard.

Patricia A. Garrison-Corbin, founder of Philadelphia-based financial advisory firm PG Corbin & Co., died Oct. 17 after battling breast cancer. She was 62.

Insurance does not make a bad bond good, though an investor could be forgiven for thinking that it does. For years investors in insured bonds have looked to the higher rating, based on insurance, rather than the underlying rating, when there was one.