Far West

The National Hockey League's lockout of its players, if not resolved, could impact ratings for the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles and the Pepsi Center in Denver, according to Fitch Ratings.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has ordered five firms to pay $4.48 million for unfairly using bond proceeds to pay reimburse themselves for membership fees they paid to the California Public Securities Association, a lobbying group.

The federal government will reach its $16.4 trillion debt limit on Dec. 31 and will begin to suspend issuances of state and local government series securities and take other extraordinary measures to prevent defaulting on U.S. debt, the Treasury Secretary told leaders of Congress Tuesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday issued an Investor Bulletin designed to help buyers of municipal bonds better understand bonds' credit risks.

Two Democrats from Michigan have introduced legislation that would allow a total of up to $1 billion of recovery zone economic development bonds to be issued over one year for projects in certain specified cities.

Political division in the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission could slow the agency's ability to advance a host of municipal market-related measures in 2013, say some market participants.

The transportation sector will spend next year looking for opportunities to achieve limited legislative goals, while hoping to stay out of the way of lawmakers who may have to slash funds in ongoing efforts to deal with the debt crisis.

President Obama is urging lawmakers to put together a package to avoid the fiscal cliff with the next 10 days.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury Friday denied the California Public Employees' Retirement System's request to be allowed to sue San Bernardino in California state court over $6.9 million in missed pension payments.

Steve A. Chamberlin has been tapped to serve as acting director of the Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt bond office, officials said.