Far West

The Stockton City Council will decide next week whether to give its city manager the power to declare bankruptcy if it is unable to get enough concessions from creditors before the end of June.

Between 3% and 8% of federal money earmarked for the highway system since 2010 has gone to waste on inactive projects, according to a new GAO Report, which cites lax federal oversight and recommends a narrower role for the FHA.

Identical bills proposed by House and Senate lawmakers to provide rules of the road for taxing digital goods and services would immediately and significantly reduce state and local tax collections, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warns in a report.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has launched an online guide designed to help retail investors better understand the municipal bond market and the roles and responsibilities of muni bond brokers.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $3.19 billion of gas project revenue bonds that the Tennessee Energy Acquisition Corp. issued in 2006.

The increasing popularity of electronic brokerage has led the MSRB to examine whether retail investors who trade municipal securities through broker-dealers' online systems have adequate protection under its rules.

SAN FRANCISCO — California's Legislative Analyst's Office said Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget policies could lead to a balanced budget within a few years.

Criteria for the expanded definition of sophisticated municipal market professional (SMMP), which takes effect July 9.

Broker-dealers will not have to make the same disclosures to wealthier, more sophisticated individual investors that they do to other investors under a revised MSRB interpretative notice approved by the SEC.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has published a tax law compliance guide for issuers in conduit bond transactions.