Far West

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California has ruled that the city of Alameda did not commit securities fraud in a deal with Nuveen Investments even if it may have intentionally misled bondholders.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s budget vote last Wednesday jolted local municipal bond investors who could see their taxes jump on Oct. 1 as a result of a provision to tax the interest earnings from munis issued outside the district.

WASHINGTON — Financial reporting delays by state and local governments significantly compromise the usefulness of the information to users, including financial analysts, according to a recent report by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

SAN FRANCISCO — No redevelopment agencies? No problem.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn., has filed an audit that “raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”

WASHINGTON — House Transportation Committee chairman John Mica wants to take the Northeast rail corridor away from Amtrak and privatize most of it to get true high-speed rail service — trains that can travel at 220 miles per hour.

Senate transportation committee leaders have agreed to fund the TIFIA program at $1 billion per year as part of a six-year highway and transit funding bill that they plan to introduce in two weeks.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board released a draft of Rule G-44 Wednesday that would require municipal advisers to put in place supervisory systems to ensure they comply with Securities and Exchange Commission and MSRB rules.

Broker-dealers face increasing scrutiny and may be required in some cases to put the interests of municipal issuers ahead of their own, regulatory officials said Wednesday.

The Internal Revenue Service is sending out questionnaires to 300 issuers asking about their advance-refunding procedures and post-issuance compliance.