Far West

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission staffs plan to hold a two-day roundtable in May to discuss the schedule for implementing rules for swaps and securities-based swaps, they announced in a release issued Tuesday.

Sen. Ron Wyden on Tuesday underscored his opposition to tax exemptions for new muni bonds, saying it is inefficient and that tax-credit bonds would benefit a broader set of taxpayers, not just high-net-worth individuals.

SACRAMENTO — Vallejo, Calif., is closing in on settlements with creditors that would smooth its escape from bankruptcy, according to its attorney.

WASHINGTON — House Transportation Committee chairman Rep. John Mica on Monday charged the Obama administration failed to justify many of the high-speed rail and so-called TIGER transportation grants it made to state and local governments.

WASHINGTON — High-speed rail and community development block grant funds were among the $2 billion of cuts in a “bridge” continuing resolution enacted Saturday, which narrowly averted a federal government shutdown.

Ernesto Lanza, the general counsel of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, has been tapped to serve as deputy executive director, the MSRB announced Monday. Meanwhile, a former investment banker has been chosen for a newly created market leadership role.

WASHINGTON — The prospect for a federal government shutdown grew more ominous Thursday, leaving state and local groups with unanswered questions about whether federal payments will be halted if lawmakers fail to reach agreement on a fiscal 2011 budget compromise before midnight Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO — In this city known for its eccentricities, why should retiree benefit reform be any different?

CHICAGO — The efforts of five Wisconsin school districts to recoup their ill-fated $200 million investment in collateralized debt obligations have received reinforcement in the form of possible Securities and Exchange Commission action against an investment bank for its role in the transaction.

WASHINGTON — Erik R. Sirri, former director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s trading and markets division, will oversee the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s muni market trade and pricing study, the MSRB announced Thursday.