Far West

Bond attorney and longtime market participant Linda Grant Williams has secured a patent on an alternative credit structure that is designed to lower interest rates on special facility bonds for ­airports.

Changes to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Rule 15c2-12 designed to both increase the quantity and timeliness of issuers’ continuing disclosures take effect Wednesday and strongly encourage issuers of variable-rate demand obligations to use so-called long-form disclosure in their offering documents.

SAN FRANCISCO — City Council members in Vallejo, Calif., will judge a long-term budget plan Tuesday that outlines a way for the bankrupt city to crawl back into the black.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $40.5 million of single-family housing bonds issued in 2003 by the Montana Board of Housing.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s expenses over the next two years will increase “at ­significantly higher rates” as the MSRB continues to expand its information systems and begins to regulate municipal advisers, the board is cautioning.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Hawaii and Citi have announced a legal settlement that will allow the state to exit from its $869 million auction-rate securities portfolio within five years.

Market participants remain divided over the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's draft proposal to prohibit dealers from underwriting new negotiated or competitive bond deals if they served as the issuer's financial adviser.

Port authorities are pushing for Congress to reauthorize a five-year program that provides them with millions of dollars of federal grants.

The Internal Revenue Service yesterday released guidance clarifying that Jan. 1 is the deadline for issuers to receive tax benefits on “draw-down bonds” that are eligible for temporary bond programs, including Build America Bonds.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia expects to issue $522.4 million of Build America Bonds before the end of the year. The capital city is planning to use the general obligation credit for the first time in two years in one of the deals to maximize the BABs savings.