Far West

WASHINGTON — Cook County, Ill., officials say while they are striving to improve the timeliness of their secondary market disclosures, the process of coordinating financial information among different offices and departments is both challenging and time consuming.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Port of Long Beach, Calif., the second-busiest port in the country, could see its rating come under pressure if a local ballot measure passes that would strengthen the hand of the city in its operations.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said last week that it’s unlikely Congress will approve a comprehensive energy bill either this year or next.

A number of Build America Bond issuers are seeking voluntary closing agreements with the Internal Revenue Service to settle accidental violations of a de minimis premium rule, an IRS official told industry officials in Manhattan yesterday.

WASHINGTON — The combination of having at least three of the proposed 10 “industry” seats on its expanded board dedicated to nondealer muni advisers, along with the establishment of a council of advisers to bounce ideas off the board, will ensure that advisers are fairly regulated beginning Oct. 1, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is insisting.

DALLAS — Bond dealers who claim the role of market maker in the pricing of municipal securities can run afoul of regulators unless they qualify with the Securities and Exchange Commission, warned Malcolm Northam, director of fixed-income ­securities at the Financial Industry ­Regulatory Authority.

Congress last week approved a three-month extension of aviation and airport programs that will allow airports to continue to collect the taxes that they use to pay for capital improvements.

WASHINGTON — Independent municipal advisers are strongly opposed to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s draft proposal that would temporarily expand the board’s membership to 21 while reserving just three, or 14%, of those slots for advisers that will fall under its oversight Friday for the first time.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are expected to take up a stopgap spending measure to continue funding federal agencies after Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, before they break to campaign for the November elections.

WASHINGTON — Crumbling infrastructure may inhibit an economic recovery, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Thursday in a report that relies on a newly created index that measures transportation performance and ties it to the economy.