Washington

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is hoping to quash what they call misconceptions that tax-exemption predominantly benefits upper-income taxpayers, as outlined in an eight-page white paper the group released Monday.

Airports will suffer from American Airlines impending layoffs of more than 4,000 employees, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.

A Wenatchee, Wash. district is set to sell $49 million of bonds to clear up a $42 million default on bond anticipation notes for a sports arena.

Gary Goldsholle, vice president and association general counsel at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, has been named general counsel at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and will join the board in late October.

The House of Representatives passed a bill late Wednesday that would narrow the definition of municipal advisor and exempt a number of market participants from being subject to MA registration and other rules.

State tax collections increased by 3% for the 10th straight quarter from April to June, according to a new report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

State Treasurers Meeting in Alaska Passed a Resolution asking Moody’s for Clarification of its Plans for Changing its Methodology for Evaluating Public Pension Fund Liabilities.

Seattle City Council has reached a tentative agreement to build a $490 million NBA basketball and NHL hockey arena south of downtown.

State Treasurer Catherine Provencher will embark on a "road show" to educate local finance directors and elected officials about disclosure and methodology changes to pension liabilities approved by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board launched a series of free online training videos Thursday to help dealers and issuers submit primary- and secondary-market disclosures to the board's EMMA system.

The House Financial Services Committee passed a municipal advisor bill Wednesday after striking a requirement that MAs have written agreements with issuers, one of the bill's most contentious provisions.

State treasurers voted Monday to urge Moody's Investors Service to carefully consider the consequences of its proposed changes to analyzing public-sector pension data, warning it will muddy already complicated pension issues for the public and financial markets.

Virginia Treasurer Manju Ganeriwala has been elected president of the National Association of State Treasurers for 2013.

Maryland State Treasurer Nancy Kopp was awarded the 2012 Jesse Unruh Award for her outstanding service to her profession and her state.

Washington's Economic and Review Forecast Council, the state's budget revenue forecaster, named Stephen Lerch as executive director.

The Internal Revenue Service has stepped up its efforts to investigate possible misconduct in the municipal bond sector, more than doubling the number of examinations it conducts per year.

A new projection produced by the Congressional Budget Office shows that both the highway trust fund and transit account, key sources of federal transportation funding, will run out of money in fiscal year 2015 under the recently enacted transportation law.

Australia-based infrastructure development giant Macquarie Capital will advise San Juan, P.R. in its quest to put together a light rail public-private partnership that has been estimated at $400 million, the city announced Monday.

Revenue forecasting can make or break a project