Washington

WASHINGTON - Responding to a move by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to limit the basic broker-dealer licensing exam to customer sales, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to require market participants who engage in muni underwriting, trading, and other non-sales activities to take the board's muni qualifications exam, according to a proposal filed with the SEC Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Bond Dealers of America has hired Richard Y. Roberts, former Securities and Exchange Commission member and chief of staff Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to lobby for it on Dodd-Frank Act implementation and other securities-related legislative and regulatory issues.

Highway and airport construction projects should escape shutdowns now that House and Senate leaders have agreed to extend airport construction funding through January and highway funding through March.

WASHINGTON - In a surprise move, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board pulled five proposed municipal advisor rules that had been pending with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, following complaints by dealers and other market participants that the SEC had not yet defined the term municipal advisor. The board also issued an advisory on bank loans.

WASHINGTON - The aviation community was prepared to see House Transportation Committee chairman John Mica, R. Fla., introduce a new Federal Aviation Administration extension bill Friday, one expected to pass both houses of Congress without a battle this week. But it didn't happen.

WASHINGTON - Fitch Ratings downgraded the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's airport revenue bonds to AA-minus from AA as it prepares to issue $192 million of refunding bonds.

WASHINGTON - Municipal market participants applauded President Obama's jobs bill proposals for increased funding for transportation and aid to state and local governments, but worried about their vagueness and whether they would actually spur job creation.

For many municipal professionals on Wall Street, the memory 10 years later of what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, is as raw as it was in the chaos following that terrible day.

Underwriters who fail to revamp due diligence and disclosure practices for bond documents in negotiated transactions are vulnerable to enforcement action based on a recent pension case New Jersey settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a dealer group said in guidance unveiled last week.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s TFIA — Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act — office is hiring a lead negotiator/financial policy advisor and a financial analyst.

WASHINGTON - The Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday, clearing them for a confirmation vote by the full Senate.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to extend federal highway aid for four months to Jan. 31 at current spending levels.

WASHINGTON - State and local government groups have combined forces with dealers, bond lawyers and representatives from energy, education and other sectors to deliver a strong message to the joint congressional deficit-reduction committee: hands off our tax-exempt financing.

Responding to criticism from market participants, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board retooled a controversial portion of a proposed rule on broker's brokers, and floated the revised version Thursday for another round of comments.

WASHINGTON - Fitch Ratings says the United States is downshifting just as President Obama is expected to include transportation spending as a major part of the job creation program he will present to Congress Thursday night.

The Internal Revenue Service has completed an audit of $60 million of hospital revenue bonds issued in 2002 by Lakeland, Fla., finding no change to the bonds’ tax-exempt status.

WASHINGTON - Local school districts face renewed budget pressure as states cut back spending, forcing local governments to weigh tax increases and layoffs, the Center on Budget Policy Priorities said in a recent report.

WASHINGTON - A working group of independent financial advisors is close to finalizing a preliminary outline of topics for the first-ever municipal advisor exam, which will be administered by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, sources said.

WASHINGTON - State tax revenues continued to rebound in the second quarter but stock market volatility combined with recession jitters in August could affect tax collections in the third quarter, the Rockefeller Institute said Thursday.

The Office of Management and Budget reported Thursday that the federal deficit is expected to be $1.32 trillion in fiscal 2011, down $329 billion from its February estimate, while it projected the unemployment rate could be 9.0% by the end of 2012, based on its mid-session review of President Obama's fiscal 2012 budget.