Washington

An industry group and a consumer group have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise proposed rules governing transactions between swap dealers and customers, arguing the proposal either goes too far and would weaken key issuer protections, or does not go far enough to protect dealers.

President Obama Wednesday, eager to prevent another political showdown over expiring legislation, called on Congress to quickly renew the surface transportation law that expires at the end of September.

WASHINGTON - Broker-dealer groups blasted a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposal to collect an annual $300-per-person fee from municipal advisors, saying the assessment would penalize dealers and dealer FAs who already bear the brunt of funding the board's operations.

House Republicans, eager to jump-start job-creation efforts after the debt-ceiling battle, are eyeing a top reform priority among state and local government groups as part of their plans.

WASHINGTON - With a nod to recent guidance from the tax-exempt community's accounting rulemaker, a bond attorneys' group has pulled contentious public pension-disclosure language from its most recent proposal, according to a draft of the group's pension-disclosure guidance circulated earlier this month.

The Obama administration is bringing back to Washington a key advocate for the Build America Bond program to help strategize the president's job-creation initiatives.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Thursday he will introduce legislation when Congress reconvenes to establish a Social Security tax for high-earning workers, hoping to buffer the entitlement program from benefits cuts.

WASHINGTON — Five states — California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania — accounted for 40% of the continuing disclosures filed with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board since July 2009, according to a report released Thursday.

The federal budget deficit can be brought down if Congress follows through with mandated spending cuts and policy changes envisioned in current law — such as the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts — the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Municipal advisors would have to determine whether transactions or products are suitable for conduit borrowers under a proposal the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — State transportation officials are warning of dire consequences for both improvement projects and the bond issues they may use to finance them if Congress allows federal aid for state and local highway and transit projects to end Sept. 30.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has opened an audit of $360.7 million of bonds issued in 2009 by Vernon, Calif., which has been roiled by political scandals and could be disincorporated pending the outcome of state legislation.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board held a regional roundtable session with local finance officials from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia last week, in what may become the first of a series of such events here and around the nation.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed a proposed rule and interpretive notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission that details how municipal advisors would have to comply with their fiduciary duty to put the interests of issuers and other clients first.

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has tapped Gary Barnett to serve as director of its new Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed a proposed rule with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would require muni advisors to establish supervisory systems to ensure they and their "associated persons" comply with SEC and MSRB rules.

WASHINGTON - Garvee bond ratings are at risk from the increasingly unpredictable budget and policy process in Washington, Standard & Poor's warned in a report released Friday.

WASHINGTON - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed a new proposed rule with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would prevent municipal advisors from engaging in pay-to-play practices, making political contributions to state and local government officials to influence the award of advisory business.

BRADENTON, Fla. - South Miami, has reached a closing agreement and settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over impermissible uses of tax-exempt bond and bank loan proceeds to build a parking garage.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service finalized its regulations for tax-exempt financing of solid-waste disposal facilities, adopting most of the recommendations proposed by attorneys last year, market participants said Thursday.