Washington

Standard & Poor's began downgrading municipal bonds Monday, giving market participants a sense of the broad impact its downgrade of U.S. debt will likely have on the muni market.

WASHINGTON - If dealers take advantage of disruption in the financial markets to manipulate prices of municipal securities, they will be violating federal law, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board warned Monday.

Proposed municipal advisor rules on political contributions and supervision will not become effective until the Securities and Exchange Commission finalizes registration rules and defines the term "municipal advisor" later this year, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board said Friday.

Thousands of workers at the Federal Aviation Administration and airport construction projects around the country will be able to return to work this week because of a short-term funding extension.

For the second time in two months, the Internal Revenue Service has disclosed it is broadening an audit of student loan securities, focusing on the position that student loans should not be reallocated to different bond issues.

WASHINGTON - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Thursday filed proposed rule changes with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would subject municipal advisers to similar restrictions on gifts and gratuities that already apply to broker-dealers.

WASHINGTON - State and local governments may soon face a difficult choice in the ongoing fallout from state investigations of bid rigging in the municipal securities market: cash in now, or wait and collect potentially larger payments later from antitrust lawsuits seeking treble damages from banks and broker-dealers.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board warned financial advisers to state and local governments Wednesday that certain bank loans and financings may qualify as private placements of municipal securities, subjecting them to federal securities laws and MSRB rules that apply to broker-dealers.

State and local governments who issue draw-down bonds can breathe a sigh of relief now that the Internal Revenue Service has issued new guidance for their private-activity bond volume cap allocations.

WASHINGTON - District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray has refused to sign a council-approved bill that would delay taxing out-of-state bonds until Jan. 1, 2012, warning that the use of $13.4 million of reserve funds to pay for the delay could hurt the city's credit rating.

WASHINGTON - Broker-dealers are objecting to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's proposal that they pay a quarterly fee, based on their municipal bond sales, to help fund the board that sets accounting standards for state and local governments.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., has introduced a bill allowing states to collect online sales taxes - legislation that has broad support from the business community as well as state and local officials, but so far has not attracted any Republican co-sponsors.

SAN FRANCISCO - Washington has finalized its statewide ballot measures for November and they include a controversial initiative to limit tolls, the secretary of state's office said this week.

WASHINGTON - Municipal market participants on Monday were relieved that Congress was moving toward approving a bipartisan agreement to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit and avoid a default on federal debt, but were taking a wait-and-see approach on how the plan might ultimately affect the tax-exempt bond market.

WASHINGTON - At a meeting in Colorado Springs last week, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board voted to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission four final rules governing conduct by municipal advisers.

CHICAGO - Fitch Ratings Friday downgraded a swath of tobacco bonds - stripping some of their investment-grade ratings - as part of its annual sector review amid continued consumption declines by smokers and a dispute between the tobacco companies and states that is diminishing annual payments.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has initiated very few audits of Build America Bonds based on issuers' responses to the compliance check questionnaires sent to them last year, a Treasury Department inspector general said in a report released Monday.

WASHINGTON - Triple-A rated municipal issuers responded swiftly and strongly to being placed on watch for a possible downgrade, saying a federal debt default would not hinder their ability to pay bondholders.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Securities and Exchange Commission will issue a wide-ranging staff report about the municipal securities market, including recommendations for legislative change, commissioner Elisse Walter said Friday.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Ron Wyden has introduced a bill to create tax-credit bonds for transportation projects, hoping the program will navigate the political and economic realities that have challenged previous attempts at federal financing tools for state and local governments.