Washington

Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler said a credit default by the federal government would hurt state bonds.

WASHINGTON - Some airport bond ratings could be hurt by the congressional stalemate over funding the Federal Aviation Administration, according to credit rating analysts.

WASHINGTON - With lawmakers in Washington still deadlocked over a debt-ceiling solution, public finance attorneys are evaluating what the effects of a U.S. downgrade would be on the municipal bond market.

CHICAGO - The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has assembled a group of 25 public employers and pension plans to "field test" the implementation of its proposed changes to state and local governments pension accounting standards, according to the organization's research manager.

WASHINGTON - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board would begin collecting a $300 annual assessment from municipal advisers beginning this fall if the Securities and Exchange Commission approves the proposal the board filed with it on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Market participants are split over public pension-disclosure guidance floated earlier this year by a bond lawyers' group, with analysts saying they need more information about a plan's future funding status and issuers and pension experts balking at providing speculative information about future liabilities.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. and SunTrust Investment Services Inc. a total of $5 million for disclosure and other failures related to underwriting and selling auction-rate securities.

WASHINGTON - State and local groups on Monday urged congressional leaders and the Obama administration to quickly reach a long-term solution to the debt-limit crisis, warning it has stalled key legislation.

WASHINGTON - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Thursday warned that the variable-rate demand obligation market "may be under pressure" over the next year and a half as bank credit facilities expire.

The chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said Thursday that she wants the panel to approve a bipartisan, two-year $109 billion transportation reauthorization bill before Congress leaves for its August recess.

WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission is probing a number of governmental entities about the adequacy of their public pension disclosures, chairwoman Mary Schapiro told lawmakers Thursday.

Washington Treasurer James McIntire said the state successfully pulled off its first retail-bond negotiated offering in more than 14 years, booking orders for more than $89 million worth of the debt.

WASHINGTON - The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors did a turnaround on Wednesday and voted 11 to 1 to approve the construction of an above-ground station for the metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport.

WASHINGTON - Transportation advocates told members of Congress on Wednesday that a healthy tax-exempt bond market, an expansion of the use of private-activity bonds, and the reinstatement of Build America Bonds would help finance much-needed infrastructure improvements.

WASHINGTON - A closely watched appeals court case that could determine whether investors may sue firms over allegedly faulty disclosure for auction-rate securities has pitted the Securities and Exchange Commission against a broker-dealer group.

The failure of lawmakers in Washington to come to grips with a fast-approaching deadline to boost the federal debt ceiling is beginning to affect the municipal bond market.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A $1.1 billion transportation project aimed at alleviating congestion around Atlanta has qualified to apply for a low-interest federal loan as part of the financing plan.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is proposing to reduce the cost of the $3.8 billion metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport by having Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Virginia pay for parking garages and a station with federal assistance.

The Vermont Student Loan Assistance Corp., which has been in discussions with the Internal Revenue Service to settle a tax law dispute over $165 million of auction-rate securities it sold in 1998, disclosed that the IRS is expanding its audit to include more of the issuer’s ARS.

Broker-dealers who are primary distributors of 529 college savings plans would have to disclose information about their total assets, the assets of underlying portfolios, contributions, and withdrawals on a quarterly basis, under a proposal the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board released Tuesday.