Washington

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.

WASHINGTON - Private-activity bond issuance rose in 2010 for the first time in three years because of a big jump in bonds spurred by a two-year housing recovery program that was enacted during the financial crisis, according to an annual survey and market participants.

WASHINGTON - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined seven firms a total of $362,500 for violations of municipal securities rules.

WASHINGTON - Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Schapiro is expected to preside over a one-day hearing on the municipal securities market near Birmingham, Ala., in two weeks, sources said.

WASHINGTON - George K. Baum & Co. and CDR Financial Products, Inc. were bidding agents for muni reinvestment transactions involving J.P. Morgan Securities where bid-rigging occurred, according to court and bond documents as well as transaction participants.

WASHINGTON - First Southwest Co., as bidding agent for a repurchase agreement related to a $233 million bond deal in Texas for which it was financial adviser, improperly allowed JPMorgan Securities to lower its bid for the repo, reducing the issuer's investment rate, according to documents and transaction participants.

House Republicans are trying to divert $1 billion dollars of high-speed rail funding still left in the federal government's coffers from President Obama's stimulus program toward flood-control aid in the Midwest.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday that only about 20% of governmental issuers that responded to a survey showed they have written procedures or some system to make sure they comply with tax laws and rules after their bonds are issued.

LOS ANGELES - Pacifica Law Group, a recently formed public finance firm in Seattle, announced two prominent industry lawyers have joined its team.

WASHINGTON - One year after the enactment of a sweeping financial reform law, municipal market participants say the overhaul has created an environment of uncertainty, not dramatic change.

WASHINGTON - The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board may boost its oversight of the derivatives market, including guaranteed investments contracts that are at the center of a bid-rigging investigation by the Justice Department and other federal and state agencies, an MSRB official said Tuesday.