Washington

Financial advisor Montague DeRose & Associates has merged with Annette Yee & Company.

A federal judge denied a request by two Florida counties for additional documents about public financing for the All Aboard Florida private passenger train project, moving their lawsuits closer to a ruling on dismissal.

Six lawmakers are joining the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, while two are joining its counterpart, the Senate Finance Committee.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's enforcement priorities for 2017 will include ensuring municipal advisors are properly registered with regulators, checking broker-dealers' compliance with best execution requirements, and monitoring firms' efforts to avoid unsuitable recommendations of securities.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday in his inaugural speech as Senate Minority Leader that he hopes for more direct spending in President-elect Donald Trump's proposed $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

Nearly three-quarters of state pension plans and more than half of local plans cut benefits and/or raised employee contributions to combat rising employer costs in the five years following the financial crisis, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College said Tuesday.

Muni participants predict 2017 may bring the first major tax legislation in three decades, and they are pulling out all the stops to make sure the muni exemption is maintained to finance infrastructure.

While most muni market participants agree that 2017 could be the year of comprehensive tax reform, they have mixed views on whether the muni exemption is safe under the tax proposals of President-Elect Donald Trump and House Republicans.

Outlook for Public-Private Partnerships in 2017

Tolls on interstate highways are seen as the only way to provide the revenue stream in President-elect Donald Trump's infrastructure proposal.

Finding more revenue for transportation infrastructure will be elusive but obtainable in 2017.

President-elect Trump's $1 trillion, 10-year infrastructure plan has the potential to reshape funding for roads, transit and bridges.

Members of Donald Trump's transition team have been reaching out to muni market participants as the President-elect plans an infrastructure task force.

Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement officials are expected to focus on disclosure and pricing abuses as well as increase their oversight of municipal advisors during the coming year, according to regulators and market participants.

Disclosure, pricing actions expected along with uptick in MA focus

In the regulatory and legislative arenas next year, dealers will have to grapple with how to set up compliance programs for markup disclosure rules while municipal advisors try to adjust to the many rules adopted in 2016 and issuers work to improve disclosure to stave off legislation.

Participants expecting dealer, MA focuses despite SEC uncertainty.

States will have a modest increase in their capacity to issue private activity bonds in 2017, based on data from the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Multiple early initiatives will crowd Donald Trump's administration, Citi VP and former White House advisor Candi Wolff told Massachusetts investors.

Full repeal of the Affordable Care Act may cut hospital revenue by close to $400 billion over the next 10 years, putting pressure on healthcare bond ratings and state and local budgets.