Washington

WASHINGTON — Energy and climate change legislation unveiled yesterday in the Senate would create a $3 billion tax-credit bond program for vehicles powered by natural gas, allow private-activity bond financing for advanced nuclear power facilities, expand a nuclear loan guarantee program, and provide $2 billion of competitive grants for transportation projects.

WASHINGTON — The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has temporarily suspended a $650 million deal for its Metrorail extension project, citing market volatility. However, the delay will not affect construction, authority officials said.

GE Funding Capital Market Services Inc., a subsidiary of General Electric Capital Corp., does not agree with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s plans to file charges against it in connection with an industry-wide investigation of guaranteed investment contracts and derivatives, but is discussing the matter, including a “potential resolution,” with SEC staff.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service are seeking public input on which projects should be included on the 2010-2011 priority guidance list.

WASHINGTON — Congressional appropriators will be hard-pressed to provide more funding for high-speed rail for fiscal 2011 unless there is clear evidence that the $10.5 billion lawmakers approved for the sector has been used by state and local governments, a congressional staffer said yesterday at a rail industry meeting here.

Bonds backed by federally guaranteed student loans are subject to greater short-term basis risk because of a mismatch in the way the interest rate on the bonds is calculated compared to the way the Department of Education sets interest on the underlying loans that flow into bond trusts, according to a report released by Fitch Ratings yesterday.

The Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District in Oregon has disclosed that it is entering into the Internal Revenue Service’s voluntary closing agreement program to protect the tax-exempt status of $2.5 million of general obligation bonds it sold in 1998.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt bond office this fiscal year plans to close 1,200 examinations — more than double its all time high of 581, its director says.

WASHINGTON — An amendment to financial regulatory reform legislation that would impose a broad fiduciary duty on financial services firms when they give advice and recommendations to public entities and pension funds is pitting dealers against advisers in the municipal market.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission is launching a nationwide inquiry into the municipal market that will lead to recommendations for specific statutory and regulatory changes to better protect investors, an SEC official said at the Investment Company Institute general membership meeting here Friday.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission is launching a nationwide inquiry into the municipal market that will lead to recommendations for specific statutory and regulatory changes to better protect investors, an SEC official said at the Investment Company Institute general membership meeting here Friday.

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — Two senators plan to introduce legislation as soon as today to permanently extend a popular provision in last year’s stimulus law that was designed to encourage banks to buy municipal debt from small issuers but would expire at the end of the year without congressional action.

The House Ways and Means Committee’s select revenue measures panel will hold a hearing Thursday on proposals to create an infrastructure bank.

WASHINGTON — Citing market turbulence, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said late Friday it would delay its second deal to finance construction of a Metrorail extension that will ultimately link downtown Washington, D.C., with Washington Dulles International Airport.

The Internal Revenue Service has found that the vast majority of colleges and universities have endowment funds invested in a wide range of securities.

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — The National Federation of Municipal Analysts presented awards to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and five individuals last week, including Wisconsin state capital finance director Frank Hoadley and B.C. Ziegler & Co. director of research Ed Merrigan, during its annual conference here.

WASHINGTON — Last month, the Oklahoma fire marshal’s office cut staff again, dropping its headcount to 27 workers from 34 at full capacity four years ago, as another round of spending cuts was imposed.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is preparing to take enforcement action against certain firms for selling municipal bonds to retail customers without disclosing material information, including that the bonds’ credit ratings had been spiraling downward, a FINRA official said Thursday.

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — Even as the major municipal market groups have pledged to work to improve continuing-disclosure practices, voluntary improvements to their timeliness and quality remains elusive after years of debate, some analysts say.

WASHINGTON — Utilities and energy companies are urging federal lawmakers to remove a provision of the financial regulatory reform bill that would impose a fiduciary duty on swap dealers engaging in transactions with state and local governments and require them to put the governments’ interest before their own.