Washington

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board today is expected to file long-awaited rule changes with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would implement the final phase of its transparency system for auction-rate securities and variable-rate demand obligations.

WASHINGTON — Any congressional extension of the Build America Bonds program will likely come with a gradual drop in the subsidy rate, and lawmakers may never reduce the rate to the 28% the Obama administration proposed in its fiscal 2011 budget, the top lawyer for the House tax-writing committee told treasurers meeting here yesterday.

The U.S. budget deficit is soaring into “unfamiliar territory” and could reach a “tipping point” where investors no longer want to buy Treasury securities, Congressional Budget Office director Douglas W. Elmendorf warned at a conference here yesterday.

A Securities and Exchange Commissioner, who caused a furor among issuers last fall by calling for the repeal of the Tower Amendment and securities law exemptions for municipal securities issues, has begun meeting with them to get their views on what actions the SEC should take.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Charles Grassley is opposing the expanded bond provisions included in the jobs bill the House passed Thursday, arguing that the higher subsidy rates in the legislation will just boost profits for Wall Street underwriters.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that it has reached a $1.95 million settlement with First Allied Securities Inc. for failing to supervise one of its former brokers who engaged in unauthorized, fraudulent trading in the accounts of two Florida municipalities.

WASHINGTON — The House yesterday approved a revised jobs bill that would allow issuers selling four types of tax-credit bonds to receive a direct Build America Bond-style subsidy payment from the federal government at a far higher rate than was proposed in the Senate version of the bill.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia on Tuesday expects to issue $711.2 million of income-tax secured revenue bonds, including $696 million of refunding bonds that will reduce outstanding debt to keep the city under its 12% debt-to-expenditures cap.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will unveil its principles for a new multi-year transportation bill within the next 90 days, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters yesterday at a conference here sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Charles Rangel’s resignation as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday fueled speculation among muni market participants about who will replace him, with Rep. Richard Neal the favorite of most muni market participants despite the fact that four other committee members have seniority over him.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board yesterday announced two enhancements to the muni securities trading data available on its Electronic Municipal Market Access site.

State and local governments could face 50 years of fiscal troubles — through 2060 — if current policy stays the same, the congressional Government Accountability Office said in a report published this week.

WASHINGTON — Multiple factors such as the lack of a White House proposal and a public push-back against gas-tax hikes or new mileage fees are working against the passage of a new multiyear transportation bill, market participants warned yesterday at a conference here sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service announced yesterday they have agreed to work together more closely to monitor and regulate municipal bonds — another signal that federal regulators have elevated the priority of the muni market.

States’ financial troubles do not pose a systemic risk to the municipal bond market and total issuance should be about the same in 2010 as last year, according to economists surveyed by the Regional Bond Dealers Association for its first semiannual economic forecast. However, they warned that states’ steep spending cuts pose a significant negative threat to the national economy.

WASHINGTON — States could lose $768 million of highway funds this week and be forced to delay or cancel projects due to the failure of Congress to approve a short-term extension of federal aid to states, state officials and transportation advocates said Monday.

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices yesterday signaled they have concerns about the “honest-services fraud” statute used to convict former Enron Corp. chief executive officer Jeffrey Skilling, but were unclear if they would grant his request that they declare it unconstitutionally broad and vague.

Two groups of tax attorneys last week urged the Treasury Department to modify its proposed regulations on bond-financed solid-waste disposal facilities to make sure they would cover all legitimate waste facilities.

An ethics report finding that House Ways and Means Committee chairman Charles Rangel violated congressional gift rules is the latest in a string of bad news for the embattled New York Democrat, but it remains unclear whether this friend of the muni market will eventually lose his powerful position.

WASHINGTON — States will not receive highway payments from the federal government starting today because of the Senate’s inability to clear a temporary extension of aid to states, although payments could resume this week, according to market sources.