Washington

WASHINGTON — Retail order periods are often gamed so that retail investors do not get many bonds and dealers or institutional investors sometimes “flip” bonds, purchasing them and then immediately reselling them to retail investors at higher prices, market participants told the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board last week.

Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi announced Friday that he will step down from his post by Nov. 1, the same time that a new bonding authority, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will begin overseeing most surface transportation systems throughout the state.