Washington

Many bond lawyers feel that with all municipal rating agencies soon to be beaming live ratings to EMMA, the Securities and Exchange Commission should amend its rules so that issuers no longer have to worry about filing notices of upgrades and downgrades.

The Treasury Department announced on Friday that it will indefinitely suspend sales of state and local government securities beginning at noon on March 13 because of the federal debt limit.

Bond lawyers are warning their issuer clients that they are operating at their own peril if they do not spend their bond proceeds in a timely fashion, since Internal Revenue Service agents in audits are raising concerns about proceeds that are spent late or not spent at all.

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has promoted its deputy general counsel Lawrence Sandor to the newly created position of chief compliance officer.

Large financial firms can expect continued scrutiny for risk management, internal controls and governance, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said in New York.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts has released a paper on best practices in disclosure for bank loans, an opaque segment of the municipal debt market that is getting increased attention from regulators.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is likely to propose requiring alternative trading systems to report quotation information on municipal securities to it in the future, industry officials said after listening to speakers on a federal regulatory update panel at a conference here on Monday afternoon.

The dialogue over tax reform provides an opening for state and local governments to educate members of Congress and their staff about municipal bonds, how they work and what they do.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is asking the Internal Revenue Service to modify or withdraw a memorandum about defeasances of Build America Bonds.

The Internal Revenue Service is asserting that $25.42 million of bonds, which were issued by the California Statewide Communities Development Authority in 2005 and benefit the Sweetwater Union High School District, are taxable private-activity bonds.

Moody's Investors Service ratings will be available on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA website later this year, ending the rating agency's long holdout from the site.

Circumstances have changed and a different approach to Puerto Rico debt is warranted.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to create baseline standards of professional qualification for municipal advisors.

Standard & Poor's raised its long-term rating to AA-minus from A-plus on Kelso, Wash.'s 2008 general obligation bonds.

New York City public advocate Letitia James has filed a friend of the court brief in support of the Securities and Exchange Commission's pay-to-play restriction on investment advisers, which is under attack in a lawsuit filed by two state Republican parties last year.

Legislation that would allow government-owned corporations in Puerto Rico to reorganize through Chapter 9 may face an uphill battle after drawing a lukewarm reception from Republicans on a House panel Thursday.

Almost 300 House Democrats and Republicans joined in a letter pushing for passage of a long-term highway bill by May 31.

The SEC concluded without charges an investigation it launched into Bell, Calif.'s bond debt in 2010 after fraud perpetuated on the city by the former administration came to light.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is still seeking a leader for its Office of Municipal Securities, and is keeping its search open until next month.

Public policy scholar Dall Forsythe will join the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as a public member to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Robert Fippinger, who is becoming the MSRB's chief legal officer.