Muni Think

Some non-dealer municipal advisors wrongly believe providing advice to an issuer in their capacity as a municipal advisors means they can also act as an intermediary between the issuer and investors.

As it steps up its efforts to police the municipal securities market, the regulator is turning to potentially career ending sanctions for municipal officials.

With the government contemplating changes to the tax exempt status of municipal bonds and investors faced with dubiously researched claims about the potential for defaults, the industry needs someone to step into the late Jim Lebenthal's role, his daughter writes.

When markets are so opaque that trading occurs only in a small fraction of outstanding issues, transactional and risk clarity has to be restored, a market advisor writes.

Are some tax-exempt bond issuers incurring unnecessary costs and unexpected risks by over-relying on traditional fixed rate debt?

The Allen Park, Mich., case marks the first time a city official has been charged on the theory that he "controlled" the persons who committed the primary securities law violations, even though he isn't alleged to have participated or even known of the conduct at issue.

Voters in California and Texas, the nation's two most populous states, scored notable victories for fiscal responsibility on Election Day by overwhelmingly taking stands against shifting today's obligations onto the backs of future generations.

While Puerto Rico faces fiscal problems that are similar to those of 1970s New York, it's important to note the differences between the two economies as the island commonwealth seeks a solution.

While finding new revenue sources for highway improvements is indeed a thorny political issue, analysts at Conning feel that the credit quality of the existing bonds remains sound.

Delivery of the Official Statement satisfies MSRB Rule G-32 - but not the new Time-of-Trade Disclosure Rule, MSRB Rule G-47.