News and Information from Bond Buyer

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Thursday released a new draft rule that would govern the conduct of municipal advisors, alarming broker-dealers who fear a prohibition on business outside of an advisory relationship with an issuer could push dealer-affiliated MAs out of the market.

Howard Permut will retire as president of Metro-North Railroad, New York's MTA announced, and be replaced by Joseph Giulietti.

A bill abolishing the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and replacing it with a regional the toll-road agency cleared a Florida Senate Committee.

Maryland has selected four international construction consortiums to submit proposals to build, maintain and operate the proposed $2.2 billion Purple Line light-rail system that would connect Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties.

Several new deals in the tax-exempt marketplace Thursday showed munis remaining firm, even as some traders remained dubious ahead of the U.S. employment report Friday.

While supporting the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to cut asset purchased by $10 billion a month, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President and Chief Executive Officer Esther L. George called it a "modest" but "important" step toward normalization.

The Treasury Department Thursday auctioned $13 billion of 29-year 10-month bonds with a 3 3/4% coupon at a 3.899% high yield, a price of 97.378077.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority general manager Beverly Scott will receive the Transportation Research Board's Sharon D. Banks Award for humanitarian leadership in transportation.

California Gov. Jerry Brown proposes paying off the state's long-term debt, including all economic recovery bonds, and adding to its rainy day fund in his $106.8 billion general fund spending plan.

Detroit's negotiations this week with holders of the city's nearly $6 billion of water and sewer bonds went well enough that one investor said a settlement is likely.

The municipal market remained firm Thursday morning as traders looking at a small new issue calendar awaited Friday's U.S. employment data report.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction $28 billion 91-day bills and $26 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.

Sen. Dominick Ruggerio's bill would ban use of retirement system funds to pay Rhode Island's legal cost as it defends the unions' court fight of pension changes.

Puerto Rico general fund revenues jumped 26% in December from a year earlier. The increase was largely anticipated and beat budget projections by just 0.1%.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia revised the December general business conditions index to 6.4 from 7.0 as a result of its annual seasonal adjustment factor calculations.

Initial jobless claims dropped 15,000 to 330,000 in the week ended January 4, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The European Central Bank announced its Governing Council held interest rates at its latest monetary policy meeting Thursday.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has released a new draft rules governing the conduct of municipal advisors, and is requesting comment on whether it should extend a fiduciary duty standard to cover all clients of municipal advisors rather than municipal entity clients exclusively.

Jan. 9, 2014 Southeast: Plain/Insured GO Yield Curve* State Ratings One-Year Five-Year 10-Year 30-Year Alabama Aa1/AA/AA+ 0.19 1.37 2.95 4.37 Florida Aa1/AAA/AAA 0.19 1.4 2.93 4.36 Georgia Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.17 1.28 2.75 4.17 Kentucky Aa2/AA+/AA 0.19 1.41 2.98 4.42 Louisiana Aa2/AA/AA 0.18 1.4 2.96 4.39 Mississippi Aa2/AA/AA+ 0.2 1.4 2.98 4.38 North Carolina Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.17 1.28 2.75 4.17 South Carolina Aaa/AA+/AAA 0.17 1.3 2.78 4.19 Tennessee Aaa/AA+/AAA 0.17 1.29 2.8 4.22 Virginia Aaa/AAA/AAA 0.15 1.28 2.75 4.17 West Virginia Aa1/AA/AA 0.19 1.41 2.99 4.43