Bankruptcy

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined three firms $242,500 for municipal rules violations. They include $150,000 against Raymond James Financial Services for supervisory failures related to so-called 529 college savings plans it sold to clients.

Moody's Investors Service reiterated Monday that the possible bankruptcy of Ambac Financial Group is unlikely to affect policyholders of its bond insurer subsidiary. In addition, policyholders will benefit from recent growth in the insurer’s statutory surplus, the rating agency said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday approved a controversial set of rule changes floated by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board that will dictate the priority of retail and other customer orders in primary offerings, as well as dealers' related record-keeping responsibilities.

WASHINGTON — The South Carolina Department of Transportation is challenging the Connector 2000 Association Inc.’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing, delaying efforts to restructure $369 million of the agency’s toll road bonds that went into default at the beginning of the year.

WASHINGTON — Martin Kanefsky is the second broker of muni investment agreements that the Justice Department has taken action against, after CDR Financial Products, which the government indicted in October on nine criminal counts over alleged bid-rigging of muni investment and derivatives contracts.

Representatives of Menasha, Wis., and holders of $23 million of defaulted steam-plant bond anticipation revenue notes failed to reach an agreement during a mediation session earlier this month but will try again in September, officials said.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Alabama Attorney General Troy King late Thursday filed lawsuits against BP PLC and BP America Inc. as well as drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. and related companies for their roles in the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The South Florida Water Management District unanimously approved a plan Thursday to pay nearly $200 million in cash, instead of using bond financing, to purchase U.S. Sugar Corp. land for Everglades restoration projects.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. this week asked the judge handling the Vallejo bankruptcy case to order the resumption of state intercept payments that back one of the California city’s debt issues.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Former Birmingham Mayor and Jefferson County commissioner Larry Langford said Wednesday that his conviction should be reversed, mail fraud counts against him dismissed due to insufficient evidence, and he should be given a new trial.

WASHINGTON — Dealers are urging regulators not to impose fees on them to help fund the Governmental Accounting Standards Board until after a congressional watchdog agency completes a study of the standards setter.

Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. fell more deeply into the hole in the second quarter as the insolvent bond insurer lost more money on contracts linked to mortgage debt and its statutory deficit continued to widen.

A Miami-Dade County grand jury last week released a report on Jackson Health System, describing its financial problems as “a colossal mess.” No formal charges were brought by the panel.

The Harrisburg Authority will pay its entire $2.2 million, Sept. 1 payment to holders of incinerator bonds with debt reserve funds, as an incomplete board threatens the Pennsylvania agency’s ability to move ahead with needed business actions.

DALLAS — Bondholders are trying to find out what happened to a $200,000 debt-service reserve fund discovered missing when a north Texas issuer defaulted on $4 million of bonds used to purchase three retirement facilities.

A direct feed of the reset information for auction-rate securities and variable-rate demand obligations that dealers submit to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will cost $10,000 annually if the Securities and Exchange Commission signs off on a proposal submitted by the board Tuesday.

MBIA Inc. chief executive officer Jay Brown told investors Tuesday that the past two and a half years have proven the durability of his company’s balance sheet. Ambac Financial Group, by contrast, continued to warn that it may seek bankruptcy protection as early as 2011.

The Missouri Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court ruling that supports state laws on charter school financing.

DALLAS — Austin Bergstrom International Airport’s Hilton hotel faces a deepening financial hole in the wake of a series of defaults on $49 million of revenue bonds, according to a recent audit.

A federal judge in Birmingham last week denied motions filed by two former JPMorgan bankers to dismiss a Securities and Exchange Commission suit that alleges they committed securities fraud in connection with municipal bond and swap transactions with Jefferson County, Ala.