Law and legal issues

Fiscally troubled Central Falls, R.I., faces federal Chapter 9 bankruptcy if recommendations by the state-appointed receiver — which include annexation by a neighboring city — are not successfully implemented, according to a report released Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO — The bankrupt city of Vallejo, Calif., will be losing its top two finance officials.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is giving the market advance notice that, as of Feb. 14, it will begin requiring dealers acting as underwriters, placement agents, or remarketing agents to provide its EMMA website with certain information about the continuing disclosure agreements for new bond issues.

DALLAS — The Texas attorney general’s office filed papers in a Dallas County state district court Wednesday rejecting the effort by Irving to divert state taxes to support city bonds for a $250 million entertainment complex in the Dallas suburb.

Pennsylvania Wednesday announced that its cash-strapped capital city, Harrisburg, will be placed in its program for financially distressed municipalities. The city as a result will work with an outside financial adviser to craft a fiscal recovery plan.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined New York-based Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $400,000 for violations of securities rules involving municipal and corporate bonds.

Senate Democrats are pushing for an omnibus appropriations measure to keep the federal government and bond-related programs funded through Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2011, instead of moving forward with a continuing resolution that was approved by the House last week.

Oral arguments are expected to take place early next year on CIFG Assurance North America Inc.'s request that a New York State court judge order Assured Guaranty Corp. to cover the policy on $83.3 million of Xenia Iowa Rural Water District bonds as part of its reinsurance agreement.

Investors who own bonds issued by the bankrupt Connector 2000 Association Inc. toll road have tentatively reached an agreement with the issuer and South Carolina to exchange their outstanding debt for new bonds.

A state appellate court has at least temporarily halted California's sale of 11 state-owned buildings to private investors. The deal was slated to close Wednesday, but will now be delayed until at least Dec. 29 after the appeals court granted a temporary stay.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board's proposed changes in public pension accounting and reporting standards, if adopted, will not have immediate credit implications, but probably would make the reporting of year-to-year unfunded pension liabilities more volatile, Standard & Poor's will say in a report Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Since the Securities and Exchange ­Commission and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rolled out separate registration systems for municipal advisers this fall, there has been ­widespread confusion over the requirement that advisers register with both regulators.

SAN FRANCISCO — A judge here ruled Friday California can proceed with a $2.3 billion sale and leaseback of 11 government-owned office buildings.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday filed a six-count indictment against three former UBS bankers — Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz and Michael Welty — for participating in fraud schemes and conspiracies in connection with the bidding of investment and other contracts for municipal bonds from as early as 2001 until 2006.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department Thursday filed a six-count indictment against three former UBS bankers — Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz and Michael Welty — for participating in fraud schemes and conspiracies in connection with the bidding of investment and other contracts for municipal bonds from as early as 2001 until 2006.

Fighting insolvency, the Xenia Rural Water District of Iowa made a partial debt-service payment due last week on $83 million of water revenue bonds — with CIFG Assurance North America Inc. covering the remainder — as the struggling utility prepares to release a restructuring plan later this month.

The Justice Department has filed a new indictment against CDR Financial Products and three current and former officials that expands on some of the original October 2009 charges against them to include so-called honest services fraud — a criminal statute that survived a Supreme Court challenge earlier this year and is often used to prosecute wrongdoing by public officials.

Morgan Stanley is the latest target of MBIA Inc.'s quest to win back more than $2 billion of claims it paid on mortgage-backed securities that went bust during the financial crisis.

An Alabama circuit court judge last week ruled unconstitutional an occupational and business license tax that provides a major source of income for Jefferson County's general fund budget. Commissioners are appealing the decision, the Birmingham News reported.

California's Assembly speaker has introduced a bill to disincorporate the Los Angeles County city of Vernon, which has a tiny population but more than $500 million of outstanding bond debt.