Law and regulation

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board are proposing rules that would require dealers as principals to disclose to customers a “reference price” of the same security traded that same day as well as the difference between that price and the customer’s price.

A municipal market research firm is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a review of its municipal bond disclosure rules to address what it warns are "glaring gaps" in market practices.

A federal appeals court appears likely to hear oral arguments in the case of three convicted UBS AG bid riggers early next year, according to documents filed with the court this week.

An issuer has publicly disclosed its agreement to participate the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative, a decision several bond lawyers said could be a major misstep.

Many major U.S. cities still suffer from the fiscal crisis, despite rising housing prices and the falling national jobless rate, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The municipal market should expect increased attention from the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division, with a focus on pension fund abuses and pay to play violations, the SEC's top cop said Monday.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's municipal securities division will honor Kenneth D. Gibbs, president of the Municipal Securities Group of Jefferies LLC, with its 2014 Honor Roll Award at a luncheon Tuesday in New York City.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's unprecedented enforcement action against a former municipal official earlier this week in a case involving Allen Park, Mich. should make public leaders aware and cautious, legal experts and issuer officials said Friday.

President Obama has appointed Jerry Abramson, who formerly served as both Mayor of Louisville, Ky. and president of U.S. Conference of Mayors, as White House liaison to state and local governments.

Long-term public municipal issuance volume reached $71.8 billion, down by 13.6% from the previous quarter, but up by 5.2% from a year ago, according to the third-quarter Municipal Credit Report by Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Thursday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Allen Park, Mich., and two former city leaders with fraud in connection with a municipal bond offering to support a movie studio project within the city.

Having consolidated control of both the House and Senate for the first time in eight years, Republicans on Wednesday vowed to end the gridlock and begin passing legislation early next year. President Obama urged Congress to move forward with corporate tax reform to help pay for infrastructure improvements – an issue that has some bipartisan support.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts has released the first part of a new set of best practices for general obligation bond disclosure that includes separate criteria for state and local securities.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the next likely chairman of the Senate Banking Committee following the Republican takeover of the chamber, is expected to push for greater oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission and to oppose Federal Reserve policy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement action against 13 dealer firms Monday represents a broad commission effort to correct behavior that was probably due to mistakes by individual traders dealing with an unusual bond issuance, attorneys and market participants said Tuesday.

Former Miami, Fla. budget director Michael Boudreaux is seeking a rehearing before a full federal court of appeals after a three-judge panel earlier this year denied his claim of immunity from a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today sanctioned 13 firms for improperly selling Puerto Rico bonds in denominations below a $100,000 minimum denomination set in a $3.5 billion offering earlier this year.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will seek Securities and Exchange Commission approval of its proposal to extend its pay-to-play rule to include municipal advisors as well as changes to post-trade disclosure requirements.

The Bond Dealers of America is suggesting a change to the way dealers would get affirmations from sophisticated municipal market professionals under the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed amendments to its rule governing interactions with those market participants to whom dealers owe fewer duties.

Convicted bid-riggers Peter Ghavami, Michael Welty, and Gary Heinz are urging a federal appeals court to overturn a lower court's decision on the basis of an expired statute of limitations, improper testimony, and other alleged errors in their earlier trial, but the federal government is arguing the lower court was correct to punish the former UBS AG executives.