Washington

As the new chair of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Oct. 1, Colleen Woodell hopes the board will begin new initiatives on syndicate practices and pre-trade price transparency during her one-year term.

The Internal Revenue Service has informally advised the Baker Correctional Development Corp. in Florida that $45 million of first mortgage revenue bonds it issued in 2008 are taxable.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to propose an amendment to one of its rules that would shorten the standard settlement cycle for most bond and other securities transactions to two instead of three days after the trade date.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts is urging charter schools to provide detailed financial, academic, and staffing information in primary and secondary disclosure documents.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposed on Tuesday to create a standalone minimum denomination rule that would revise current and proposed requirements because of dealer complaints.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has improved its EMMA system to make it easier for issuers to disclose bank loans and other alternative financings after state and local officials complained the process was too confusing and seemed to lose some of these disclosures.

Miami officials will hold a special meeting with attorneys to determine whether to accept a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in light of a verdict finding the city guilty of securities fraud.

Former state and local officials on a House Financial Services Committee panel raised concerns Thursday about the lack of transparency of fees in municipal bond deals and the tendency by dealers to push for more negotiated than competitive bond transactions.

Dealers are struggling with how to comply with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed markup disclosure requirements and whether they can create computer programs or rely on pricing services for compliance.

Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso said the city has received a proposed settlement of the Securities and Exchange Commission's case, in which a jury found the city guilty of securities fraud last week.