Washington

A federal agency called off a settlement announcement regarding the lawsuit challenging Rhode Island's pension overhaul law, while a judge set a September trial date.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has received dozens of filings for arbitration investors who say they were harmed by unsuitable advice doled out by UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico when the market for the commonwealth's bonds declined.

Former Bank of America executive Phillip Murphy pleaded guilt Monday in a North Carolina federal court to rigging municipal bond investment bids, while convicted bid-rigger Mark Zaino's sentencing has been delayed yet again in New York.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the extent to which dealers using alternative trading systems and broker's brokers are engaged in anti-competitive practices such as blocking or filtering out competitors from being able to bid on their municipal securities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud case against Miami and its former budget director Michael Boudreaux is on hold pending Boudreaux's appeal of the court's decision to invalidate his effort to claim immunity from the lawsuit.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board unveiled an updated look to its EMMA website Feb. 7, with a focus on improving ease of navigation for new users, the MSRB said.

Fitch Ratings said Thursday that it expects a gradual unwinding or restructuring of tender option bond programs over the next few months since they were not exempted from the Volcker Rule.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's muni office will spend the coming months implementing the final municipal advisor rule and reviewing MA rule filings by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, but the commission needs more resources to meet its expanded responsibilities.

Convicted bid-rigger Michael Welty and two co-defendants are moving for a new trial, claiming the government suppressed evidence in the form of an email that could have allowed Welty to challenge some of the government's claims against him.

Convicted bid-rigger David Rubin should pay more than $11,5 million in restitution to 99 municipal victims who have not been compensated for losses they incurred due to "kickbacks" and depressed interest rates resulting from criminal activity, according to U.S. Justice Department filings with a federal court this week.