Washington

The Internal Revenue Service has floated guidance to address a tax law concern about rules proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission that could require money market funds to move to floating net asset values.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to give it more time to comply with proposed rules that would require it to develop, test, maintain and monitor the technological systems that are integral to its operations as well as clarification about the extent to which the rules would apply.

Although municipal issuer defaults in the first half of 2013 are at a multi-year high at $7.6 billion, overall sector trends appear to be improving, according to a report published by Municipal Market Advisors Tuesday.

White-collar criminal defense firm Stillman & Friedman PC has joined with national law firm Ballard Spahr LLP in a partnership to help municipal bond market clients.

Municipal market participants say two Securities and Exchange Commission nominees, near toward confirmation, could influence both rulemaking and enforcement actions.

A bipartisan, bicameral foursome reintroduced legislation that would authorize $50 billion of tax-credit bonds over six years.

The sentencing dates of more convicted municipal bond bid-riggers have been pushed back, according to documents filed with the U.S. district Courts for the Southern District of New York and Western District of North Carolina, as prosecutors seek stiffer penalties for price-fixing of investment contracts.

Elaine Greenberg, chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Enforcement Unit, will step down at the end of July.

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing June 27 to consider two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investment Company Institute president and chief executive officer Paul Schott Stevens said Wednesday that ICI supports one federal proposal on money market fund reform, but strongly opposes the other.