The Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institute hosted an event to discuss structural issues within the bond markets and how those markets have changed since the financial crisis. Counselor Antonio Weiss of the U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury") and Governor Jerome Powell of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") both made keynote remarks that addressed a recent staff report by the Treasury on events in the Treasury markets on October 15, 2014. Lofchie Comment : FRB representatives continue to assert with confidence that their actions have made the markets

At their quarterly meeting, the MSRB Board (the "Board") discussed several rulemaking proposals and corporate matters that will impact the fiscal year. The Board revisited an earlier proposal to require dealers to provide pricing reference information for municipal securities transactions on retail customer confirmations, and directed staff to prepare a second proposal for public comment. The Board also reviewed draft guidance that would require dealers to seek the most favorable terms reasonably available for their retail customers' transactions. The guidance will be finalized in the coming

The MSRB filed a proposed rule change with the SEC to revise the content outlines for the Municipal Fund Securities Limited Principal Qualification Examination (Series 51), the Municipal Securities Representative Qualification Examination (Series 52) and the Municipal Securities Principal Qualification Examination (Series 53). The revisions to the content outlines are effective immediately and will be implemented on August 31, 2015. See: MSRB Regulatory Notice 2015-12. Related news: MSRB to Amend Its Rules to Create Professional Qualification Standards for Municipal Advisors (Notice 2015-04)

In a World Socialist Web Site ("WSWS") article titled, "The Dodd-Frank Banking Law Five Years On," the WSWS considers the legacy of the Dodd-Frank Act. Referring to Dodd-Frank as "a smokescreen intended to deceive the American public into thinking that something substantive has been done about Wall Street," the article compared the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash to that of the 2008 financial breakdown, reviewing the regulatory responses by the government after each. The WSWS credited the 1929 response for the indictment of leading Wall Street bankers, the break-up of banking empires

The Financial Stability Board ("FSB") announced that it had decided to wait to finalize the assessment methodologies for non-bank, non-insurer, global systemically important financial institutions ("NBNI G-SIFIs") until the current FSB work on financial stability risks from asset management activities is completed. FSB stated that this will allow further analysis of potential financial issues associated with asset management entities and activities to inform the revised assessment methodology. SIFMA Asset Management Group ("SIFMA AMG") applauded FSB's decision to prioritize a review of asset