11.   Brown will cut back sales and trading of bonds with institutional investors and eliminate its fixed-rate municipal finance division.

12.   But if the agency backs down, it could be left with egg on its face, despite a series of recent successes in the municipal finance arena.

13.   But in all fairness, the murky world of municipal finance features plenty of things that would give outsiders pause.

14.   But the discord at the meeting nonetheless indicated that Marlin, a longtime executive in the municipal finance industry, is likely to be closely monitored by some commissioners.

15.   Competition in municipal finance has increased in the past few years amid a decline in the amount of new securities sold.

16.   Competition is fierce in municipal finance -- the business of issuing bonds for cities and towns to finance civic projects -- and so is the backbiting.

17.   Competition in municipal finance has increased in the past few years as the amount of new securities declined.

18.   Competition in municipal finance has increased in the past few years as the amount of new securities fell.

19.   Enormous budget deficits are coming, and perhaps a state takeover of municipal finances as well.