31.   In any other city in America, this would be, as technicians of municipal finance might say, a no-brainer.

32.   Instead, the SEC can pursue wrongdoing in municipal finance only if it finds violations of the anti-fraud provisions of federal securities laws.

33.   It has long been a tenet of municipal finance that behind any bond lies the willingness of the issuer to raise taxes, if necessary, to protect bondholders.

34.   Just three years later, though, Lazard closed its municipal finance department after a series of federal investigations, including the case in Los Angeles.

35.   Late last month, the SEC reached its biggest settlement ever in municipal finance.

36.   Lehman Brothers is a global investment bank handling corporate finance, municipal finance and fixed income and equity sales, advisory services, trading and research.

37.   LAZARD OUT OF MUNICIPALS Lazard Freres is getting out of the municipal finance business, where a series of missteps cost the firm clients and money.

38.   Lehman Brothers said its head of municipal finance, Stanley Ciemniecki, will leave the firm by the end of the year.

39.   Many cities are even running surpluses for the first time in years, say students of municipal finances and chief financial officers of a number of large cities.

40.   Many minorities in municipal finance say that while things may be bad, they are not ready to call it quits.