BOSTON – State transportation system overseers are moving ahead on unwinding a series of swaps, sophisticated financial bets on the direction of interest rates, that have kept part of the state's transportation-related debt payments locked in at higher rates.
Terminating the interest-rate swaps with UBS and Deutsche Bank is part of a broader effort on the part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the state transportation department to get more favorable terms on its debt. It is sold by Wall Street banks, who earn significant fees from the transactions, as a way to hedge against the risk of higher costs on variable-rate debt, providing a kind of financial insurance.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union says federal officials are investigating whether gender discrimination exists in Hollywood.
Attorney Melissa Goodman said Wednesday the wide-ranging investigation into the industry's hiring practice is being conducted by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
