AUSTIN, Texas—-In the course of routine surveillance, Fitch Ratings has affirmed its ‘A’ rating for Harlandale Independent School District, Texas’ $25.5 million outstanding unlimited tax debt.

The pendulum of government regulation is swinging in a new direction. The government spent most of the past three decades dismantling rules put in place to fix the bad practices that led to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE:

President Barack Obama proposed sweeping new “rules of the road” for the nation’s financial system Wednesday, casting the changes as a critically important response to the economic crisis and the greatest regulatory transformation since the Great Depression.

Technology shares buoyed the Nasdaq on Wednesday after positive broker comments on Qualcomm, but financial shares’ losses held back the Dow and the S&P 500.

Many financials are overpriced and prime targets for chicken shorts.

Airline shares rose Wednesday afternoon after a morning decline, as oil prices fell and financial updates from some big carriers were received positively.

Shares of Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. surged Wednesday after a panel of arthritis experts said the company’s gout drug candidate should be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Shares of diesel-engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. fell Wednesday, as investors fretted about the deterioration of the trucking industry.

Exelon Corp., the nation’s largest nuclear power generator, said Wednesday that it has sent a letter to NRG Energy Inc. stockholders urging them to support Exelon’s takeover bid.