Detroit News – Several top officials in the Obama administration will tour the Washington Auto Show this week, getting a firsthand look at the auto industry’s newest offerings at a time when they are considering significant auto regulations.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Carol Browner, White House coordinator for climate and energy policy, are to tour the show and meet with top auto industry officials, the White House confirmed late Sunday.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, also will attend, spokesmen for the pair confirmed. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, is also expected to attend.

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Reuters – Securities regulators are locking horns with some of the U.S.’s most powerful mutual funds and Wall Street players over plans to scrap requirements that money market funds hold investment-grade securities.

For years, the Securities and Exchange Commission allowed fund firms to buy only highly rated municipal bonds for money market funds but now the SEC is considering changing that rule in an effort to curb investors’ reliance on credit ratings.

Ironically, players like The Vanguard Group, one of the biggest in the $12.3 trillion (7 trillion pounds) mutual fund industry, want less freedom instead of more, arguing the SEC-mandated ratings offer would-be investors a sense of comfort.

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