A U.S. federal judge on Thursday said American cities may pursue class-action claims accusing eight large banks of driving up interest rates they paid on a popular municipal bond. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan rejected efforts by Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada and Wells Fargo to require cities to pursue claims individually, likely reducing potential recoveries.