CFTC Chair Timothy Massad criticized the failure of the 2016 budget agreement to provide "even a small increase" for the CFTC's "critical work" in a market with a budget of $1.1 trillion. Chair Massad asserted that "[t]he failure to provide the CFTC even a modest increase in the fiscal year 2016 budget agreement sends a clear message that meaningful oversight of the derivatives markets, and the very types of products that exacerbated the global financial crisis, is not a priority."

The SEC requested comments on FINRA's proposal to amend NASD Rule 1022 ("Categories of Principal Registration") and NASD Rule 1032 ("Categories of Representative Registration"). The proposal would remove the deadline before which eligible registrants must complete the firm-element continuing education requirement to engage in a security futures business. The SEC request for comments was published in the Federal Register. Comments must be submitted by January 11, 2016.

The North American Securities Administrators Association ("NASAA") released its annual list of top investor threats. NASAA urged investors to be cautious when approached with unsolicited investments such as promissory notes, oil and gas deals, and real estate investment opportunities. NASAA made the following recommendations concerning the five "most problematic products, practices or schemes": Unregistered Products/Unlicensed Salesmen: The offer of securities by an individual without a valid securities license should be considered a "red alert for investors." Promissory Notes: Average

U.S. House Representatives Peter Roskam (R-IL), Richard Neal (D-MA), Phil Roe (R-TN) and John Larson (D-CT) introduced legislation that would require the DOL to receive congressional approval before implementing a final fiduciary rule. The legislation also outlines an alternative standard to the DOL's fiduciary proposal in the combined proposals of the "Strengthening Access to Valuable Education and Retirement Support Act" (the "SAVERS Act of 2015") (H.R. 4294) and the "Affordable Retirement Advice Protection Act" (the "ARAP Act") (H.R. 4293). According to the representatives, "the proposals

The Shortened Settlement Cycle Industry Steering Committee ("ISC") outlined the timeline and activities required to move to a two-day settlement cycle ("T+2") in the U.S. It published the outline in an " Implementation Playbook" white paper. The white paper provides a suggested guideline for regulatory actions, industry actions, market participant implementation, industry testing, and migration milestones and dependencies identified by the industry, in order to meet the Q3 2017 goal for migration to a T+2 settlement. The ISC anticipates rule changes from a number of government regulators and