The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight and Division of Market Oversight extended no-action relief to certain commodity trading advisors from the requirement to record oral communications under CFTC Rule 1.35(a) ("Records of Commodity Interest and Related Cash or Forward Transactions"). CFTC Letter 15-65 extends the relief granted in CFTC Letter 14-147 to commodity trading advisors that are registered with the CFTC and are members of designated contract markets or swap execution facilities. CFTC Letter 14-147 also provided that market participants who are covered by the

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the conviction of a former bond trader for securities fraud, under Exchange Act § 10(b). The Court remanded the case and ordered a new trial. The Appellate Court found: with respect to charges against the bond trader of committing fraud against the United States and making false statements, the evidence adduced at trial provided an "insufficient basis for the jury to find that the defendant's misstatements were material to the government"; and with respect to the securities fraud counts, "the District Court exceeded its allowable

In a recent paper, Mercatus Center scholars Scott Sumner and Chad Reese addressed the need to demystify the oversight of monetary policy. They also suggested that arguments centered on the nuances of the Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization Act (FORM), which was passed recently by the House, ignore the bigger picture: the bill could allow the Fed and the Congress, at long last, to speak the same language. The authors noted that the FORM bill would require the Fed to develop a standard methodology for making monetary policy decisions, which they argued would allow Congress to understand how

FINRA proposed a rule change to create a separate rule set for firms that elect to be governed under it and that meet the definition of "capital acquisition broker." FINRA specified that a "capital acquisition broker" ("CAB") would mean any broker that engages solely in any one or more of the following activities: advising an issuer, including a private fund, concerning its securities offerings or other capital-raising activities; advising a company regarding its purchase or sale of a business or assets or regarding its corporate restructuring, including going-private transactions

The NFA proposed amending NFA Compliance Rule 2-7 ("Branch Office Managers and Designated Security Futures Principals"), Rule 2-24 ("Qualification Testing of Associated Persons") and Registration Rule 401 ("Qualification Testing Requirement"). The amendments make permanent, provisions that allow Security Futures Products associates to satisfy their proficiency requirements through training. The proposals will be effective ten days after the date of submission to the CFTC.