CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo warned against the potentially harmful effects of the CFTC's proposed rules on trading position limits. "If left unchanged, the proposed rules will impose federal regulatory edicts in place of commercial judgment in everyday risk hedging," he argued. The Commissioner delivered his remarks in a keynote address before the Capital Link Global Commodities, Energy and Shipping Forum. Commissioner Giancarlo addressed specific concerns on position limits voiced at panel presentations before the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee ("EEMAC")

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, SEC Division of Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney called for pending amendments ( S. 356) to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to offer stronger privacy protections and observe constitutional boundaries without frustrating the legitimate ends of civil law enforcement. The proposed amendments would require government entities to procure criminal warrants when seeking out the content of emails and other electronic communications from Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Mr. Ceresney explained that because the SEC and

FINRA proposed a rule change that would merge its dispute resolution subsidiary, FINRA Dispute Resolution, Inc. "into and with" its regulatory subsidiary, FINRA Regulation, Inc. According to the filing, FINRA would make conforming amendments to the Delegation Plan, amend the FINRA Regulation By-Laws to incorporate unique provisions from the FINRA Dispute Resolution By-Laws and to make other conforming amendments, delete the FINRA Dispute Resolution By-Laws, and make conforming amendments to FINRA rules. The proposed rule change would also amend the FINRA Regulation By-Laws to increase the

The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("ASIFMA") and other associations (collectively, the "associations") submitted comments to the China Banking Regulatory Commission on general principles for enhancing IT Security in the banking sector. In their comments, the associations recommended: Transparency and sufficient time for consultation with industry principals on proposed approaches in the policy-making process; Flexible and adaptable policies that avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to "developing IT security guidelines in the banking sector"; A risk-based approach to

FINRA filed a proposal to amend FINRA Rule 8312 ("FINRA BrokerCheck Disclosure"). Under the proposed rule change, the 15-day waiting period for the release of negative information on Form U5 through BrokerCheck would be reduced to three days. The main purpose of the reduction is to expedite public disclosures of any negative information about a broker-dealer employee.