FINRA issued a regulatory notice providing limited relief as to the requirement to promptly transmit a customer check received in connection with sales of securities on a subscription-way basis for the purpose of completing suitability reviews. The limited relief will allow firms to hold a customer check payable to an issuer or appropriate third-party payee acting on behalf of the issuer for up to seven business days from the date that an office of supervisory jurisdiction receives a complete and correct application package for the purchase of securities on a subscription-way basis. Certain

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a Consent Order ("Order") resolving CFTC charges that an individual attempted to manipulate the settlement prices of palladium and platinum futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange ("NYMEX"). According to the Order, from June 2006 to May 2008, a broker received market-on-close orders to buy palladium and platinum futures contracts from a customer with instructions to exert upward pressure prices. The Order stated that the broker waited to enter the portfolio manager's buy orders for the palladium and

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System appointed Brian F. Madigan secretary of the Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC") and deputy director of the Board's Division of Monetary Affairs. Mr. Madigan will replace Thomas Laubach. Se e: Press Release.

SEC National Associate Director of the Broker-Dealer Examination Program Kevin W. Goodman discussed components of an effective anti-money laundering program, factors to consider in evaluating a program's adequacy, and areas of focus for SEC examiners. At a conference hosted by SIFMA, Mr. Goodman stressed that AML involves more than simply preventing traditional kinds of money laundering. It also encompasses the prevention of fraud, insider trading and even manipulative trading schemes. He explained that compliance officers' obligations are primarily proactive rather than administrative. He

The SEC announced fraud charges against an investment advisory firm's former president, who is accused of stealing clients' funds. The SEC Enforcement Division alleges that the former president of SFX Financial Advisory Management Enterprises ("SFX") used his control of and discretionary authority over the accounts of several clients to steal approximately $670,000 over a five-year period by writing checks to himself and initiating wires from client accounts for his own benefit. The SEC filed a separate charge against SFX and its chief compliance officer ("CCO"), finding that the firm failed