SIFMA submitted a comment letter to the IRS about its final and temporary regulations relating to broker reporting on bond and acquisition premiums, original issue discounts ("OID") on tax-exempt bonds, and covered Section 1256 options. SIFMA welcomed the new temporary regulations, which are effective for debt instruments acquired on or after January 1, 2015, that require brokers to report market discount to their customers with the assumption that the customers have elected to accrue market discount based on a constant yield basis. See Temporary Treasury regulations Section 1.6045-1T(n)(11)(i

The SEC request for comment on new, novel or complex exchange-traded products ("ETPs") was published in the Federal Register. The SEC is soliciting more information as it reviews the listing and trading of ETPs, including requests by ETPs for exemptive and no-action relief under the Exchange Act and filings by exchanges to adopt listing standards applicable to ETPs. The SEC is also soliciting comments about the ways in which broker-dealers market these products, especially to retail investors. Additionally, the SEC is seeking comments on investors' understanding of the nature and uses of ETPs

The SEC announced an enforcement action against a company for offering complex derivatives products to retail investors without the required registration statements. According to the SEC, the Silicon Valley-based Sand Hill Exchange ("Sand Hill") invited Web users to buy and sell contracts referencing pre-IPO companies and their value. Sand Hill also sought people to fund accounts using dollars or bitcoins. According to the SEC, the two entrepreneurs who began the company did not ask Web users about their financial holdings or limit offerings to users with any specific amount of assets. The SEC

The SEC announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a consent judgment against a senior information technology professional for insider trading. According to an SEC Complaint filed against him in September 2014, the individual had access to non-public information stored in the firm's client-related databases and garnered more than $300,000 in illicit profits using this information to trade in advance of merger announcements involving the firm's clients. The SEC found that the individual used accounts in his own name to engage in insider trading at first

IOSCO published a report titled "Credible Deterrence in the Enforcement of Securities Regulation." The report outlines key enforcement factors that may deter misconduct in the international securities and investment markets. The report, which was produced by the IOSCO Committee on Enforcement and the Exchange of Information, reflects the collective experience and expertise of IOSCO's members. The seven key elements for credible deterrence outlined in the report are as follows: legal certainty: consequences for misconduct must be certain and predictable; detecting misconduct: regulators must be