The CFTC issued an Order of Registration to the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. ("TOCOM"), a Foreign Board of Trade ("FBOT") located in Tokyo, Japan. According to the Order, TOCOM is permitted to provide its identified members or other participants located in the U.S. with direct access to its electronic order entry and trade matching system. The access permits trade in futures contracts on metals, fuels, rubber, and agricultural commodities and futures and option contracts on gold. The CFTC found that TOCOM demonstrated its ability to comply with the requirements of the applicable CFTC

CFTC Commissioner Sharon Bowen issued a statement in which she urged the CFTC to "seriously consider" enhancing the regulations of retail foreign exchange dealers. The statement concerned recent activity in the retail foreign exchange markets. Commissioner Bowen expressed concerns about "recent unsettling events" involving financial difficulties at retail foreign exchange dealers after the Swiss National Bank's policy change regarding the Swiss franc. She explained that the retail foreign exchange industry is the "least regulated" part of the derivatives industry, and that "lower standards are

SEC Chair Mary Jo White issued a statement directing SEC staff to review Rule 14a-8(i)(9) in response to questions that have arisen about the proper scope and application of the rule. The SEC's proxy rules enable shareholders to submit proposals for inclusion in a company's proxy materials for a vote at a shareholder meeting, subject to certain procedural and substantive exclusions. Exchange Act Rule 14a-8(i)(9) allows a company to exclude a shareholder proposal that "directly conflicts" with a management proposal. In light of Chair White's direction that SEC staff review Rule 14a-8(i)(9), the

SIFMA submitted a comment letter to FINRA and the MSRB regarding their request for comments on companion rule proposals that would require firms to disclose additional information on customer confirmations for transactions in fixed-income securities. According to SIFMA, the "enormous costs and burdens associated with the Proposals would significantly outweigh the purported benefits." SIFMA urged that the new proposals be withdrawn in favor of a uniform rule that encouraged increased usage of the "extensive pricing data" already available on the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine ("TRACE")

The MSRB submitted a comment letter to the SEC, which it urged to conduct an "extensive review" of the municipal securities market disclosure requirements in Exchange Act Rule 15c2-12. In its letter, the MSRB explained that changes to the municipal market, such as the increasing prevalence of bank borrowing by issuers, warrant a review of the disclosure regime. The MSRB also encouraged the SEC to look to its disclosure standards for the corporate market as a precedent for the disclosure of off-balance sheet obligations, such as bank loans. The MSRB stated that requiring similar reporting by