The CFTC's notice of fees charged to designated contract markets ("DCMs") and registered futures associations to recover costs incurred by the CFTC's oversight of SRO rule enforcement programs were published in the Federal Register. The calculation of the fee amounts charged for 2014 by this notice is based upon an average of actual program costs incurred during fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013. See: 79 FR 62418.

The SEC announced that, in fiscal year 2014, new investigative approaches and an innovative use of data and analytical tools contributed to a record filing of 755 enforcement actions and $4.16 billion in disgorgement and penalties. The agency's enforcement actions also included a number of first-ever cases, including actions involving (i) the market access rule, (ii) the "pay-to-play" rule for investment advisers, (iii) halting a municipal bond offering (an emergency action) and (iv) whistleblower retaliation. Chair White noted that, in addition to the first-ever cases, the Municipalities

The SEC sanctioned a high-frequency trading firm for placing a large number of rapid-fire trades in the final two seconds of almost every trading day during a six-month period to manipulate the closing prices of thousands of NASDAQ-listed stocks. An SEC investigation found that Athena Capital Research used an algorithm to engage in "marking the close"; i.e., stocks were either bought or sold near the close of trading to affect the closing price. The massive volumes of Athena's last-second trades allowed the firm to overwhelm the market's available liquidity, and to push the market price and

The SEC Division of Corporation Finance issued no-action relief to Staple Cotton Discount Corporation in connection with the unregistered offer and sale of demand notes in reliance on Section 3(a)(5)(A) of the Securities Act. In its request for relief, Staple Cotton Discount Corporation alleged that it was both a "cooperative bank" and "similar institution" within the meaning of Section 3(a)(5)(A), which exempts from registration the securities issued by both kinds of entities. See: SEC No-Action Letter to Staple Cotton Discount Corporation.

FINRA amended its Rule 7730 to adopt a limited fee waiver pilot program for the Professional Real-Time Data Display Fee, permitting professionals to access real-time Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine transaction data on a trial basis. See: 79 FR 62221. Related news: FINRA Proposes to Adopt Limited Fee Waiver Pilot Program Pursuant to Rule 7730 (October 3, 2014).