The CFTC held a public roundtable to discuss issues concerning hedges of a physical commodity by a commercial enterprise, including gross hedging, cross-commodity hedging, anticipatory hedging, and the process for obtaining a non-enumerated exemption from position limits. Discussion also included the settling of spot month limits in physical-delivery and cash-settled contracts, a conditional spot-month limit exemption, and certain aggregations of positions. Click here to view a summary of the meeting by Delta Strategy Group. See: CFTC Press Release.

The SEC announced that it will hold an open meeting on June 25, 2014 to consider whether to adopt rules regarding the application of the definitions of "security-based swap dealer" and "major security-based swap participant" to Cross-Border Security-Based Swap Activities under the Securities Exchange Act and Dodd-Frank Title VII. The SEC proposed the rules concerning Cross-Border Security-Based Swap Activities in May 2013. See: SEC Announcement of Meeting; Proposed Rules. Related news: SEC Proposal on Cross-Border Security-Based Swaps (with Commissioners' Comments) (with Lofchie Comment) (May

By direction of the Calendar Committee, the case brought by SIFMA, ISDA and the Institution of International Bankers against the CFTC's Cross-Border Guidance was reassigned from Judge Ellen S. Huvelle to Judge Paul L. Friedman. See: Reassignment of Civil Case. Related news: Judge Grants Amici Motion for Leave to File Brief in Support of CFTC; CFTC Submits Notice of Supplemental Authority in SIFMA v. CFTC Cross-Border Guidance Case (with Lofchie Comment) (June 18, 2014); Congressional Democrats' Amicus Brief Sides with CFTC in SIFMA v. CFTC (with Lofchie Comment and Energy Metro Desk Article

At a June 18, 2014 D.C. Bar conference titled "IRS Update: Recent REIT Regulations and Priority Guidance Plan," officials in the Financial Institutions and Products Branch of the IRS discussed recently proposed regulations that clarify which assets qualify as good real estate assets for a REIT and the potential application of those assets to various renewable energy properties. The regulations project resulted from a review of IRS's private rulings, which some commentators felt expanded the historical scope of real property for REITs. The IRS suspended issuing such private rulings and

On June 19, 2014, the IRS issued instructions for Form W-8IMY ("Certificate of Foreign Intermediary, Foreign Flow-Through Entity, or Certain U.S. Branches for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting"). The form is used by foreign intermediaries and flow-through entities to certify their status under FATCA. Form W-8IMY was revised in April 2014 to reflect additional information needed with respect to FATCA, but instructions for use of the form were not issued at that time. Instructions for Form W-BEN-E, the form used for non-U.S. entities to certify their FATCA status, have yet to be issued