The MSRB announced that it is hosting a free educational webinar to explain the upcoming rule changes to consolidated fair-dealing obligations for dealers on June 26, 2014 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. The webinar will explain revisions to MSRB Rule G-19 ("Suitability of Recommendations and Transactions; Discretionary Accounts"), key provisions of MSRB Rule G-47 on time of trade disclosure obligations, and MSRB Rules G-48 as well as D-15 on sophisticated municipal market professionals. The rules will become effective on July 5, 2014. C lick here to register for the webinar. Related news: MSRB

The European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") issued a request for comments on a discussion paper and a consultation paper regarding the implementation of the revised MiFID and MiFIR. The main issues covered in the discussion paper and consultation paper are those addressing the structure, transparency and regulation of financial markets, as well as those aimed at strengthening investor protection. ESMA also noted that it will hold three public hearings on secondary markets, investor protection and commodity derivatives issues. The first two hearings will be held on July 7 and July 8

An amended and corrected version of the SEC-proposed rule for standards for covered clearing agencies was published in the Federal Register. On March 26, 2014, the SEC-proposed rules regarding systemically important and security-based swap clearing agencies were published in the Federal Register. The release contained erroneous footnote entries that have been corrected in the republished version. See: 79 FR 29508. Related news: SEC Publishes Proposed Rules for Systemically Important and Security-Based Swap Clearing Agencies (Fed. Reg.) (March 26, 2014); SEC Proposes Rules for Systemically

The CFTC announced three actions to address problems in prior rulemakings: (i) a proposed rule amendment to the swap dealer de minimis provisions that would allow parties to enter into a meaningful volume of swaps with utility special entities before being required to register with the CFTC, (ii) an extension of the comment period on the CFTC's proposed position limits as applied to commercial market participants, and (iii) the promotion of end-user trading on swap execution facilities ("SEFs") and designated contract markets ("DCMs"). Both Acting Chairman Wetjen and Commissioner O'Malia

The CFTC held a Global Markets Advisory Committee ("GMAC") meeting to discuss issues related to CFTC coordination with foreign regulators on the oversight of foreign-based swap clearinghouses and foreign swap execution facilities. In his opening statement, Commissioner O'Malia explained that it is critically important for international regulators to harmonize on swap data reporting, exchange trading and central counterparty clearing "before market fragmentation and contraction of liquidity hardens and becomes permanent." He stated that the United States and European Union should be working