The CFTC issued an Order that filed and simultaneously settled charges that Global Futures Forex, Ltd. ("GFF"), a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant ("FCM") and former retail foreign exchange dealer ("RFED"), failed to comply with the minimum financial requirements for FCMs and RFEDs. See: Global Futures Forex Order.

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") granted no-action relief from certain registration requirements to a delegating CPO in accordance with the streamlined approach described in CFTC Letter 14-69. The DSIO stated that it will not recommend enforcement action to the CFTC against the delegating CPO for failure to register under CEA Section 4m(1) in connection with the operation of the pool, subject to the conditions that (i) the designated CPO serves as the CPO of the pool, (ii) the designated CPO remains registered as a CPO and (iii) the delegating CPO and

Following the May 11, 2014 referendum in eastern Ukraine, the European Union ("EU") and Canada announced on May 12, 2014 that they had imposed sanctions on additional individuals and entities in connection with the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The EU designations included 13 individuals and two entities - Chernomorneftegaz and Feodosia - the first companies to be targeted by the European Union. (The United Kingdom announced on May 13, 2014 that it had sanctioned the same 15 individuals and entities.) According to the European Union, both Chernomorneftegaz and Feodosia were "effectively

FINRA issued a regulatory notice to announce the SEC approval of amendments to FINRA Rule 5110 ("Corporate Financing Rule-Underwriting Terms and Arrangements") to expand circumstances where termination fees and rights of refusal are permissible. The amendments provide a greater degree of flexibility in negotiating the terms of their agreements for terminated offerings while providing protection for issuers if a firm fails to perform the underwriting services. Additionally, the amendments add an exemption for exchange-traded funds that are not investment companies from the Rule 5110 filing

On May 16, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a historic decision defining for the first time what constitutes an "instrumentality" of a foreign government, and thus who may be considered a "foreign official" under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"). In U.S. v. Esquenazi, Joel Esquenazi and Carlos Rodriguez, executives of Terra Telecommunications Corp., a Florida-based company that purchased phone time from foreign vendors, were convicted of conspiracy, violations of the FCPA and money-laundering for taking part in a multi-year scheme to bribe