A FINRA rule change relating to amending the securities futures risk disclosure statement (the "Statement") was published in the Federal Register. The original Statement was approved by the SEC in 2002, and the first supplement to the Statement was added in 2010. FINRA is proposing a second supplement to the Statement to accommodate proposed changes by OneChicago, LLC to list a product with a physical delivery settlement cycle shorter than three business days. The proposed supplement is intended to be read in conjunction with the Statement. Comments must be submitted by May 16, 2014. See: 79

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight and the Division of Market Oversight (the "Divisions") issued a time-limited no-action letter (expiring on December 31, 2014). In connection to execution of swaps, the no-action letter provides relief to commodity trading advisors that are members of designated contract markets ("DCMs") or swap execution facilities ("SEFs") for certain oral recording requirements set forth in CFTC Rule 1.35(a) ("Records of Commodity, Interest and Related Cash or Forward Transactions"). The letter extends no-action relief that previously was granted by

The CFTC announced that Judge James B. Zagel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a Consent Order of Permanent Injunction barring Australian firm Halifax Investment Services, Ltd. from soliciting orders to trade foreign currency ("forex") from U.S. residents who do not qualify as eligible contract participants ("ECPs"), and from offering to be the counterparty to U.S. residents' forex transactions without registering with the CFTC. According to the Order, Halifax maintained a website that permitted U.S. residents who were not ECPs to potentially apply to open

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued two no-action letters to commodity pool operators ("CPOs") regarding Annual Report filing and certification requirements in CFTC Rule 4.22 ("Reporting to Pool Participants"). CFTC Letter 14-58 grants relief to a CPO from the requirement to file and distribute an Annual Report with audited financial statements to participants of the pool pursuant to CFTC Rules 4.22(c) and (d). The relief is contingent upon the CPO filing with the National Futures Association ("NFA") and distributing to participants unaudited financial

The SEC's Division of Corporate Finance (the "Division") issued a revised statement updating its policy on granting waivers of ineligible issuer status for issuers seeking to qualify as well-known seasoned issuers ("WKSIs") under Securities Act Rule 405. In the absence of a waiver, an "ineligible issuer," as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act, is not able to qualify as a WKSI. The Division's procedure in determining whether to grant a waiver is to consider how the misconduct that gave rise to the ineligible issuer status relates to the reliability of the issuer's current and future