The SEC filed a civil injunctive action against Revelation Capital Management Ltd. ("Revelation Capital") and its principal for illegal short selling in connection with an offering in violation of Regulation M. The SEC alleged that Revelation Capital and its principal violated SEC rules by short selling Central Fund of Canada Limited's securities during the defined restricted period and then purchasing the same securities in Central Fund's offering. Lofchie Comment: Violations of the prohibitions with regard to short selling in Regulation M are very high on the SEC's enforcement list and are

The SEC published for public comment its Draft Strategic Plan, which outlines the agency's mission, vision, values, major initiatives, performance metrics and strategic goals for fiscal years 2014 to 2018. The draft of the plan establishes four primary strategic goals (though these are at a high level of generality), which are as follows: to establish and maintain an effective regulatory environment; to foster and enforce compliance with federal securities laws; to facilitate access to the information that investors need to make informed investment decisions; and to enhance the SEC's

The SEC Division of Corporation Finance issued no-action relief to Schlumberger Limited. The Division stated that it would not object if Schlumberger were to file a definitive proxy statement without filing a preliminary proxy statement for certain matters that are (i) required to be submitted for stockholder approval at an annual meeting under Curaçao law, and (ii) are not among the matters specifically enumerated in Exchange Act Rule 14a-6(a) ("Filing Requirements"). The SEC staff also said that other Curaçao-based companies could rely on the advice in the letter. See: SEC No-Action Letter

The SEC announced the filing of stop order proceedings against 20 purported mining companies that are believed to have included false information in their registration statements. The SEC found that each registration statement falsely stated that management consisted of a different individual who controlled and solely governed the company. The named individuals varied by company. See : List of SEC Stop Orders; Press Release.

FINRA issued a notice regarding the SEC-approved rule change to adopt additional financial and operational Rules 4314 ("Securities Loans and Borrowings"), 4330 ("Customer Protection – Permissible Use of Customers' Securities") and 4340 ("Callable Securities") for the consolidated FINRA Rulebook. The new consolidated rules govern (i) securities loans and borrowings, (ii) permissible use of customers' securities and (iii) callable securities. The rules are in part based on, and replace, provisions of the NYSE and NASD rules. Effective Date: May 1, 2014. Lofchie Comment: While these requirements