SIFMA provided supplemental comments to the U.S. Treasury and IRS on the final regulations implementing the provisions of FATCA that were included in Section 501 of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act ("HIRE Act"). In the supplemental comment letter, SIFMA expanded on three specific issues mentioned in its earlier comment letter filed on June 21, 2013: the "reason to know" standard, which SIFMA states is excessively broad and should be revised, or its implementation should be delayed; the ability to rely on documentation collected by or certifications provided by other persons

The MSRB withdrew its rule filing with the SEC on proposed amendments to MSRB Rule A-3, on membership on the MSRB Board of Directors. According to the MSRB press release, the amendments faced unexpected opposition despite the MSRB's intended goal of attracting additional investor experience to its Board. The MSRB states that it will reconsider alternatives to address the need for greater investor representation. Related News: The MSRB Submits Rule Change as to Membership on Its Board (July 8, 2013); MSRB Files Proposed Change to Rule A-3 (July 24, 2013).

In a speech at a workshop held by the New York Fed, Fed Governor Jeremy C. Stein delivered a speech discussing "fire sales" in securities financing transactions and laying out a case for further policy attention to the issue. Governor Stein began by discussing the welfare economics of fire sales, explaining that a forced sale of an asset is not just an event that leads to prices being driven below long-run fundamental values, but one that involves market failure or externality of the sort that might elicit a regulatory response. Governor Stein stated that by itself, the existence of

The SEC announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgements against Philip A. Falcone, Harbinger Offshore Manager, L.L.C., Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations GP, L.L.C., and Harbinger Capital Partners LLC in two related actions. The SEC filed enforcement actions in June 2012, alleging that Mr. Falcone improperly used $113 million in fund assets to pay personal taxes, secretly favored certain customer redemption requests at the expense of other investors, and conducted an improper "short squeeze" in bonds issued by a Canadian

The SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an alert to warn investors about fraudulent solicitations using correspondence which appears to be from SEC staff and Commissioners. The alert stated that the SEC does not assist with the purchase or sale of securities or participate in fund transfers, and cautioned investors to be wary of letters which appear to come from the SEC. In particular, the SEC urged investors to be on alert for letters which: advise on the ownership of certain securities; verify the beneficiary of certain securities; seek or offer assistance to transfer funds