The FDIC is adopting a final rule that establishes criteria for determining if a company is predominantly engaged in "activities that are financial in nature or incidental thereto" for purposes of Dodd-Frank Title II ("Orderly Liquidation Authority"). A company that is predominantly engaged in such activities is a "financial company" for purposes of Title II unless it is one of the few entities specifically excepted by Dodd-Frank. A financial company, other than an insured depository institution, may be subject to Title II's orderly liquidation authority if, among other things, it is

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a suit by Bloomberg L.P. ("Bloomberg") against the CFTC. Bloomberg had alleged that the CFTC's rule, which sets minimum collateral requirements based on estimated liquidation times for swaps and futures contracts, was both procedurally and substantially defective. Bloomberg's concern was that the potential disparity between the estimated minimum liquidation times for swaps and futures contracts, and the fact that these estimates seemed to favor futures, would have a negative impact on Bloomberg's business and customer base

SIFMA submitted comments (see below) to the SEC petitioning for disapproval of a NYSE MKT proposal and a NYSE Arca proposal to establish non-display usage fees and to amend the professional end-user fees for the NYSE MKT and NYSE Arca Options market data. SIFMA stated that it strongly believes that the Exchange's actions are inconsistent with the decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in NetCoalition v. SEC and, in its petition, requests that the SEC temporarily suspend the rule change and disapprove the rule change under provisions of the Exchange

The NFA announced that it has taken an emergency enforcement action against SK Madison, LLC ("SK Madison"), a New York-based commodity trading advisor ("CTA"), and Michael James Seward, its sole principal and associated person ("AP"). The NFA has taken the Member Responsibility Action ("MRA") and Associate Responsibility Action ("ARA") to protect customers of SK Madison since the firm and Seward cannot account for at least $900,000 in the SK Madison Commodities LLC Fund's ("SK Pool") participants' funds. The MRA/ARA will remain in effect until such time as SK Madison and Seward have

H.R. 1256 calls for the SEC and the CFTC to work together and harmonize their rules relating to swaps transacted between those in the U.S. and those abroad while ensuring regulators employ a thorough and deliberate process in determining when to apply U.S. swaps rules in foreign markets and to foreign firms. Specifically, this legislation would require joint rules to address: (1) the nature of the connections to the United States that require a non-U.S. person to register as a swap dealer, major swap participant, security-based swap dealer, or security-based swap participant under each