The CFTC held various external meetings with Scott Parsons and Delta Strategies; Alan Sobba; and the Investment Company Institute.

The House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee members questioned a witness from the Department of Justice regarding how the department decides which financial institutions are " too big to jail" and what information they rely upon to make such decisions. Lofchie Comment: One hopes the Department of Justice acts cautiously in bringing criminal charges against any financial institution, big or small. Merely bringing charges may be sufficient to drive many financial institutions out of business. The reputational damage alone may provoke a bank run. When a company is

The SEC charged Rockville, Maryland-based proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") for failing to safeguard the confidential proxy voting information of clients participating in a number of significant proxy contests. The SEC's order finds that ISS willfully violated Section 204A of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The order censures the firm and requires ISS to pay a $300,000 penalty and engage an independent compliance consultant to review its supervisory and compliance policies and procedures. Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, ISS agreed to cease and

The Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX") submitted a letter to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ("ASIC") stating that the proposal to target "small and flickering" orders will not improve market confidence. "Having established a regulatory framework that does not incentivise the activities of short-term traders, ASIC should be cautious about making any changes ( e.g. narrowing ticksizes) that may shift that balance," the ASX said. The ASX further warned regulators that efforts to target high-frequency-trading activities likely would have unintended consequences. Related

The President and CEO of the Futures Industry Association ("FIA"), Walt Lukken, testified before the House Agriculture Committee regarding enhancements to customer protections, the implementation of Dodd-Frank requirements related to the clearing of derivatives, and the current state of the derivatives industry. As to customer protection, Mr. Lukken indicated that significant progress had been made. As to clearing, he said that "most market participants welcome the broadened array of products available in a cleared environment," but that there is "wide-spread confusion" as to how the clearing