Eurex published the attached report on High-Frequency Trading (HFT). In the report, Eurex asserts that HFT is a "natural reflection of competition between market participants using the advances in computer technology." The report discusses background, issues, and regulation of HFT using the following outline. How do you define high-frequency trading (HFT)? What are the most common HFT strategies? Why is the speed so important? What is the impact of HFT on market quality? Do HFT users cause volatility? Why are there critical voices on HFT from institutional investors? How do HFT firms (re-)act

The U.S. Treasury Department has posted on its website updated drafts of both Model 1 and Model 2 Intergovernmental Agreements ("IGAs") under FATCA. There are three separate versions of Model 1: Model 1A (Reciprocal), Model 1B (Non-Reciprocal), for countries with pre-existing tax treaties or Tax Information Exchange Agreements ("TIEAs") with the United States, and a new Model 1B (Non-Reciprocal), for Countries without a current tax treaty or TIEA with the United States. Likewise, Model 2 comes in two versions, one for countries with an existing tax treaty or TIEA with the United States, and

SIFMA's amicus brief addresses: (1) whether the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act ("SLUSA") precludes a state-law class action alleging a scheme of fraud that involves misrepresentations about transactions in SLUSA-covered securities; and (2) whether SLUSA precludes class actions asserting that defendants aided and abetted SLUSA-covered securities fraud when the defendants themselves did not make misrepresentations about the purchase or sale of SLUSA-covered securities. Click hereto view brief in full (links externally to SIFMA website).

The annual meeting of FINRA firms will take place on or about Monday, August 12, 2013, to elect one Small Firm Governor and one Large Firm Governor to the FINRA Board of Governors (FINRA Board). A formal notice of the meeting, including the precise date, time and location, will be mailed to executive representatives on or about July 9, 2013. Petitions for candidacy are due by June 24, 2013. See:FINRA Election Notice.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech discussing the Federal Reserve's ongoing monitoring of the financial system, and how such monitoring efforts have changed in response to the financial crisis. In particular, Chairman Bernanke stated that the Federal Reserve has both increased the resources it devotes to monitoring as well as shifted its approach: in addition to monitoring individual financial systems, as it traditionally has, the Federal Reserve has begun emphasizing a more systemic approach that pays attention to the vulnerabilities of the financial system as a whole