The CFTC issued guidance that REITS would not be deemed "pools" subject to their meeting the following conditions: The REIT primarily derives its income from the ownership and management of real estate and uses derivatives for the limited purpose of "mitigat[ing] their exposure to changes in interest rates or fluctuations in currency"; The REIT is operated so as to comply with all of the requirements of a REIT election under the Internal Revenue Code, including 26 U.S.C. §856(c)(2) (the 75-percent test); and The REIT has identified itself as an equity REIT in Item G of its last U.S. income tax

FINRA published this comment request on a revised proposal addressing debt research conflicts of interest, which includes some fairly substantial amendments to FINRA's previously proposed rule as to research on debt securities as originally set forth in FINRA Reg. Notice 11-11. Among the changes made by new rule proposal to original rule proposals are: an exemption from the rule would be provided for research distributed to a very limited tier of institutional investors; an exemption would be provided as to firms that engaged in limited principal debt trading activity; the definition of "debt

In a lawsuit against the SEC, industry groups allege that the SEC failed to properly weigh the costs and benefits of the final "extractive industries rule" requiring energy companies registered on American exchanges to publicly release commercially sensitive and detailed payment information about foreign energy investments. The industry groups filing the complaint include the Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute, Independent Petroleum Association of America and the National Foreign Trade Council. They argue that the rule is too costly, would give rivals sensitive business

The NFA issued an updated version of its Self-Examination Questionnaire that NFA member firms, including FCMs, IBs, CPOs and CTAs, are required to complete on an annual basis. The Self-Examination Questionnaire includes a general questionnaire that must be completed by all NFA member firms and supplemental questionnaires tailored to the business activities of the various categories of NFA members (FCMs, FDMs, IBs, CPOs and CTAs). The Self-Examination Questionnaire is intended to assist NFA member firms in recognizing potential problem areas, and to alert firms to procedures that need to be

The Joint Forum - which comprises the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors - issued a final report on Principles for the Supervision of Financial Conglomerates. The updated Principles for the Supervision of Financial Conglomerates supersede the Compendium of documents produced by the Joint Forum in 2001. The Joint Forum's aim was to "focus on closing regulatory gaps, eliminating supervisory 'blind spots' and ensuring effective supervision of risks arising from unregulated