News Article Reuters February 9, 2011 The European Union's executive is examining penalties on derivative trading, according to a document released on Wednesday, to force controls on the opaque sector that has been blamed for spiraling grain prices. Michel Barnier, the top EU official in charge of changing the rules of finance, wants to force curbs on a global market for derivatives. He announced possible penalties to force traders to keep extra capital if they do not route their business through central clearing houses, which connect traders, record their activity and step in if a deal breaks

News Article Reuters February 9, 2011 Tight deadlines in the U.S. financial reform law will force the CFTC to forge ahead with new rules for over-the-counter swaps without first putting key market definitions in place, Commissioner Michael Dunn said on Wednesday. "As we go through implementation of Dodd-Frank, really it is kind of a chicken-and-an-egg situation," Dunn told a Commodity Markets Council conference. "We're trying to get things out, but we really don't have the right nomenclature out there." This makes it difficult for participants to provide informed input on the rules that have

FINRA Regulatory Notice 11-08 February 10, 2011 As part of the process of developing a consolidated rulebook, FINRA is requesting comments on new rules to govern markups, markdowns, commissions and fees. New FINRA Rules 2121-23 would transfer, with "significant changes," NASD Rules 2430 and 2440, NASD IM-2440-1 and -2, and NYSE Rule 375. Among other things, the new rules would make the following changes: (1) Deletion of the "5% Policy." FINRA notes that the policy is outdated, as 5% is frequently an excessively high markup or markdown. Rather than propose a new percentage, FINRA sets forth a

News Article Bloomberg February 9, 2011 A bipartisan group of U.S. senators urged regulators implementing derivatives measures under the Dodd-Frank Act to move cautiously so the rules can be "completed without unintended consequences." In a letter signed by 13 members of the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees, warnings were issued against "overly prescriptive rules" that might push market participants abroad and dated yesterday. "If the major overhaul of our derivatives market is implemented hastily, agency rulemakings could have negative effects on our economy at a time when we can

HM Treasury February 4, 2011 HM Treasury have published a response to the Commission Services consultation on the Review of Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.