SEC Release 34-63829 Date February 3, 2011 The SEC announced a civil administrative proceeding against a broker for failing to reasonably supervise registered representatives who allegedly misled customers when selling shares of a mutual fund that "broke the buck." The SEC order alleges that the firm's representatives mischaracterized the fund as a "money market fund, as safe as cash, or as an investment with guaranteed liquidity." Cross References SEC Press Release 2011-36

Commentary Prof. Craig Pirrong criticizes the French President Sarkozy and European Commissioner Michael Barnier for demonizing speculation and placing blame for recent commodity price spikes on speculators. Characterizing the the Sarkozy-Barnier approach as "intellectually bankrupt," Pirrong points out that the European Commission has censored its own research into food prices under pressure from President Sarkozy. notwithstanding the lack of evidence that speculation is responsible for the current high food prices. A new E.U. study came to exactly the same conclusion, finding no evidence of

News Articles New York Portfolio Clearing, a start-up clearinghouse co-owned by NYSE Euronext, won regulatory approval to clear derivatives, paving the way for competition with futures exchange giant CME Group Inc. NYPC, jointly owned by the Big Board's parent and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp, will clear interest rate futures offered by NYSE Euronext's U.S. futures exchange, NYSE Liffe. But the CFTC withheld approval of a key part of NYPC's business plan, the ability to offset margins deposited at the clearinghouse to back futures against margins put up to guarantee holdings in

News Article CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton said that U.S. regulators or exchanges should test high-frequency and algorithmic trading programs before they are used in markets. "I believe these trading programs need to be tested, either by the exchanges or by the regulators, before they go live and that they should be monitored in some way when they do go on line," Chilton said in prepared remarks for a conference held today by the American Public Gas Association in Fort Myers, Florida. Chilton, a Democrat and one of the agency's five commissioners, said there should be a "standard definition"

News Article Top European Union officials will on Wednesday call for curbs on derivatives markets and greater use of trade policy to reduce volatility in commodity prices and improve the bloc's access to key raw materials. Michel Barnier, EU internal market commissioner, backs limiting traders' positions, and changes could be introduced via the Market in Financial Instruments directive, which is under review. France has included position limits in its G20 proposals. For example, Paris has called for harmonisation of commodity data from G20 countries, and suggested a registration system to