News Article Hedge funds are concerned that compliance with reporting regulations proposed by the U.S. futures regulator last week will require too much time and money, creating an unnecessary cost burden for the industry. The CFTC last week proposed rules that would require more reporting from funds, commodity pools and commodity trading advisors -- rules that the Managed Funds Association said would require too much paperwork. "We don't mind being regulated," said one MFA member, but dual regulation for those firms who would have to report to both the CFTC and the SEC would create

News Article "The derivatives industry is "on message" about the benefits of clearing. Clearing is also required by US law following the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act last year. What will also be needed is an overhaul of the way swaps are traded. Newly invented entities with the ugly name of "swap execution facilities" or "Sefs" are currently in the works. However, as yet, no one knows what they will look like, what the creditworthiness of the Sefs will be, and whether the Sefs will be deemed safe enough by investors. The only certainty is that it will take a very long time to find out whether

The European Securities and Markets Authority has produced a report which summarises all of the actions taken by EU Member States to control the practice of short selling in their jurisdictions. Date January 31, 2011

CFTC Orders The CFTC issued an Order on January 31, 2011, granting New York Portfolio Clearing, LLC (NYPC) registration as a derivatives clearing organization. NYPC will clear U.S. dollar-denominated interest rate futures contracts traded on NYSE Liffe U.S. NYPC also has requested approval from the CFTC for the cross-margining of such contracts with U.S. Treasury and other fixed income securities and repurchase agreements cleared by the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, a securities clearing agency registered with the SEC. The CFTC is still considering that request. Document Number CFTC PR

The SEC approved a FINRA proposal that allows customers in FINRA arbitration to have the option of choosing an all-public arbitration panel in all cases with three arbitrators. As a result of the rule change, customers have two options for panel composition: (1) a majority-public panel and (2) an all-public panel. The rule change is effective immediately. Document Number FINRA Regulatory Notice 11-05 Date February 1, 2011 Cross References SR-FINRA-2010-053 SEC Release 34-63799 (Approval Order) Comments Received FINRA News Release FINRA Rules 12402-03