European Commission: Consultation Paper The European Commission Services launched a consultation on Central Securities Depositories ("CSD") and on the harmonisation of certain aspects of securities settlement in the EU. CSDs are important infrastructures in financial markets which perform crucial services that allow the registration, safekeeping and settlement of securities, in exchange for cash and efficient processing of securities transactions. The purpose of the consultation is to introduce a regulatory CSD framework and enhance transparency in the financial system. The Commission will

News Article Big speculators could face curbs on wheeling and dealing in commodity markets after the CFTC on Thursday advanced a plan to cap large positions, but internal dissent could delay final adoption of the plan for months or longer. The plan, adopted in a 4-1 vote to allow it to move to the public comment stage, would attempt to curb positions investors can hold in commodity markets, with the aim of preventing large players from controlling the market. An important swing vote on the five-member commission, Michael Dunn, however, expressed skepticism about whether curbs on their trades

Commentary Economist Craig Pirrong compares the CFTC's Proposed Rule on Core Principles for Designated Contract Markets, which would among other things regulate the pricing of exchange services, to the FCC's net neutrality rule proposal, which would regulate the terms on which the operators of internet services can offer and price access to their systems. Observing that the CFTC's imposes constraints on the terms on which operators of exchanges can offer access to their trading facilities, Pirrong concludes that this proposal is "yet another troubling example of the expansion of the CFTC's

Commentary Economist Craig Pirrong dissects the Antitrust Division's recommendation that the CFTC adopt tougher rules to prevent "powerful entities," i.e., swap dealers from achieving majority ownership in DCMs/SEFs. Pirrong concludes that the DOJ position reflects a "fundamentally flawed analysis of the economics of derivatives trading and clearing . . . and "exhibits glaring deficiencies in its understanding of the economics of competition in trading and in clearing." He argues that the focus on control of a dominant entity by dealers "seems to reflect politics, rather than economics."

News Article The CFTC delayed a vote on rules that would limit bank ownership and control of clearinghouses and trading systems in the swaps market. The CFTC in October released a proposal for capping the ownership stakes that Wall Street banks and other swaps dealers can hold in clearinghouses, exchanges and so-called swap- execution facilities. The agency, required by Dodd-Frank to hold a final vote by mid-January, proposed a 20 percent cap on the ownership stake for any member of an exchange or swap-execution facility. The proposal didn't include a limit on overall stakes. The U.S. Justice