News Centre

Alleged Russian Cyber-Criminal Now Charged In 40-Count Superseding Indictment

Date 09/10/2014

A federal grand jury in Seattle returned a second superseding indictment late yesterday charging a Russian national with 11 additional counts and further detailing his alleged scheme to hack into businesses and steal credit card information for later sale over the Internet on “carding” websites. 

FINRA Regulatory Notice 14-40 - Confidentiality Provisions In Settlement Agreements And The Arbitration Discovery Process

Date 09/10/2014

Executive Summary

FINRA reminds firms that it is a violation of FINRA Rule 2010 (Standards of Commercial Honor and Principles of Trade) to include confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements or any other documents, including confidentiality stipulations made during a FINRA arbitration proceeding, that prohibit or restrict a customer or any other person from communicating with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FINRA, or any federal or state regulatory authority regarding a possible securities law violation.

Nasdaq Announces End-Of-Month Open Short Interest Positions In Nasdaq Stocks As Of Settlement Date September 30, 2014

Date 09/10/2014

At the end of the settlement date of September 30, 2014, short interest in 2,241 Nasdaq Global MarketSM securities totaled 8,291,146,631 shares compared with 8,133,779,532 shares in 2,243 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of September 15, 2014. The end-of-September short interest represents 4.58 days average daily Nasdaq Global Market share volume for the reporting period, compared with 5.67 days for the prior reporting period.

FINRA Foundation Study Reveals Financial Vulnerability Of American Renters

Date 09/10/2014

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation released a new study, American Renters and Financial Fragility, which highlights the financial vulnerability of renters. American Renters reveals that renters tend to be less financially stable than homeowners, have lower rates of financial literacy and are more likely to experience a large drop in income. The findings suggest that, given their financial fragility and low levels of financial literacy, the renter population could have a difficult time responding to income shocks and the financial consequences associated with them.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman Announces Agreement With Citi To Return $16 Million To Consumers For Fee Overcharges - 31,000 Citigroup Customers Charged Higher-Than-Promised Rates; Thousands Of Consumers Currently Unaware Of Opportunity To Receive Refunds - Schneiderman: Agreement Ensures Promises Made To Citi Consumers Will Be Honored

Date 09/10/2014

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced an agreement with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (CGMI), a subsidiary of Citigroup, to reimburse more than 31,000 Citi customers who were charged higher advisory fees than they negotiated. The agreement returns nearly $16 million to about 31,000 Citigroup customers. While some customers have already started to receive their refunds, thousands more are likely unaware that they are eligible to get money back.

Opening Statement Chairman Timothy G. Massad Before The Global Markets Advisory Committee Open Meeting

Date 09/10/2014

Thank you, Mark. Commissioner Wetjen and his office, as well as the professional staff have done a tremendous amount of work to support the GMAC and I thank them for that. I also want to thank today’s participants. Your presence and input is very much valued.

SIFMA Recommends Full Market Close On October 13 In The US, UK And Japan In Observance Of The Columbus And Sports Day Holidays

Date 09/10/2014

SIFMA has confirmed its previous recommendations for a full market close on Monday, October 13 for the trading of US dollar-denominated fixed-income securities in the U.S., theUK and Japan in observance of the U.S.’s Columbus Day and Japan’s Sports Day Holidays.

CFTC Orders Former CBOT Floor Broker Kent Woods To Pay $200,000 Penalty And Charges Introducing Broker Futures International LLC And Chief Operating Officer Amadeo Cerrone With Trade Practice Violations And Supervision Failures

Date 09/10/2014

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the issuance of an Order filing and settling charges against Kent Woods of Chicago, Illinois, a longtime floor broker in the soybean commodity futures pit at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), for failing to comply with applicable record-keeping and audit trail rules, the belated creation of trading records containing fictitious information that were submitted for clearing, engaging in unauthorized trading, and failure to supervise employees of Futures International LLC, a Chicago-based Introducing Broker of which he was a principal.

OCC Reports Second Quarter Trading Revenue Of $6.4 Billion

Date 09/10/2014

Insured U.S. commercial banks and savings associations reported trading revenue of $6.4 billion in the second quarter of 2014, up $0.2 billion, or 4 percent, from $6.2 billion in the first quarter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported today in the OCC’s Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities. Trading revenue in the second quarter was $0.7 billion, or 10 percent, lower than the $7.1 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2013.

Statement Of Commissioner Mark Wetjen Before The Global Markets Advisory Committee Open Meeting

Date 09/10/2014

Thank you everyone for being here today. We have a couple of interesting topics to discuss here today, both related to currency and derivatives under the CFTC’s jurisdiction. Let me start by welcoming Chairman Massad and Commissioners Bowen and Giancarlo, their first GMAC meeting. And I want to extend a special welcome to David Bailey from the Bank of England, and Rodrigo Buenaventura from the European Securities and Markets Authority. It’s a pleasure to have you with us today. Before we turn to Chairman Massad and the other commissioners, I want to make a couple of brief remarks.