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Statement Of CFTC Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia, Revised Relief From The De Minimis Threshold For Certain Swaps With Utility Special Entities

Date 21/03/2014

I am pleased that the Commission staff has issued this revised relief to exclude utility operations-related swaps from the calculation of the de minimis threshold. This relief is a step in the right direction to address the impact on certain utilities that are special entities that were inadvertently caught up by the Commission’s rules. I have long called for such relief. Although my preferred approach would be to address this issue through a rulemaking that is subject to the Administrative Procedure Act, I appreciate the Commission staff’s effort to address some of the concerns that these entities have raised with the Commission. If the Commission is serious about helping end-users, I challenge the Commission to complete a new rule before the second anniversary of the petition seeking an amendment of Commission regulation 1.3(ggg)(4) (i.e., July 12, 2014).
An Ohio Federal Court Rules Against Defendants In CFTC Fraud Action And Orders Patrick Cole And Global Strategic Marketing, Inc. To Pay Over $2.2 Million In Sanctions In Connection With Foreign Currency Ponzi Scheme

Date 21/03/2014

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that Judge David D. Dowd Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted summary judgment and issued a Memorandum Opinion, a Judgment Entry, and a permanent injunction Order (collectively Order) against Defendants Patrick Cole of Ontario, Canada, and his company, Global Strategic Marketing, Inc. (GSM) in a CFTC enforcement action and finds that the Defendants committed fraud in connection with a multi-million dollar off-exchange foreign currency (forex) Ponzi scheme (see CFTC Release 5921-10, October 7, 2010).
BATS 1000 Index Rose 1.0% This Week

Date 21/03/2014

BATS Global Markets, a leading operator of securities markets in the U.S. and Europe, reports the BATS 1000® Index (Ticker: BATSK) rose 215.43 points this week to close at 21,033.76 as of the 4 p.m. ET market close today.
CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight Provides Extension of Temporary No-Action Relief with respect to Swaps Trading on Multilateral Trading Facilities Overseen by Competent Authorities Designated by European Union Member States

Date 21/03/2014

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC or Commission) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) today announced the issuance of a no-action letter extending time-limited relief for (1) Multilateral Trading Facilities overseen by competent authorities designated by European Union Member States (MTFs) from the swap execution facility (SEF) registration requirement set out in section 5h(a)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA or Act) and Commission regulation 37.3(a)(1); and (2) parties executing swap transactions on or pursuant to the rules of MTFs from the trade execution mandate set out in section 2(h)(8) of the Act.
Federal Reserve Issues Corrected Results For The 2014 Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test

Date 21/03/2014

The Federal Reserve on Friday issued corrected results for the 2014 Dodd-Frank Act stress test. For 26 of the 30 firms, the correction led to either no change or at most a 0.1 percentage point change in the firms' minimum, post-stress tier 1 common capital ratios in the severely adverse scenario. The change led to a 0.3 percentage point increase at two firms, a 0.2 percentage point decrease at one firm, and a 0.5 percentage point decline at another.

CFTC Commitments Of Traders Reports Update

Date 21/03/2014

The current reports for the week of March 18, 2014 are now available.
Nigerian Stock Exchange Weekly Report For The Week Ended 21 March 2014

Date 21/03/2014

A turnover of 1.391 billion shares worth N19.414 billion in 22,527 deals were traded this week by investors on the floor of The Exchange in contrast to a total of 1.989 billion shares valued at N15.098 billion that exchanged hands last week in 21,948 deals.
European Banking Authority Consults On A Revised XBRL Taxonomy For Supervisory Reporting

Date 21/03/2014

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on a revised version of its XBRL Taxonomy for supervisory reporting, which incorporates additional reporting requirements for asset encumbrance, non-performing exposures and forbearance. This consultation aims at ensuring that the data national competent authorities collect from credit institutions and investment firms is transmitted to the EBA in a uniform and consistent manner. The consultation runs until 14 April 2014.
“Impact Of The Dodd-Frank Act On Commodity Futures And Swaps Markets” - Keynote Address By CFTC Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia, 2014 Bank Of Canada International Economic Analysis Workshop On Financialization Of Commodity Markets

Date 21/03/2014

I want to thank Bahattin for inviting me to speak at this workshop. The topic of today’s workshop is “Financialization of Commodity Markets.” As we all know, commodity prices have experienced an unprecedented rise from the early 2000s. During this time, investors poured large amounts of investment capital into the commodity markets. As such, there has been much written about whether the increased presence of financial investors in the commodity markets led to higher commodity prices and volatility, the so-called “financialization of commodities” debate. Many of today’s distinguished panelists have and will offer their insights on speculative activity in the commodity markets and its relationship to the financialization of these markets.
SIFMA Comments On FINRA CARDS Concept

Date 21/03/2014

SIFMA today submitted comments to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regarding FINRA’s concept proposal to develop a Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System (CARDS). While SIFMA supports FINRA’s goal of utilizing technology to make it a more efficient and effective regulator, SIFMA cannot support the CARDS concept. More information as well as further analysis on how the system would be structured and utilized, and a better understanding of what existing FINRA-mandated systems would be replaced is necessary before proceeding any further.