The SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy described the risks and benefits of variable life insurance.

CFTC Commissioner Rostin Behnam called on the agency to consider new initiatives to deal with the role of technology within the scope of CFTC regulatory and supervisory structures. In remarks at the ASIFMA 2018 Conference, Mr. Behnam asserted that regulation creates "necessary friction" during the development stages of innovation to guarantee that processes and products satisfy established standards before being introduced to the public and financial networks. He criticized the United States' regulatory FinTech agenda for being overly enforcement-driven, saying that enforcement actions do not

The SEC issued a " Commission Statement" to provide relief from aspects of the security-based swap dealer ("SBSD") business conduct rules, primarily the treatment of special entities. The SEC stated that the action is in response to "practical compliance difficulties" raised by market participants. The relief allows market participants to rely on representations in the context of complying with CFTC external business conduct requirements. In particular, the statement takes the following "no-action" positions that are "limited to the Commission's enforcement discretion . . . and does not modify

The SEC adopted amendments to consolidate and update property disclosure requirements for mining registrants. The agency also provided guidance on the updated requirements. The amendments will provide investors with a more complete understanding of a registrant's mining properties, which would enable them to make better informed investment decisions. The SEC stated that the amendments will further align the agency's disclosure requirements for mining properties with current industry and global regulatory standards. The final rule amendments include several changes to the proposed rules that

President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order ("E.O.") authorizing the imposition of sanctions on persons who "operate corruptly" in Venezuela's gold sector "or in any other sector of the Venezuelan economy as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State." The new sanctions authorizations are broad and are a response to actions by the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and associated persons, who are alleged to have "plunder[ed] Venezuela's wealth for their own corrupt purposes." In a set of FAQs, the U.S. Treasury Department