A study conducted by Mercatus Scholars Patrick McLaughlin and Oliver Sherouse documented the overall size and breadth of the Dodd-Frank Act and determined that it "may be the biggest law ever." Citing research gathered by the online interactive tool RegData, the study found that the Dodd-Frank Act is associated with more than five times as many new restrictions as any other law passed since January 2009, for a total of nearly 28,000 new restrictions. RegData also showed that more regulatory restrictions were added to Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulation from 2010 to 2014 than were

The CFTC issued an order to extend the designation of the utility operated by DTCC-SWIFT as the provider of legal entity identifiers ("LEIs"), pursuant to the CFTC's swap data recordkeeping and reporting rules. The DTCC-SWIFT utility – which initially had been referred to as the CICI utility on the utility's Web site and in educational and other materials – is now known to the public as the Global Markets Entity Identifier utility. See: CFTC Press Release. See also: Global Markets Entity Identifier Utility Web Site. Related news: CFTC Extends Designation of DTCC-SWIFT as LEI Provider (Fed. Reg

The American Enterprise Institute ("AEI") published a special report on a variety of polls tracking Americans' opinions on the Dodd-Frank Act, financial and political institutions, leaders, and the success of government regulation. The results included in the report were derived from a variety of sources covering surveys conducted beginning in 2010 (before the Dodd-Frank Act was adopted), with the most recent surveys conducted in February 2015. Regarding polls that were conducted most recently (in 2014 and 2015), the principal takeaways include: (i) a substantial majority of Americans have

FINRA's proposed rule change, which would require members to report transactions in TRACE-Eligible Securities that are subject to dissemination "as soon as practicable," was filed with the SEC and published in the Federal Register. Comments on the rule proposal must be submitted by August 6, 2015. See: 80 FR 42149. Related news: FINRA Proposes Rule Requiring Members to Report Transactions in TRACE-Eligible Securities "as Soon as Practicable" (July 6, 2015).

FINRA released a podcast outlining the risks and benefits of automated investment tools. The podcast discussed five considerations that investors should bear in mind before using any automated investment tool: Review all disclosures, including any terms and conditions related to fees and expenses for using the tool or costs related to selling or purchasing investments. Consider the tool's key assumptions, and be aware that an automated tool may rely on assumptions that could be incorrect or prove inapplicable to your situation. Be aware that an automated investment tool's output depends