CFTC Chair Timothy G. Massad expressed concern over Congressional funding for the agency in testimony before the Senate Committee on Agriculture. Chair Massad was the only witness at the hearing titled: "The Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Effective Enforcement and the Future of Derivatives Regulation." Chair Massad explained that, in order to protect market participants from fraud and manipulation by means of adequate market surveillance, the CFTC would need far more resources than are offered currently in the omnibus spending package. The target budget, Chair Massad explained, is that

The SEC announced that Karol Pollock will serve as the new Associate Director the Los Angeles Regional Office's examination program. In her new role as Associate Director of the exam program in the Los Angeles office, Ms. Pollock will oversee a staff of approximately 60 examiners, accountants and attorneys responsible for examining firms in Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam. See: SEC Press Release.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") announced a further extension of time for certain individuals filing a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts ("FBAR"). On December 20, 2013, FinCEN extended the filing date for Form 114 – FBAR (formerly Form TD-F 90-22.1) for certain individuals with signature authority over, but no financial interest in, one or more foreign financial accounts until June 30, 2015. In response to this extension, FinCEN received questions that required additional consideration as to possible regulatory changes. For that reason, FinCEN extended the

The CFTC issued an order simultaneously filing and settling charges against IBFX, Inc., also known as Tradestation Forex, Inc. ("IBFX"), a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer, for failing to meet the minimum net capital requirements on three separate occasions, failing to timely report one of the minimum net capital deficits, and failing to supervise its employees and agents diligently by establishing, implementing and executing an adequate supervisory structure and compliance programs. In the third instance of IBFX's failing to meet capital requirements, the CFTC found that the software installed

The CFTC issued a no-action letter providing relief from commodity pool operator ("CPO") registration to an entity acting as a "directed trustee" of a state-regulated trust. According to the letter, the "directed trustee" generally may act only on a "directed" basis, as instructed by the trust's investment manager. The directed trustee's discretionary powers are limited to matters relating to the custody of the trust's assets, the payment of certain fees, expenses and reimbursements out of the trust assets, and the engagement of certain agents and service providers on behalf of the trust. The