On July 30, 2014, the European Council published its regulation and decision concerning trade and investment restrictions for Crimea and Sevastopol. The regulation prohibits EU nationals from entering into or participating in new infrastructure investments in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors of Crimea and Sevastopol. The regulation contains similar prohibitions related to participation in the exploitation of oil, gas and minerals in the region. The regulation also prohibits the export to Crimea and Sevastopol of key equipment and technology for the same sectors. The

The CFTC issued corrections to the final rules, which became effective on January 13, 2014, enhancing the protections afforded to customers and customer funds. The corrections amend erroneous cross-references found in three sections of the final rules and, in one section, insert language that was in the proposed rulemaking. Specifically, the CFTC corrected Rule 1.23 and Rule 30.7, which included erroneous cross-references to other CFTC Rules that do not exist or are incorrect. Additionally, in CFTC Rule 30.7(d)(1), the CFTC added language to the final rules that it stated was contained in the

The House Financial Services Committee held a meeting to consider the markups of bills relating to Regulation D under the banking law, the Bank Holding Company Act, and the Federal Reserve Accountability and Transparency Act. The Regulation D Study Act (H.R. 3240), which would instruct the Comptroller General of the United States to study the impact of Regulation D on depository institutions, consumers and monetary policy, including the requirement that depository institutions maintain reserves in accordance with the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation D, was agreed to by a voice vote. A voice

The NASDAQ OMX Group and trueEX Group LLC, a CFTC-regulated exchange for interest rate swaps ("trueEx"), announced a five-year partnership during which NASDAQ OMX will provide the SMARTS Integrity market surveillance platform to trueEX.

Linked below is an interview with James Koutoulas, a CTA representative on the NFA's board of directors and a founder of the Commodity Customer Coalition, which represents the interests of FCM customers who were harmed by recent FCM failures. Among the topics discussed are the following: how the NFA's board of directors functions, the need for more CTA representatives on the board, and the initiatives that Mr. Koutoulas is pursuing currently as a director. Click here to read the interview with James Koutoulas conducted by CTA Playbook author Kelly Hollingsworth.