The CFTC issued four no-action letters exempting CPOs and their pools from CFTC rules regarding annual report requirements and the requirement to have an independent public accountant audit a pool's financial statement. CFTC Letter 14-101 granted relief to a CPO of a commodity pool from the audit requirement in CFTC Rule 4.22(d) for the 2013 fiscal year, explaining that the pool had ceased trading as of January 10, 2014 and provided waivers from the pool's participants. The relief is conditioned upon the CPO's distributing and filing unaudited financial statements with the NFA, and provides

Subject to certain conditions, the SEC granted exemptions from Exchange Act Rule 10b-17 ("Untimely Announcements of Record Dates") and Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M to First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (the "Fund"), which is an "ETF of ETFs." The SEC stated that the Fund is a registered open-end management company that will redeem "Creation Units" of the Fund continuously at net asset value ("NAV"), that there will be a close alignment between the market price of shares issued by the Fund and the Fund's NAV, and that information regarding pending distributions will be

SIFMA issued guidance titled "How Small Firms Can Better Protect Their Business," which builds upon National Institute of Standards and Technology’s ("NIST") Cybersecurity Framework. The NIST Framework is derived from existing industry standards to help small firms improve their cybersecurity and ensure customer protection. In the guidance, SIFMA explained that as more small firms become increasingly dependent on technology, they become targets for cyber criminals. The percentage of cyberattacks targeted at businesses with fewer than 250 employees jumped from 18 percent in 2011 to 31 percent

In an online commentary, University of Houston finance professor Craig Pirrong discussed pricing benchmarks and the future of major benchmarks. See: Craig Pirrong, " Benchmark Blues." Streetwise Professor.

SIFMA and the Institute of International Bankers ("IIB") submitted separate amicus briefs in support of the position of Standard Chartered Bank ("Standard Chartered"), which is seeking relief from a restraining order obtained by the Motorola Credit Corporation ("Motorola") as part of Motorola's effort to collect on a multi-billion dollar judgment against the Uzan family. The restraining order requires Standard Chartered to freeze assets of the Uzans held in its branches in the United Arab Emirates. Standard Chartered sought relief from the restraining order, arguing that New York's "separate