The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") published a final rule to implement Dodd-Frank Section 210(r) ("Powers and Duties of the Corporation") in the Federal Register. Under Section 210(r), individuals or entities that have, or may have, contributed to the failure of a "covered financial company" cannot buy that covered financial company's assets from the FDIC. The final rule establishes a self-certification process that is a prerequisite to the purchase of assets of a covered financial company from the FDIC. The final rule will become effective on July 1, 2014. See: 79 FR 20762.

In an April 11 complaint filed in Chicago federal court, CME Group Inc. ("CME") was sued by three of its users that alleged CME sold access to order information to its high-frequency traders ("HFTs") ahead of other market participants. In regards to the suit, CME responded that the case is without merit, stating: "The suit is devoid of any facts supporting the allegations and, even worse, demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how our markets operate." The Plaintiffs allege that throughout the Class Period (2007 through April 10, 2014), CME concealed the fact that it was allowing the

On April 14, 2014 in National Association of Manufacturers v. SEC, the D.C. Circuit partially struck down the SEC's rule regarding Section 1502 of Dodd-Frank, which requires issuers to disclose whether their products contain "conflict minerals." Conflict minerals are defined in Dodd-Frank as four types of minerals mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC") or one of its neighboring countries. The SEC's rule requires that, if an issuer determines, after a reasonable country of origin inquiry and subsequent due diligence, that conflict minerals are present in its products, it must

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued an exemptive relief for a CPO permitting the filing of a 15-month certified annual report. The letter provides relief to the CPO of a commodity pool from the Annual Report filing and certification requirements pursuant to CFTC Rules 4.7(b)(3) ("Exemption from Certain Part 4 Requirements for Commodity Pool Operators with Respect to Offerings to Qualified Eligible Persons and for Commodity Trading Advisors with Respect to Advising Qualified Eligible Persons") and 4.22(d) ("Reporting to Pool Participants"). The DSIO

In a speech at the American Bar Association Business Law Section Spring Meeting, SEC Division of Corporate Finance Director Keith F. Higgins discussed the SEC's disclosure regime and the ways in which the Commission is trying to increase disclosure effectiveness. Director Higgins stated that the SEC's initial goal is to review specific sections of Regulation S-K and S-X to determine if the requirements can be updated to reduce the costs and burdens on companies, while also continuing to provide material information and eliminate duplicative disclosures. Director Higgins stated that the SEC is