The SEC published in the Federal Register the designation of a longer period in which to take action regarding a proposed FINRA rule amendment that would adopt an interpretation to clarify the classification and reporting of certain securities. The SEC will issue a decision regarding the proposed rule by May 28, 2014. See: 79 FR 18591. See also: SEC Extends Review Period for FINRA-Proposed Rule Change to Clarify the Classification and Reporting of Certain Securities to FINRA (March 28, 2014).

SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar delivered a speech discussing the main issues and debates surrounding the mutual fund industry, including the SEC's authority, equity market structure and cybersecurity threats. According to Commissioner Aguilar, the SEC historically has taken a "proactive" role in the asset management industry; however, he stated, activities of the Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC") and its research arm, the Office of Financial Research ("OFR"), have recently undercut the SEC's authority. Commissioner Aguilar outlined the history of the SEC's regulation, mentioning

The Honorable Ronnie Abrams of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against defendants Alan Sheinwald and Alliance Advisors LLC for acting as unregistered brokers in connection with securities offerings for two companies. The Complaint alleged that the defendants acted as unregistered brokers by, among other things, receiving transaction-based compensation in exchange for actively soliciting investors to participate in the securities offerings. Sheinwald and Alliance Advisors consented to the entry of final judgment without admitting

The IRS and the Treasury announced on April 2 that a country which has reached an agreement in substance with the United States as to the terms of a FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement ("IGA") will be treated as having an IGA in effect through December 31, 2014, even if such IGA has not been signed. The Treasury and the IRS had previously announced that a country which had signed an IGA would be treated as having the agreement in effect, even if such IGA had not been brought into force. According to Announcement 2014-17 (linked below), a Foreign Financial Institution resident in, or organized

By an overwhelming 378-34 vote on April 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the amended version of H.R. 4152 that was approved by the Senate last week. The bill provides for sanctions against "persons responsible for violence or who undermine the independence, sovereignty, or territorial or economic integrity of Ukraine," as well as those "complicit in or responsible for significant corruption in the Russian Federation." The final bill omits the funding for controversial International Monetary Fund reforms that was included in the original Senate version of the bill but encountered