Nasdaq Group announced that it plans to implement a risk management tool commonly known as a "Kill Switch," which would cut off trading of its member firms when pre-set limits are breached, according to a regulatory filing. All three exchanges of the Group stated that the functionality plans are to be available free of charge by March 1, 2014. Lofchie YouTube Selection: Video on How to Install a Kill Switch in Your Car. See: Nasdaq Filing with SEC; Nasdaq OMX BX Filing with the SEC; Nasdaq PHLX Filing with the SEC.

The Board of the International Organization of Securities Committee ("IOSCO") met in Kuala Lumpur to discuss key issues facing global financial markets and securities regulators. The IOSCO agreed to measures that deliver on its commitments to the G20/FSB reform priorities to focus on supporting market-based financing as a driver of economic growth. Additionally, the group said it made progress on organizational and cooperation initiatives designed to ensure that IOSCO has the funding, organizational framework, and outlook needed to anticipate and respond to issues in emerging and advanced

The CFTC republished a revised chart summarizing which swaps are subject to "made available to trade" ("MAT") determinations. The new table shows the terms of the MAT interest rate swaps and credit default swaps as of February 18, 2014. The chart was originally published by the CFTC on February 10. See: Swaps MAT Chart. See also : Compendium of Links to SEF Rules (subscriber).

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued no-action relief to a CPO, with respect to a single-member pool (where the single member controlled the pool), from the requirements under CFTC Rules 4.7(b)(3) ("Relief Available to Commodity Pool Operators") and 4.22(d)(1) ("Reporting to Pool Participants") to audit its financial statements in the annual report for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2013. The relief granted is conditioned on the CPO's filing with the National Futures Association ("NFA") an unaudited 2013 Annual Report for the pool that otherwise

The SEC filed an amicus brief in support of appellant and former Siemens A.G. compliance officer, Liu Meng-Lin, who brought a lawsuit against Siemens claiming that its Chinese subsidiary used kickbacks to boost medical equipment sales. On October 21, 2013, U.S. District Judge William Pauley dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Dodd-Frank's anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers do not apply outside the United States. The SEC amicus brief urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to defer to the SEC rule that clarified "an ambiguity in the whistleblower employment anti