CFTC Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen and Commissioner Scott O'Malia issued statements regarding the $215 million budget for the CFTC in the omnibus appropriations bill approved by Congress. Chairman Wetjen stated that he is pleased the House and Senate agreed on the appropriations bill. He stated that the funding is "a step in the right direction," but noted that the CFTC will continue to work with Congress to secure the resources to match new responsibilities. Commissioner O'Malia expressed his appreciation for the efforts of Congress to provide the CFTC with a "modest increase in Commission

The CFTC adopted and published in the Federal Register technical amendments to the CFTC regulations that correct cross-references to regulations administered by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN"), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury, under the Bank Secrecy Act ("BSA"). FinCEN's regulations have been reorganized and transferred to a new chapter in the Code of Federal Regulations. The amendments become effective on January 14, 2014. See: 79 FR 2370.

The CFTC published in the Federal Register the extension of the comment period for the aggregation of position rule proposal until February 10, 2014. Previously, the comment periods for the CFTC's proposal on the aggregation of positions and the proposal on position limits had differed. In order to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment on both proposals at the same time, the CFTC is extending the comment period for its proposal on aggregation. See: 79 FR 2394. See generally: CFTC Rule Calendar (accessible to Cabinet subscribers only). Related news: CFTC Extends Public

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued two no-action letters regarding FCMs' handling of customer funds, both intended to deal with operational issues. The first letter (14-02) provides time-limited relief as to the situation where a customer makes a single margin transfer that is required to be divided up into two or three separate types of segregated accounts; e.g., between Part 30 Secured Funds, Section 4d(a)(2) U.S. futures funds and Cleared Swap Funds. An FCM receiving such a single payment may not be able to split the money instantaneously between the

In observance of the Martin Luther King Day holiday, SIFMA made market holiday recommendations in the U.S., UK and Japan. SIFMA recommended a full market close on Monday, January 20 for the trading of U.S. dollar-denominated fixed-income securities in the U.S., UK and Japan in observance of the Martin Luther King Day holiday. See: SIFMA Press Release.