The CFTC issued a correction to a cross-reference in CFTC Rule 37.702 and related guidance. The rule and guidance applies to the registration and operation of swap execution facilities. See: 78 FR 150.

FINRA has fined Oppenheimer & Co. $1.4 million for failing to have an adequate AML compliance program and for the sale of unregistered penny stock shares. According to the disciplinary action, the firm allowed unidentified customers to deposit large volumes of penny stocks in an Oppenheimer account without determining whether the shares were restricted or freely salable. The customers would then sell the shares through Oppenheimer and withdraw the proceeds. FINRA found that, between 2008 and 2010, Oppenheimer sold more than one billion shares of twenty unregistered penny stocks in the manner

Bermuda's Minister of Finance, Bob Richards, has announced that Bermuda and the U.S. Treasury Department have concluded negotiations on a FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement ("IGA") and have initialed the IGA. As previously announced, the IGA is a Model 2 type agreement requiring Bermuda financial institutions to report information with respect to financial accounts held directly or indirectly by U.S. persons to the U.S. IRS. The IGA must be approved by the UK pursuant to a July 15, 2010 Letter of Entrustment with respect to tax information exchanges. The text of the IGA will not be released

The SEC has announced insider trading charges against a former systems administrator at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and his friend. The SEC alleges that the systems administrator used his position to access pending press releases and the email accounts of other employees to cull material nonpublic information. Lofchie Comment: For corporate issuers, this case emphasizes the importance of considering which employees and services providers have access to inside information and what constitutes effective controls. Persons with access to internal computer systems may know quite a bit about

The SEC has obtained a preliminary injunction and other relief against the Cyprus binary-based operations trading company, Banc de Binary, for offering and selling binary options to investors across the U.S. without first registering with the SEC. The options paid out a fixed amount if they were in the money; and otherwise zero. See: SEC Press Release; SEC Litigation Release.