The SEC held a meeting to honor the anniversary of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Commissioner Elisse B. Walter delivered remarks in which she praised the Commission's significant transformation in the following areas: Technology: The SEC has embraced new technologies, transforming the way it targets, investigates, and examines registered entities and suspected wrongdoers through the use of sophisticated custom algorithms. Leverage: The SEC continues to leverage its capacity in ways that effectively multiply the reach of its staff and bring oversight into places it would not normally be

CFTC Commissioner Scott D. O'Malia delivered a statement seeking an extension of the existing exemptive relief from the cross-border application of its Dodd-Frank rules. Commissioner O'Malia asserted that the CFTC should not be forced into implementing a "take-it-or-leave-it" solution tied to an arbitrary deadline. In his statement, O'Malia discussed three options: a take-it option (finalize the guidance); a leave-it option (do nothing and let the relief expire); or an extension of the relief. According to Commissioner O'Malia, extending the relief is the most sensible option as it would serve

NFA's Board of Directors met on May 16 and approved a budget of $74 million for the coming fiscal year. This 18 percent increase in NFA's budget for Fiscal Year 2014 is a consequence of the substantial expansion of NFA's regulatory duties. One specific reason for the significant rise in spending is due to the registration and monitoring of new swap dealer ("SD") and major swap participant ("MSP") Members. NFA is currently hiring and training additional staff to manage these oversight efforts. NFA is in the second year of a ramp-up of its swaps regulatory program. There currently are 80

CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler delivered the keynote address at the Sandler O'Neill Conference on the application of recently enacted or pending cross-border swaps market reforms. In his speech, Mr. Gensler stated that Dodd-Frank swaps regulation had provided benefits to the U.S. financial system, but absent further cross-border swaps market reforms, Dodd-Frank would be undermined. Mr. Gensler's recommendations included that: Dodd-Frank requirements must cover swaps between non-U.S. swap dealers and guaranteed affiliates of U.S. persons; The Definition of a U.S. person in the final guidance must

The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an Investor Bulletin regarding high-yield corporate bonds. According to the Bulletin, a high-yield corporate bond is a type of corporate bond that offers a higher rate of interest because of its higher risk of default. High-yield bond issuers are often companies characterized as highly leveraged or which are experiencing financial difficulties. Similarly, smaller or emerging companies may also issue high-yield bonds to offset unproven operating histories. High-yield corporate bonds are very risky. Investors considering purchasing a