The NFA released the attached regulatory notice detailing NFA member obligations under NFA Bylaw 1101, including the prohibition of an NFA Member from carrying an account, accepting an order or handling a transaction in commodity futures contracts for or on behalf of any non-Member of the NFA that is required to be registered with the CFTC as an FCM, IB, CPO, CTA or LTM. According to the Notice, "Bylaw 1101 by its terms imposes strict liability [emphasis supplied] on any Member conducting business with a non-Member that is required to be registered." The notice also refers to a very limited

The SEC issued an Investor Bulletin to help the purchasers of municipal bonds better assess the bonds' credit risks. The bulletin provides several factors for investors to consider, including: (i) the type of bond, (ii) the purpose and nature of the financing, (iii) the overall financial condition of the issuer, and (iv) the sources of funds to pay both principal and interest. Lofchie Comment: Cadwalader is sponsoring a conference on distressed municipalities focusing particularly on the City of Detroit. Information on the conference may be found by going to the Cabinet home page and looking

SIFMA submitted the attached comments regarding interim final rules promulgated by the SEC temporarily exempting uncleared security-based swaps ("SBS") entered into between eligible contract participants (as defined in CEA Section 1a(18)) from certain provisions of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the Trust Indenture Act. This letter supplements the letter submitted jointly with ISDA on April 20, 2012, wherein SIFMA urged that the SEC permanently exempt SBS transactions involving eligible contract participants from the registration requirements of Section 5 of the Securities Act. This

The SEC has announced additional charges in an insider trading case against two brokers who traded on nonpublic information ahead of IBM's acquisition of SPSS Inc. The original source of the information was claimed by the SEC to be an associate at a New York Law firm. See: SEC Complaint. See also: SEC Dec. 26 Press Release; initial charges brought by the SEC.

The SEC has published the most current official list of Section 13(f) securities. Click here to view list in full (links externally to SEC website).