The MSRB has requested public comment on a concept proposal to improve investor access to information about new issues of municipal securities. The proposal would increase the availability of preliminary official statements for all investors on its EMMA website, a public resource for municipal securities information. Click here to view regulatory notice in full (links externally to MSRB website).

The European Parliament approved its recommendation allowing for 11 EU Member States to proceed with an Enhanced Cooperation Agreement (ECA) on a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). The approval now allows the European Union Member States in the Council of the European Union to officially proceed in seeking an ECA on a financial transaction tax plan. MEPs have long advocated an FTT to make financial market players take more responsibility for resolving the crisis that they caused and to discourage excessive risk-taking in the future. According to the press release, "It is not a solution to spare

The SEC Division of Investment Management announced that it will no longer defer consideration of exemptive requests under the Investment Company Actrelating to actively-managed ETFs that make use of derivatives, provided that the ETFs include representations to address some of the concerns expressed in the March 2010 press release. These representations are as follows: (i) that the ETF's board periodically will review and approve the ETF's use of derivatives and how the ETF's investment adviser assesses and manages risk with respect to the ETF's use of derivatives; and (ii) that the ETF's

SIFMA issued the attached letter to FINRA regarding the dissemination of information regarding TRACE-eligible securities transactions. In the letter, SIFMA made the following recommendations, in effect advising that the status quo be maintained: (i) do not increase dissemination caps for investment grade TRACE-eligible securities or non-investment grade TRACE-eligible securities;(ii) postpone any recalibration of dissemination caps for TBA transactions until the market impact is known; and (iii) do not publicly disseminate Rule 144A transactions for the time being. Click hereto view letter in

In the attached no-action letter, the Staff of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance stated that it will not recommend enforcement under Exchange Act Rule 14e-1(b), permitting the parties to announce any extensions of the tender offer in accordance with the timing and notice requirements of Brazilian law. Click here to view letter in full (links externally to SEC website). Incoming Letters: United States Counsel; Brazilian Counsel.