The CFTC obtained a federal court order requiring a registered FCM to pay a civil monetary penalty for violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations concerning the segregation of customer funds, and for supervision failures. The complaint charged that, in violation of CFTC regulations, the account in which customer assets were maintained was not subject to a legal obligation to make customer funds available for redemption by the next business day following a request, and was not properly titled as a "customer segregated funds" account. The complaint also charged that the FCM failed

The CME Group announced its acquisition of the Kansas City Board of Trade ("KCBT"), the leading futures market for hard red winter ("HRW") wheat.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York ("FRBNY") announced that Sara Horowitz, founder and executive director of the Freelancers Union and chief executive officer of the Freelancers Insurance Company, has been appointed as a Class C director of the New York Fed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, starting January 1, 2013, for a three-year term ending December 31, 2016. The Board of Governors has also designated Emily K. Rafferty as chair and redesignated Kathryn S. Wylde as deputy chair of the New York Fed’s Board of Directors for 2013. View Press Release in full here (links

Click on the links below to learn more about each insider trading case: Brazilian Ex-Banker to Pay $5.1 Million for Insider Trading in Burger King Stock Connecticut-Based Business Executive Charged with Insider Trading During Bidding Process China North East Petroleum Holdings Limited, et al.

The Division of Corporation Finance provided no-action relief to Minnesota Soybean Processors, an agricultural co-operative, that its conversion from one form of co-operative to another was not subject to the Securities Act of 1933. The relief was based on the fact that the various interests issued by the entity were not "securities" for purposes of the Securities Act, and thus the transfer of such interests could not constitute a sale of "securities". Cross-Reference(s): Exchange Act Section 2(a)(1). Lofchie Comment: For lawyers seeking to re-create their youth, reading the incoming letter is