SIFMA, ICI, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Financial Services Roundtable submitted a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner regarding their opposition to a national, global or regional financial transactions tax ("FTT"), asserting that such a levy would contribute to economic uncertainty and distort the ability of investors and businesses to make long-term economic decisions. The organizations argue that an FTT will impede growth, fragment markets, increase market volatility, destroy savings, and encourage uneconomic tax-motivated decision making. View letter in full

CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton delivered a speech before the 5th Annual Risk Management in Energy Trading Conference in Houston, Texas on the current progress of implementing Dodd-Frank. Chilton discussed the following topics: Transparency - Commissioner Chilton stated that Swap Data Repositories (SDRs) will provide the regulators with needed transparency. Market Integrity - According to Chilton, the two challenges in ensuring market integrity are excessive speculation and high-frequency trading. Chilton argues that Dodd-Frank has unambiguously mandated speculative trading limits to avoid

At the Houston energy conference at which he spoke (link here to related news item), CFTC Commissioner Chilton laid out a projected timetable for the completion of swap rules by the CFTC. December 31, 2012 GoalsFinal Rules : Clearing Requirement Determination [this may go on November 15] Cooperative Clearing Exemption Inter-affiliate Clearing Exemption SEF Rules Block Trading Rule for Swaps DCMs – Core Principle 9 Disruptive Trade Practices Interpretation Records of cash commodity, futures, option, and swap transactions (Rule 1.35) CPO Harmonization RTO/ISO Exemptive Relief 201(f) Exemptive

FINRA has expelled NY-based Hudson Valley Capital Management and barred Chief Executive Officer, Mark Gillis, from the securities industry for defrauding the broker-dealer's clearing firm and customers by using their funds and securities to cover losses caused by Gillis's manipulative day trading. Hudson Valley failed to supervise Gillis's trading activities at the firm; thus, Gillis was able to conduct his fraudulent trading scheme without restriction. Gillis's scheme caused a net capital deficiency for Hudson Valley in excess of $350,000. View disciplinary action in full here (links

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange sued the CFTC as to its rule making (at 77 Fed. Reg. 2136 - Jan. 13, 2012, codified at 17 C.F.R. Part 45) insofar as the CFTC rule would require CFTC-registered derivatives clearing organizations ("DCOs") to provide nonpublic regulatory reports of cleared swap transactions to Swap Data Repositories ("SDRs"). Among the bases for the complaints are that (i) the CFTC is not authorized by the statute to issue the rule; (ii) the CFTC has not performed any cost-benefit analysis of the rule; (iii) the CFTC has issued an interpretation of its rule that is inconsistent