MFA a nounced the release of a comprehensive guide regarding the EU Short Selling Regulation (SSR). The SSR will take effect on November 1, 2012. See: Resource Guide: EU Short Selling Regulation Compliance (links externally to MFA website).

George Osborne (UK Chancellor of the Exchequer), Michel Barnier (European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services), Ikko Nakatsuka (Government of Japan Minister of State for Financial Services) and Pierre Moscovici (Government of France Minister of Finance) submitted a joint letter to CFTC Chairman Gensler expressing concern as to the CFTC's cross-border swaps rules. The gist of the letter is to the effect that the CFTC must recognize compliance by non-U.S. firms with non-U.S. rules as satisfying U.S. requirements. Lofchie Comment: This is an understated letter to the CFTC saying that

ICE is revising the block trade minimum quantities for certain Energy Contracts, in that they are being restored to one contract. View notice in full here (links externally to ICE website).

The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued an interpretation that a limited liability company whose members were two cousins was not a "commodity pool" within the meaning and intent of Regulation 4.10(d)(1) and, consequently, that the managing member could not be a CPO (as there was no pool of which he might be a CPO). Lofchie Comment: While the result is good, this seems like a lot of regulatory effort to spend on a determination that two cousins co-investing are not a commodity pool. It would be a lot more efficient if the CFTC were simply to follow the SEC's definition of

SEC announced that Andrew M. Calamari has been named Director of the New York Regional Office. Calamari has been serving as Acting Director of the New York office since the promotion of George Canellos to Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement earlier this year. The New York office has responsibility for the largest concentration of SEC-registered financial institutions including more than 4,000 investment banks, investment advisers, broker-dealers, mutual funds, and hedge funds. View Press Release in full here (links externally to SEC website).