CFTC Press Release 6095-11 August 22, 2011 The CFTC announced the appointment of Gary Barnett to serve as the agency's Director of the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight. The new division is part of the agency's restructuring to fulfill its expanded responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Barnett will play a key role in the CFTC's efforts to regulate the swaps market under the law. Mr. Barnett, a former partner at Cadwalader, currently heads the U.S. Derivatives and Structured Finance Practice Group at Linklaters LLP in New York, NY

Streetwise Professor August 18, 2011 Prof. Craig Pirrong comments on the leak of confidential oil trading data and speculates that it is connected with the CFTC's likely adoption of a position limits: "The disclosures about the positions held by financial players will no doubt help shape the battlefield for that fight." "I cannot emphasize enough what an abuse this is. And it will hinder the CFTC going forward. The agency often relies on voluntary cooperation by market participants to supply data that helps it understand what is going on in the market, or to help develop policies. Is there any

August 18, 2011 A small U.S. derivatives exchange on Thursday rolled out contracts that allow traders to take bearish positions on European stocks affected by new short-selling restrictions, highlighting the tough task regulators can face in trying to limit market activity. OneChicago LLC developed the contracts in the week since the tougher short-selling rules were introduced in an effort to limit market declines, with products linked to exchange-traded funds composed of stocks listed in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. "This is another way to get exposure to those markets without touching

Press Release 6094-11 Agenda August 19, 2011 The CFTC's Office of Chief Economist will host a high-level research conference on August 25-26, 2011, to discuss key issues affecting commodity markets. The first day of the conference will feature presentations of academic papers grouped into three distinct subject areas: commodity index trading, market sentiment, and hedging and arbitrage. The second day will consist of two academic panels. The first panel, organized jointly with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy, will focus on issues related to the

HM Courts Tribunals Service August 16, 2011 The Upper Tribunal has rejected an application to prohibit the disclosure and/or publication of a Decision Notice issued by the FSA on 6 May 2011. The Decision Notice contains a decision of the FSA to impose on "Swift Trade" a financial penalty pursuant to section 123(1) of FSMA for engaging in market abuse. On 9 June 2011 the Applicants applied to the High Court for permission to apply for judicial review of the decision of the FSA to publish the Decision Notice. The High Court granted permission to the Applicants to bring judicial review