News Article Regulators on Thursday proposed new curbs on speculative trading in 28 commodities, seeking to prevent distorted prices at the gas pump and in the supermarket. The commission advanced its plan in a 4-to-1 vote. One of the two Republican commissioners opposed the proposal because she said that the commission first needed to understand how widespread speculative trading had become. The Republican commissioner who voted for the plan, Scott D. O'Malia, said he was "very skeptical" of it. The commission's proposal for spot-month position limits, or limits on a contract closest to

News Article CFTC Democratic Commissioner Michael Dunn said that the CFTC needs to find hard data to justify speculative position limits for commodities markets before a final decision can be made on a proposal for the curbs. "I think Congress gave us a very difficult job, and it's incumbent upon our staff to take a look at the information they have, to look at the empirical data that is out there, and then come back and make recommendations to us." Publication Reuters Date January 13, 2011 Cross References (links may require a Cabinet subscription) Dodd-Frank Act, Title VII, Sec. 737

Article at pages 15-16 discusses CFTC's budget situation in light of Dodd-Frank and Republican takeover of the House, and the position points proposal, which is intended to serve as a "glide path" for more permanent and stricter position limits. Publication Energy Metro Desk Date January 10, 2011 Cross References (links may require a Cabinet subscription) Dodd-Frank Act, Title VII, Sec. 737

Commentary Economist Craig Pirrong says the most newsworthy aspect of yesterday's CFTC meeting: Commissioner Michael Dunn expressed skepticism about the need for position limits. "This is newsworthy because Dunn is a Democrat who is widely viewed as a swing vote on the Commission . . . Dunn has a very, very solid basis for his skepticism. Indeed, he echoed a theme I have hammered on for a long time: the lack of any evidence that speculation has actually distorted prices . . . So it's encouraging to see Commissioner Dunn see that the lack of evidence is indeed a problem. It's particularly

CFTC Dodd-Frank Rulemaking The CFTC will hold a public meeting on Thursday, January 20, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. to consider the issuance of proposed rulemakings under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on the following topics: Commodity Options and Agricultural Swaps; Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors; Amendments to Compliance Obligations; Reporting by Investment Advisers to Private Funds and Certain Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors on Form PF (joint with the Securities and Exchange Commission); and Swap Trading Relationship