Any financial control person who becomes aware that their firm has fallen into a capital or custody deficiency must report the problem to the CFTC (or the SEC, in the case of a broker-dealer). To decide to report such a problem is not a judgment call; it is a requirement. The CFTC's two rules on such deficiencies lie at the very heart of the regulatory system, and the failure to notify regulators of a problem with compliance is a violation that can destroy confidence in a firm or in the…

Over the past several years, it has been asserted that derivatives prices in the aluminum market were manipulated by the warehouses, but the CFTC seems to have found no evidence to support those accusations. See ; .

Commissioner Stein's suggestion that the SEC should attempt to find out what disclosures investors really want makes sense. Both the SEC and Congress should embrace it. Recent "social" disclosure requirements (e.g., conflict minerals, compensation ratios, and diversity and contributions to come) are political rather than financial in nature.

Commissioner Stein is correct that the best way to find out what investors want is to ask them. Accordingly, it would make sense to…

Firms should be aware that much of this reporting can be difficult to complete correctly, particularly when it concerns the aggregation of positions held by accounts under common control.