IMF Suggests Capital Controls for Emerging Markets (WSJ)
Felix Shipkevich - February 19, 2010From the Wall Street Journal:
International Monetary Fund economists, reversing the fund’s past opposition to capital controls, urged developing nations to consider using taxes and regulation to moderate vast inflows of capital so they don’t produce asset bubbles and other financial calamities. It said emerging markets with controls in place had fared better than others in [...]
CFTC ACTION: Pressio Capital Management LP
Felix Shipkevich - February 18, 2010The CFTC issued an order imposing a $1 million penalty against Craig A. Riley and his firm, Pressio Capital Management LP for fraudulently operating a commodity pool and misappropriating pool participant funds. The CFTC administrative order also permanently bars the respondents from engaging in any commodity-related trading activities, including soliciting funds, registering with the CFTC [...]
BOJ may ramp up fiscal policy actions
Felix Shipkevich - January 24, 2010Bank of Japan policy makers are prepared to consider expanding an emergency-loan program for banks and increasing purchases of government debt should the recovery falter, people with knowledge of the matter said.
CFTC’s sabre-rattling… Opinion piece by Tribune’s Rowena Mason
Felix Shipkevich - January 18, 2010The main source of worry for observers is some of those funds hit by regulation will migrate to the “dark” side of the market known as “over-the-counter” – fundamentally less transparent and harder to monitor. Michael Dunn, CFTC commissioner, even believes that the new rules may, overall, “result in less transparency in the futures markets”.
Obama proposes tax on large financial firms
Felix Shipkevich - January 15, 2010To make up for the government’s $117 billion in projected bailout losses, the Obama administration proposed a tax on the bailout’s beneficiaries. “We want our money back, and we’re going to get it,” said the President. The proposed tax is expected to yield $9 billion in annual revenue.
Economist to leave CFTC
Felix Shipkevich - December 30, 2009Jeffrey Harris, chief economist for CFTC, who last year claimed he could find no direct link between speculation and high energy prices, is leaving the agency to return to academia, according to a Dow Jones report.
SEC ACTION: Harold H. Jaschke
Felix Shipkevich - December 29, 2009The SEC charged a Houston-based broker with engaging in unauthorized and unsuitable trading on behalf of two Florida municipalities, putting them at risk of losing millions of dollars while he reaped commissions of more than $14 million for himself. The complaint alleges that Harold H. Jaschke, while associated with the brokerage firm First Allied Securities, [...]
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009
Felix Shipkevich - December 11, 2009The legislation creates a mechanism for governments to dissolve large banks, provides regulation of exotic financial instruments, requires banks to set aside more capital in reserve, eliminates the Office of Thrift Supervision, gives shareholders a greater say on executive pay, and tightens supervision over credit-rating agencies, among other reforms. It passed 223 to 202, with [...]
NFA proposes amendments to Financial Requirements Section 15 regarding FDM internal financial controls
Felix Shipkevich - December 3, 2009Financial Requirements Section 15 currently requires firms to provide NFA with an internal control report prior to acting as an FDM. This report must be prepared by an independent public accountant registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and must include representations by the accountant that the FDM’s internal financial controls have no material [...]
“Lawless” pirate gangs lure investors
Felix Shipkevich - December 1, 2009HARADHEERE, Somalia (Reuters) – In Somalia’s main pirate lair of Haradheere, the sea gangs have set up a cooperative to fund their hijackings offshore, a sort of stock exchange meets criminal syndicate. It is a lucrative business that has drawn financiers from the Somali diaspora and other nations — and now the gangs in Haradheere have set up an exchange to manage their investments.
