On Wednesday, the Fed proposed some rather small revisions to the Volcker Rule. If you want to read all about it, there's the
Fed memo explaining the proposal (developed along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission), the
Fed's official notice which provides a massive amount of details, and
"Why Wall Street Traders Aren't Rejoicing (Yet) Over Volcker Rule" from Bloomberg Markets.
After an three-year effort to re-engineer the underlying technology of their trade reporting system, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board can now accept and disseminate municipal securities trade information in real time. (The Bond Buyer | May 30)
Vote, if successful, would allow the public to comment on the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed revamp of regulation that restricts banks' trading. (Bloomberg BNA | May 30)
Banks have long complained the rule meant to ban lenders that accept U.S. taxpayer-insured deposits from engaging in proprietary trading is too vague and complex. The rewrite seeks to make clear which trades qualify for safe harbors, such as when banks facilitate client trades and hedge risks, and to expand those exemptions. (Reuters | May 30)
Activity in options on eurodollar futures shows traders are starting to unwind bets
that the central bank will hike four times in 2018. The evaporation of that wager, which implied one more increase this year than indicated in officials' quarterly projections, is also apparent in rallying fed funds futures. (Bloomberg Markets | May 29)
Two of the biggest U.S. stock-exchange operators have accused the Securities and Exchange Commission of exceeding its legal authority with a proposal to limit the rebates they pay traders to attract stock orders. (The Wall Street Journal | May 29)
The
Cyber Cafe
Cybersecurity news every Friday
Cloud security: The reason hackers have it so easy will infuriate you
Your passwords and security keys have too often been left out in the open, but a new class of tech tools are helping to finally lock down the cloud.
Realistic 'Zero Trust' for your cybersecurity program
"Zero Trust" can be a powerful tool to help you select better tools, better harden internal resources against threats, and better define your control environment.
(May 30) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission is concerned that state and local governments are providing ratings companies and some investors with information that's not broadly disseminated to other bondholders, according to the head of the agency's Office of Municipal Securities. Rebecca Olsen, acting director of the municipal securities office, said at an analysts conference that issuers sometimes release information surrounding bank loans to ratings companies or certain investors that's not disclosed to others. Such selective disclosure can prevent securities from reflecting their true value if investors don't have access to certain information, Olsen said.
CryptoKitties: Using the blockchain for cat pictures
CryptoKitties - cartoon cats people collect online - have gained traction in part because they're built on a trendy technology called the blockchain, a kind of public receipt that logs every cat and who it belongs to. It's the same tech upon which bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are built.
