WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) – Regulators still
have not been able to pinpoint the cause of the market’s recent
plunge, but charged ahead with new rules to restrict trading
when markets are in free-fall.

Nearly two weeks after the Dow Jones industrial average
dropped some 700 points within minutes, regulators are
grappling with half a dozen working hypotheses and have not
ruled out anything.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday issued a warning to traders advising them not to exceed speculative position limits at any point during the trading day, not just at the close of trading.

The release was issued to clear up confusion among traders as to whether limits applied only at the end of the day or also during the trading session.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. futures regulators fined Morgan Stanley $14 million for failing to report a big block oil trade and fined Moore Capital $25 million for attempting to manipulate palladium and platinum futures.

The two settlements come as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission begins to exert more authority over the markets it regulates and as Congress contemplates handing it far more power over the vast over-the-counter derivatives markets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. futures regulator, which has pushed to extend its reach over contracts traded off regulated exchanges, will decide on Tuesday whether two-dozen energy contracts need more oversight because of the important role they play in setting the price for a commodity.

The review by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes as Congress presses for a sweeping overhaul of U.S. financial regulation — including tough new rules for the derivatives market — and as the CFTC considers a crack-down on speculative trades in the energy and metals arenas.

WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) – The top U.S. futures
regulator, which has pushed to extend its reach over contracts
traded off regulated exchanges, will decide on Tuesday whether
two-dozen energy contracts need more oversight because of the
important role they play in setting the price for a commodity.

The review by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
comes as Congress presses for a sweeping overhaul of U.S.
financial regulation — including tough new rules for the
derivatives market — and as the CFTC considers a crack-down on
speculative trades in the energy and metals arenas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of the top U.S. futures regulator endorsed the Senate’s financial reform bill as a “strong product,” but he stopped short on Monday of supporting a controversial proposal in the bill that would require banks to spin off swaps desks.

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Democratic senators were close to finalizing their bill, which will bring the $450 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market under regulators’ watch for the first time.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s proposal to apply position limits to oil and natural gas futures markets faced a wave of resistance from major energy market traders and investors, who decried it as a misguided effort that would drive away liquidity.

But as a public comment period ends on Monday, the arguments against the energy position limit plan by the top futures regulator may be eclipsed by the political momentum for a clampdown on banks, widely perceived as sapping money from Main Street using little understood derivatives.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some of the biggest players in U.S. energy markets have told the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that its proposal to curb speculation is misguided and will drive investors to overseas and unregulated markets.

But as a public comment period ends on Monday, the arguments against the energy position limit plan by the top futures regulator may be eclipsed by the political momentum for a clampdown on banks, widely perceived as sapping money from Main Street using little understood derivatives.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some of the biggest players in U.S. energy markets have told the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that its proposal to curb speculation is misguided and will drive investors to overseas and unregulated markets.

But as a public comment period ends on Monday, the arguments against the energy position limit plan by the top futures regulator may be eclipsed by the political momentum for a clampdown on banks, widely perceived as sapping money from Main Street using little understood derivatives.

LOS ANGELES/ WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) – Cantor
Fitzgerald LP won U.S. regulatory approval on Tuesday to launch
a “contract market” for the trading of box office futures, but
whether it can proceed with its controversial plan to offer
contracts based on movie receipts is still far from certain.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said
on Tuesday it had approved Cantor’s application for designation
as a “contract market,” clearing the first hurdle the firm
needed to begin trading options or futures contracts.