The Commodity Futures Trading Commission was set to propose limits on energy traders’ positions. The plans would push forward a major piece of Chairman Gary Gensler's agenda and is a response to criticism the agency faced in 2008 when crude-oil prices soared to $145 a barrel. (Wall Street Journal)
Michel Barnier, the nominee for EU internal market commissioner, won backing in the European Parliament after saying regulation of commodities trading, derivatives and short selling should be reformed. “No financial market, no financial product, no territory should be able to escape regulation and oversight,” Barnier said at a confirmation hearing. “We need to put transparency, responsibility and ethics at the heart of the financial system.” (Bloomberg via BusinessWeek)
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed banning naked access. Naked access allows traders and others to rapidly buy and sell stocks directly on exchanges using a broker's computer code without exchanges or regulators always knowing who is making the trades. The rule, if passed, could set back the high-frequency trading industry. (Wall Street Journal)
President Barack Obama was expected to propose taxing large banks based on their exposure to risk as a means to recover taxpayer losses from the bailout of the financial sector, according to people familiar with the matter. If approved by Congress, the new levy, which the administration calls a “financial crisis responsibility fee,” would require more than 25 banks to collectively pay the federal government roughly $100 billion over 10 years. (Wall Street Journal)