Sifma : News on the capital markets, securities and financial
industry
Wednesday 04 January 2012SIFMA
Washington
Roundup
CFTC reportedly rejects request to delay position
limits
SIFMA and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association sued
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for a delay in the
implementation of position limits in the commodities markets. The
CFTC rejected the request on a 3-to-2 vote, according to sources.
SIFMA is eager to argue in court for its stand, a spokesman said.
Learn moreabout the issues surrounding position
limits. Nasdaq.com/Dow Jones Newswires(1/3)
IRS looks into municipal bond
prices
The tax-exempt bond office at the Internal Revenue Service set up a
team to determine whether municipal bonds have been offered at
prices that might violate tax laws. The team will use data from the
Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. Market participants have
encouraged the IRS to offer guidance on muni prices. "It would be
nice to get some additional guidance from the IRS on that," said
Michael Decker, a managing director and co-head of the municipal
securities division at SIFMA. The Bond Buyer (free content)(1/4)
Office of Financial Research gets off to a slow
start
The Dodd-Frank Act required creation of the Office of Financial
Research, which collects and analyzes bank data for the Financial
Stability Oversight Council. However, the agency has missed
deadlines, struggled to fill jobs and generally had a slow start.
President Barack Obama nominated Richard Berner to lead the office,
but it could take months for the Senate to act on the nomination.
The New York Times (tiered subscription
model)/DealBook blog(1/3)
Romney and Santorum battle for lead in Iowa
caucuses
The GOP presidential primary race has become increasingly
fractious, with former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and
former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney at the top of the Iowa
caucus results. Santorum and Romney each won about a quarter of the
votes almost all precincts reporting. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was on
track to place third. The Washington Post(1/4), The Wall Street Journal(1/3)
