Commodity Futures Trading Commission – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is soliciting comment on the appropriate regulatory treatment of financial agreements offered by markets commonly referred to as event, prediction, or information markets.\1\ For ease of reference and to avoid classification issues, these financial agreements are referred to herein as event contracts. In general, event contracts are neither dependent on, nor do they necessarily relate to, market prices or broad-based measures of economic or commercial activity.\2\ Rather, event contracts may be based on eventualities and measures as varied as the world's population in the year 2050, the results of political elections, or the outcome of particular entertainment events.\3\ The Commission's staff has received a substantial number of requests for guidance on the propriety of trading various event contracts under the regulatory rubric of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA or Act). Given the substantive and practical concerns that may arise from applying federal regulation to event contracts and markets, the Commission believes that it is appropriate to solicit and consider the public's comments in advance of issuing any definitive guidance.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected costs and burden; it includes the actual data collection instruments [if any].

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is proposing to exempt certain transactions in physically delivered futures contracts based on streetTRACKS[reg] Gold Trust Shares (ST gold futures contracts) \1\ from those provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA or Act),\2\ and the Commission's regulations thereunder, that are inconsistent with the trading and clearing of ST gold futures contracts as security futures. The proposed exemption would be conditioned on the compliance of transactions in ST gold futures contracts with the requirements established for security futures. The authority for the issuance of this exemption is found in Section 4(c) of the Act.\3\

The Commission is adopting final regulations that effectuate the following amendments to the Commission's regulations. The amendments delegate the Commission's authority to issue special calls to exempt commercial markets to the Director of the Division of Enforcement and that Director's designees. The amendments clarify the process for listing, clearing, or implementing products or rules, including dormant products and rules, and amend the definition of emergency to clarify that persons other than persons comprising a registered entity's full governing board may declare an emergency on behalf of the governing board. The amendments also amend the approval period for designated contract market rules that may change a material term or condition of an enumerated agricultural futures or options contract. Lastly, the amendments clarify how far in advance of implementation registered entities must submit self-certified contracts and rules to the Commission, and identify three additional categories of rules that may be implemented without certification or Commission approval.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is reopening the period for public comment to provide interested persons additional time to comment on certain proposed amendments pertaining to the Federal speculative position limits for agricultural commodities.