Securities and Exchange Commission July 9, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On July 9, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission will hold a roundtable to facilitate an open discussion of the benefits and potential challenges associated with existing fair value accounting and auditing standards. The roundtable will be organized as two panels: The first panel to discuss fair value accounting issues from the perspective of larger financial institutions and the needs of their investors; and the second panel to discuss the issues from the perspective of all public companies, including small public companies, and the needs of their investors. The panels will include investors, preparers, auditors, regulators and other interested parties. Additionally, representatives from the Financial Accounting Standards Board, International Accounting Standards Board and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will be present as observers. The roundtable will be held in the auditorium at the SEC's headquarters at 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC. The roundtable will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The roundtable discussions also will be available via webcast on the SEC's Web site at https://www.sec.gov. The roundtable agenda and other materials related to the roundtable, including a list of participants and moderators, will be accessible at https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/ fairvalue.htm. The Commission welcomes feedback regarding any of the topics to be addressed at the roundtable.

The Commission is proposing revisions to its oil and gas reporting requirements which exist in their current form in Regulation S-K and Regulation S-X under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Industry Guide 2. The revisions are intended to provide investors with a more meaningful and comprehensive understanding of oil and gas reserves, which should help investors evaluate the relative value of oil and gas companies. In the three decades that have passed since adoption of these requirements, there have been significant changes in the oil and gas industry. The proposed amendments are designed to modernize and update the oil and gas disclosure requirements to align them with current practices and changes in technology. The proposed amendments would also codify Industry Guide 2 in Regulation S-K, with several additions to, and deletions of, current Industry Guide items. They would further harmonize oil and gas disclosures by foreign private issuers with the proposed disclosures for domestic issuers.