July 2011 = no more US trader clients?
- Thread starter Gcapman
- Start date
From FT:
Dodd-Frank act presents companies with a PR minefield
By Jean Eaglesham in New York
Published: August 30 2010 22:01 | Last updated: August 30 2010 22:01
Is a chief executiveââ¬â¢s job 19 times more valuable than that of the US president and hundreds of times more valuable than the average worker in his or her company?
Such comparisons might seem invidious to high earners such as Larry Ellison of Oracle, who made $85m last year ââ¬â according to Equilar, an executive pay research firm ââ¬â or Ray Irani of Occidental Petroleum Corp, whose $31m pay last year triggered shareholder unrest.
But company chiefs are set to face a fresh wave of unflattering publicity over the many multiples of their average employeeââ¬â¢s take-home pay that they deem themselves to be worth.
More FT video
A little-noticed provision in the mammoth Dodd-Frank financial reform act will force companies to disclose regularly the ratio of the median annual pay of all their employees to that of their chief executive.
The measure raises potential public relations problems for some of the USââ¬â¢s biggest companies, as well as significant administrative burdens. The published ratios will vary significantly but some may look alarmingly unfair to the eyes of the average small shareholder.
The $1,025,000 median salary of an S&P500 chief executive last year, according to the Equilar analysis, is 25 times the $40,174 that official statistics show was paid to the average US private sector employee. The chief executiveââ¬â¢s $7.5m median total pay package, including bonuses and stock options, is 187 times that average private sector pay and some 19 times President Barack Obamaââ¬â¢s basic $400,000 salary.
The value or otherwise of such comparators in assessing boardroom remuneration has long been argued. Business fears the new disclosure requirement will simply add confusion to an already-emotive debate.
The provision was inserted into the Dodd-Frank bill ââ¬Åat the last minute, with no discussion and not based on any particular problemââ¬Â, says Charles Elson, a corporate governance professor at the University of Delaware. He categorised the pay ratio as a ââ¬Åthrill disclosureââ¬Â that would generate headlines without offering meaningful comparisons.
ââ¬ÅThis is a political disclosure, as opposed to an economic disclosure, and thatââ¬â¢s the problem,ââ¬Â Prof Elson adds.
Lawyers caution that the formula mandated by the act has some seemingly perverse consequences, in terms of factors that will produce a low ratio ââ¬â an apparent but potentially misleading sign of a company without excessive executive remuneration.
ââ¬ÅIt will favour companies that outsource and use independent contractors, and those that use franchised rather than company-owned stores, since these relatively low paid jobs will not count towards the median tally,ââ¬Â says Richard Susko, a partner at law firm Cleary Gottlieb.
Many of the crucial factors affecting the ratio have been left to the discretion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has to draw up the regulations to implement the new rule. The act does not specify whether non-US employees need to be included in the total, the treatment of subsidiaries and affiliates, the date on which the pay needs to be calculated each year or the exchange rates to be used.
Business groups say they want to work with the SEC to try to craft a ââ¬Åconsistent and digestibleââ¬Â measure. ââ¬ÅThe big concern we have is that a lot of work and clarification needs to be done on this,ââ¬Â says Larry Burton, chief executive of the Business Roundtable, which represents chief executives of the biggest US companies.
But whatever the SEC decides, the regulation is expected to create a potentially significant administrative burden. George Paulin, chairman and chief executive of the pay consultancy Frederick Wââ¬â°Cook & Co, predicts that the ââ¬Åprocedure will be so complex that you will have to hire someone whose sole job will be to manage the preparation of the CEO pay ratioââ¬Â.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/93ff41de-b457-11df-8208-00144feabdc0.html
Forex Brokers to be Exempt of Dodd-Frank Rules?
By Yohay Elam at Forex Crunch
March 31, 2011 at 9:00am
Perhaps forex brokers will get some good news soon, maybe in April. The Dodd-Frank act consists of many limitations, that not every broker will be able to handle. But forex brokers could be exempt from these rules.
Discussions continue in Washington DC regarding the implementation of the Dodd-Frank legislation. The CFTC has to provide complementary rules regarding the legislation, regarding the foreign exchange markets.
Some Companies Likely To Be Exempt From Dodd-Frank Currency Rules: ...
By Chana R. Schoenberger Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Some currency derivatives are on their way to tighter regulation as the Dodd-Frank bill goes into effect as soon as this summer--but companies that hedge their foreign-exchange risk may not fall victim to the new rules, which could otherwise require them to post collateral when they hedge.
For corporate treasurers, the risk is that forcing companies to put up collateral for currency transactions will be too expensive, pushing them out of hedging their exposures entirely. "We think they may avoid hedging and take on further financial risk that they otherwise might not," he said.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is likely to exempt companies that use foreign-exchange derivatives as a way to hedge their currency exposures in the course of their business, said Philip Weisberg, chief executive of FXall...
http://www.forexstreet.net/profiles/blogs/forex-brokers-to-be-exempt-of
Perhaps CFTC will discuss it on April 27, 2011, but Dukacopy is licensed as a bank in Switzerland. SEC will clarify it in coming months.
CFTC will address swaps at 14th Dodd-Frank meeting
Washington, DC â The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. to consider the issuance of proposed rulemakings under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on the following topics:
* Capital Requirements of Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants;
* Protection of Cleared Swaps Customer Contracts and Collateral and Conforming Amendments to the Commodity Broker Bankruptcy Provisions;
* Product Definitions Contained in Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act; and
* Amendments to Adapt Certain CFTC Regulations to the Dodd-Frank Act.
In addition the Commission will take up the consideration of comments on Dodd-Frank rulemakings.
The Meeting will be open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
What: Meeting of the Fourteenth Series of Proposed Rules under the Dodd-Frank Act
What: CFTC Hearing Room, 1155 21st Street, Washington, DC
When: Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 9:30 a.m.
http://www.futuresmag.com/News/2011/4/Pages/CFTC-schedules-14th-meeting-on-DoddFrank.aspx
By Yohay Elam at Forex Crunch
March 31, 2011 at 9:00am
Perhaps forex brokers will get some good news soon, maybe in April. The Dodd-Frank act consists of many limitations, that not every broker will be able to handle. But forex brokers could be exempt from these rules.
Discussions continue in Washington DC regarding the implementation of the Dodd-Frank legislation. The CFTC has to provide complementary rules regarding the legislation, regarding the foreign exchange markets.
Some Companies Likely To Be Exempt From Dodd-Frank Currency Rules: ...
By Chana R. Schoenberger Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Some currency derivatives are on their way to tighter regulation as the Dodd-Frank bill goes into effect as soon as this summer--but companies that hedge their foreign-exchange risk may not fall victim to the new rules, which could otherwise require them to post collateral when they hedge.
For corporate treasurers, the risk is that forcing companies to put up collateral for currency transactions will be too expensive, pushing them out of hedging their exposures entirely. "We think they may avoid hedging and take on further financial risk that they otherwise might not," he said.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is likely to exempt companies that use foreign-exchange derivatives as a way to hedge their currency exposures in the course of their business, said Philip Weisberg, chief executive of FXall...
http://www.forexstreet.net/profiles/blogs/forex-brokers-to-be-exempt-of
Perhaps CFTC will discuss it on April 27, 2011, but Dukacopy is licensed as a bank in Switzerland. SEC will clarify it in coming months.
CFTC will address swaps at 14th Dodd-Frank meeting
Washington, DC â The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. to consider the issuance of proposed rulemakings under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on the following topics:
* Capital Requirements of Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants;
* Protection of Cleared Swaps Customer Contracts and Collateral and Conforming Amendments to the Commodity Broker Bankruptcy Provisions;
* Product Definitions Contained in Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act; and
* Amendments to Adapt Certain CFTC Regulations to the Dodd-Frank Act.
In addition the Commission will take up the consideration of comments on Dodd-Frank rulemakings.
The Meeting will be open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
What: Meeting of the Fourteenth Series of Proposed Rules under the Dodd-Frank Act
What: CFTC Hearing Room, 1155 21st Street, Washington, DC
When: Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 9:30 a.m.
http://www.futuresmag.com/News/2011/4/Pages/CFTC-schedules-14th-meeting-on-DoddFrank.aspx
can't remember the details, a message via NinjaTrader that on June 1st ? the CME
will be recording where All futures trades are originating, not sure if there's other info
they're collecting. again not sure if it's the exchange itself that's doing the collecting
or the order entry programs companies doing the recording then forwarding results
no idea if the above is coming from regulators or the CME alone, nor the purpose or
to what ends the data collection is intended
edit: reading the thread title . . . ahem . . . the CME data collection is likely July 1st
what's the coincidence ?
will be recording where All futures trades are originating, not sure if there's other info
they're collecting. again not sure if it's the exchange itself that's doing the collecting
or the order entry programs companies doing the recording then forwarding results
no idea if the above is coming from regulators or the CME alone, nor the purpose or
to what ends the data collection is intended
edit: reading the thread title . . . ahem . . . the CME data collection is likely July 1st
what's the coincidence ?
no, I was nearly correct the first time - June 3
"Dear NinjaTrader User:
As of June 3rd, 2011, the CME mandates that all vendors connecting into its
systems submit the following information:
⢠Application version information
⢠Flag indicating if orders were generated manually or via an automated process
⢠Country of origin "
CME are already publishing manual/auto trades so this notice appears to be CME
marketing ? related
http://www.ninjatrader.com/Advisory/Advisory1.php
"Dear NinjaTrader User:
As of June 3rd, 2011, the CME mandates that all vendors connecting into its
systems submit the following information:
⢠Application version information
⢠Flag indicating if orders were generated manually or via an automated process
⢠Country of origin "
CME are already publishing manual/auto trades so this notice appears to be CME
marketing ? related
http://www.ninjatrader.com/Advisory/Advisory1.php