There's good news, and bad news

There’s good news and bad news in the September issue of [I][B]Futures Magazine.[/B][/I]

[B]First, the good news. [/B]

There are several good articles on currencies and currency trading, in general — and forex trading, in particular — which are well worth your time to read.

Here are those articles:

Forex: Four ways to trade - Education - Futures Magazine

Forex outlook: Has the euro bottomed? - Forex - Futures Magazine

Forex: One sector, multiple strategies - Forex - Futures Magazine

Tech Talk: Aussie/yen at crossroads - Forex - Futures Magazine

Trading the dollar on election results - Forex - Futures Magazine

High times for currency options - Forex - Futures Magazine

When you open any one of these pages, you will see a couple of boxes to the right labeled “Most Read Articles”, and
"Related Articles". If you scan these listings, you’ll likely find some very useful information there.

[B]Now, the bad news. [/B]

Most of the rest of this issue is bad news, relating to the coming over-regulation of OTC derivatives and retail forex, which we now know will be grossly heavy-handed.

The cover of the September issue pretty much says it all: “Regulators Rule — How Gary Gensler and the CFTC will Execute Regulatory Reform”. In the coming months, we’re going to find out just what a sneaky, little weasel Gary Gensler really is.

The cover story, titled “Gensler: Correcting the record on OTC regulation”, is an interview in Q&A format. Most of the interview deals with the OTC derivatives market, but there’s some stuff about retail forex that you need to know about.

Read Gensler’s comments carefully, and read between the lines. I think it’s clear that he thinks he has a blank check to (1) do anything he wants to do with the retail forex market in the U.S., (2) make it impossible for U.S. traders to escape to other jurisdictions in order to get out from under the thumb of the CFTC, and (3) arm-twist the regulatory authorities of other countries to conform to his rules.

Here is a link to the cover story — Gensler: Correcting the record on OTC regulation - Regulations - Futures Magazine

Here’s an excerpt:

FM is [I]Futures Magazine[/I]. GG is Gary Gensler.

I have added the red highlights in order to call certain things to your attention.

[B]FM: One criticism of the new rules was that it would move markets overseas. Are you confident global regulators will adopt similar rules to avoid regulatory arbitrage?[/B]

GG: We have spent a lot of time consulting with international regulators, [all U.S. regulators: Treasury, the Fed and SEC] have been consulting a great deal, we even have been a part of the President’s meeting with other heads of state at the G20 meetings. I remain optimistic. We are the second nation to move forward; Japan has moved forward before us. The European Parliament will be taking up legislation this fall specific to derivatives that have many of the same features. And though we are different cultures and have different politics, we will end up with comparable approaches to oversight of the derivatives marketplace. (See: “Global regulatory reform: Let the game playing begin.”)

[B]FM: How important is that?[/B]

GG: I am optimistic that we are going to work to harmonize this. Capital at risk knows no geographical boundary so it is very important to work with our international counterparts to get as consistent as possible.

[B]FM: Are you making progress on final rules for foreign exchange? The 10% margin rule caused quite a stir.[/B]

GG: We proposed a rule in January, we got over 9,000 comments. Under the Dodd-Frank statute we have 78 days from today to finalize those rules. We will finish this within 78 days [by mid-late October].


[The following question and answer were edited out of the print version of [I]Futures Magazine[/I]]

[B]FM: What will be in it?[/B]

GG: I can tell you that under the Dodd-Frank [law] that we have to complete it 90 days from enactment or 78 days from now and we plan to do that.


[B]FM: For years there have been attempts to clearly define your authority over retail forex. Does the law accomplish that?[/B]

GG: The [law] also includes in section 742 provisions with regard to retail commodity transactions including foreign exchange and in those provisions it provides that the federal regulatory authorities whether they be the banking regulators or the market regulators, like the SEC and CFTC, within a year of [enactment] shall prescribe rules and regulations that are necessary.


[The following sentences were edited out of the print version of [I]Futures Magazine[/I]]

We are a little ahead because we had already proposed a rule in January so we have 90 days to finish it; the other Federal regulators get a whole year because they haven’t yet proposed anything. All of the Federal regulatory agencies will be issuing retail foreign exchange rules. That is appropriate because in some instances these contracts are being done by banks, in some instances broker dealers, credit unions, sometimes futures commission merchants or retail foreign exchange dealers so I am pleased the bill included language that these various Federal agencies all would do rules to protect the public. _______________________

You should also read — Global regulatory reform: Let the game-playing begin - Regulations - Futures Magazine

Regulatory arrogance is running amok in the United States. We have Imperial Regulators wielding outrageous authority granted to them by our Imperial Congress and our Imperial President, all in violation of the Constitution of the United States.

We can’t fire Gensler. But, we can fire those members of Congress who are up for reelection in 52 days. And 2 years after that, we can fire Obama.

Regime change is “change we can believe in”.