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U.S. Futures Exchanges Disciplinary Actions Report - December 2016
NYMEX NYMEX 16-0530-BC Position Limits Violation of Rule 562 – Position Limit Violations. At the close of business on a single day in September 2016, a member firm held a short position which was 38.4% over the standard expiration month...
Obama Bans Drilling Offshore Atlantic, Arctic – But For How Long?
With a new President on the White House doorstep, President Obama has announced a ban – ostensibly permanent – on offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters along the Eastern seaboard and offshore Alaska. President Obama appears to be...
U.S. Futures Exchanges Disciplinary Actions Report - November 2016
COMEX COMEX 14-0050-BC Disruptive Trading Violation of Rule 575.A and Rule 575.D – Disruptive Practices Prohibited. Between November 2014 and March 2015, a member trader, with no intent to trade, entered or layered orders in futures contracts in order to...
Bracewell Environmental Law Seminar – Fall 2016: Highlights on “The Desktop Regulator”
On November 15, 2016, Bracewell’s Environmental Strategies Group hosted its third biannual Environmental Law Seminar in Houston. The seminar was attended by nearly 100 industry representatives and featured five guest speakers, including Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, CSB Board Member Rick...
Panel Discussion: SEC, MCDC and You
Bracewell attorneys Barron Wallace, Paul Maco and Jonathan Frels, of our public finance practice group, sit down for a discussion about SEC’s enforcement actions under the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative.
Final Issue Price Regulations Significantly Change Current Rules
Overview On December 9, 2016, the IRS released final Treasury Regulations (the “ Final Regulations ”) relating to the “issue price” of tax-exempt bonds for purposes of arbitrage investment restrictions. Although, on balance, an improvement to the proposed Treasury Regulations...
FERC and CFTC Annual Enforcement Update
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) recently released their annual reports on enforcement activities for fiscal year 2016 (October 2015 through September 2016). In addition, FERC enforcement staff released two white papers...
Bracewell Environmental Law Seminar – Fall 2016: Highlights on Strategic Permitting
On November 15, 2016, Bracewell’s Environmental Strategies Group hosted its third biannual Environmental Law Seminar in Houston. The seminar was attended by nearly 100 industry representatives and featured five guest speakers, including Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, CSB Board Member Rick...
Adverse Possession in the Oil Patch
The most basic example of adverse possession is when a landowner fences in land that belongs to a neighbor. This is trespassing, but if a long enough period of time passes without the neighbor bringing a trespass claim, the trespasser...
NY Expands Jurisdictional Reach Over Foreign Banks Using Correspondent Accounts
The New York Court of Appeals recently gave a leg-up to plaintiffs seeking to hale foreign banks before New York state courts, clarifying that the use of a New York-based correspondent account could, under certain circumstances, suffice to provide personal...
USCIS Publishes Final Rule For Certain Employment-Based Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Programs
USCIS has published a final rule to modernize and improve several aspects of certain employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant visa programs and to better enable U.S. employers to hire and retain certain foreign workers who are beneficiaries of approved employment-based immigrant...
Department of Labor Overtime Regulations Enjoined by Federal Judge
Late yesterday Judge Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas issued a temporary, nationwide injunction blocking implementation and enforcement of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) revised overtime regulations. The regulations, which were to take effect December 1, would have raised...
U.S. Futures Exchanges Disciplinary Actions Report - October 2016
NYMEX NYMEX 13-9490-BC-1 COMEX 13-9490-BC-1 Disruptive Trading Violation of Rule 432– General Offenses (in part); Rule 433 – Strict Liability for the Acts of Agents. Between March and July 2013, two traders, acting on behalf of a member firm, engaged...
DOL’s Persuader Advice Exemption Rule Blocked
Yesterday, Texas federal judge Sam R. Cummings granted Summary Judgment to several business groups, joined by Texas and nine other states, seeking to block enforcement of the U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new “Persuader Activity” rule. In effect, the...
The Trump effect on energy and environment law, manufacturing — an E&E News and ABA presentation
[video] What will a Trump administration mean for the energy and environment legal landscape, and do manufacturers stand to benefit? Bracewell LLP's Jeff Holmstead and the National Association of Manufacturers' Ross Eisenberg sit down for an in-depth discussion on the...