In this issue:

- Recent SEC Speeches Focus on Investor Protection and Disclosure

- SEC 2013 Examination Priorities

- CFTC Revises Clearing Compliance Schedule for iTraxx CDS Indices

- SEC Division of Trading and Markets Discusses Issues with Exchange-Traded Products

- Supreme Court Ruling Lowers Class Action Hurdle for Securities Fraud Cases

- Split Emerges on Customs Law after Eleventh Circuit Vacates Smuggling Convictions

- FinCEN Issues Advisory to Financial Institutions: Update on Tax Refund Fraud and Related Identity Theft

- New Fees Coming for Health Plan Sponsors

- One-Day Prohibition Imposed on Short Selling of Four Italian Shares

- EMIR Technical Standards Published in the Official Journal of the European Union

An excerpt from "EMIR Technical Standards Published in the Official Journal of the European Union"

Technical Standards which clarify certain aspects of Regulation 648/2012 on over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, central counterparties (CCPs) and trade repositories (generally known as the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation or EMIR) will enter into force on March 15, 2013, following their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union on February 23.

Please see full newsletter below for more information.