Regulation

Congress is considering whether to make major revisions to the fair-value accounting rules that have created so much controversy lately. Possible changes include suspending the rules, improving value-at-risk measurements and reinstating the uptick rule.

The mutual fund industry is eager to hear the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case that could determine the fate of the Gartenberg standard, an old legal precedent used to determine whether mutual fund fees are too high that has set a high burden of proof for investors and spared the industry from lawsuits.

The new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission is asking Congress to approve a large budget increase to pump up the agency's enforcement, examination and risk assessment efforts.

The Investment Company Institute has named Dean R. Sackett III and Donald C. Auerbach as leaders of its government affairs staff.

Unlike his predecessor, Paul Volcker, the current chairman of the Federal Reserve doesn’t believe money market funds should be regulated like banks, with reserve requirements and mandatory insurance.

Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a case three investors in Oakmark Funds had brought over what they alleged to be excessive fees failed to meet the burden of proof, setting an important precedent that protected fund firms against such cases.

In order to achieve meaningful reform of the financial services industry, Congress should create two key regulatory positions to oversee financial markets, according to a proposal last week by the Investment Company Institute.

To mitigate against any future financial catastrophes, the Investment Company Institute on Tuesday called for two new regulators that would focus on systemic risk and the capital markets, bridging the functions of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging has called for more scrutiny of target-date retirement funds after several 2010 target-date funds posted huge losses in 2008.

NEW YORK - The Securities and Exchange Commission has given U.S. companies more time to comment on its proposal to adopt international financial reporting standards (IFRS), but this extension may be creating uncertainty among those who thought the conversion was a done deal.