Law and regulation

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley & Co. have been fined $1 million by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) it was announced today.

The top U.S. derivatives regulator is poised to announce a range of potential methods for overseeing automated and high-frequency trading, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.

SEC Chairman Mary Jo White said she would push to adopt proposed automated-trading rules after system caused a three- hour halt on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Hundreds of SEC lawyers and examiners face new obstacles to cashing in on their agency experience under an expanded ethics rule to take effect in January.

Further excitement in the saga of Detroit’s bankruptcy: Public-sector unions are challenging the city’s estimates of its pension underfunding.

Mellon Capital Management, a multi-asset manager for BNY Mellon, has become a signatory to the United Nations-Backed Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), emphasizing its dedication to incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into its investment program.

RIAs have a new top cop in Washington.

Con artists are taking advantage of the legalization of medical marijuana to lure investors into buying stock in weed-related companies, regulators said.

Bank of America has launched a campaign around socially responsible investing that is designed to enhance products and services available to a growing segment of clients concerned with value-based investing.

Two of the most influential organizations in the world of independent planners, the CFP Board and NAPFA, do not agree on the definition of one of the most hot-button terms in the profession: fee-only.

Financial institutions that must register with the IRS to meet their FATCA obligations can now begin the process by creating an account and providing required information.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board finds for the second year in a row that accounting firms and broker-dealers share a too-cozy relationship that prevents thorough, quality audits.

The administration's budget seeks 6 major changes related to IRAs and 401(k)s.

A federal judge raised the possibility that banks will have to repay billions of dollars to merchants, but legal experts say the court lacks the authority to enact such an order.

FINRA has fined Oppenheimer and Co. $1,425,000 for the sale of unregistered penny stock shares and for failure to provide an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program, which would detect and report suspicious penny stock transactions.

The U.S. government urged General Motors Co. (GM) to improve pensions of some Delphi Automotive Plc (DLPH) union retirees while cutting those of salaried workers to help ensure a speedy emergence from a GM bankruptcy, the watchdog of the Troubled Asset Relief Program said.

More than two-thirds of all students who graduate from a higher-education program that grants a degree or certificate in financial planning do not sit for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards exam, according to new research from the CFP Board.

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Richard Leon warned attorneys representing the central bank he wanted a clear answer on the Fed's position on issuing an interim final rule dictating allowable fees for debit card transactions and how quickly it could be completed.

Benjamin Lawsky, who runs the New York Department of Financial Services, has become a top industry cop, taking on money launderers, payday lenders and even Bitcoin. In an interview, he discusses the need to break new ground while playing nice with federal regulators.

The letter, signed last month by 19 Senate Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the party, urged Obama to nominate Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen to succeed Ben S. Bernanke.