Category Archives: Data and Transparency

Chairman Gary Gensler Testifies (with Delta Strategy Group Summary)

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CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler testified at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, “Preventing Violations of Federal Transparency Laws,” focusing primarily on regulators’ use of personal e-mail while working in an official capacity. In his testimony, Chairman Gensler reaffirmed the CFTC’s commitment to reforming the swaps market and bringing greater transparency to the Commission. The Chairman asserted that the CFTC has displayed a commitment to transparency by noting that the agency:

  • Posted over 2,000 meetings on the CFTC website;
  • Increased public CFTC meetings, where rules are openly debated; and
  • Initiated public roundtables to facilitate public interaction on matters before the CFTC.

Lofchie Comment: There are various ways to measure “transparency.” As we noted in yesterday’s news, one of the fellow CFTC Commissioners had complained that his questions were not included in the CFTC’s concept release on automated trading. See CFTC Concept Release on Supervision and Regulation of Automated Trading (with Delta Strategy Group Summary).

If the questions that are asked are edited, that limits the range of public debate. Separately, we had observed that the CFTC’s adoption of its cross-border regulation through “guidance,” rather than rulemaking, prevented a formal public comment process on that proposal. Industry Groups Submit Critical Comments on CFTC Cross-Border Guidance.

Click here for Delta Strategy Group Summary of Chairman Gensler’s Testimony.
See also: Full Text of Chairman Gensler’s Testimony.

 

World Bank Doing Business by Hanke…

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Professor Steve Hanke just wrote a fascinating article about the World Bank’s Doing Business report.  Anyone involved in analytic assessment of a nation’s economic and financial fundamentals knows and values the work by the World Bank on the survey.

Steve’s report “Doing Business, Singapore Style” was just published in Globe Asia and is highly recommended reading.

He notes that, recently, some countries have been pressuring the World Bank to scrap the Doing Business rankings and weaken the report’s analysis to the point of irrelevance. This would be a mistake. The Doing Business report provides a framework for economic reform and serves as a challenge to implement it around the world.