Dow Jones writes "CFTC Considers Restrictions On Investment Of Customer Funds", saying, "The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday it may consider scaling back the kinds of investments that clearinghouses and futures commission merchants are permitted to make with customers' money to less-risky instruments. Among the possible investment instruments the CFTC may consider prohibiting include money market mutual funds and government-sponsored enterprise securities, although the agency said it is re-evaluating all of the investments that firms are currently permitted to make with the money that customers deposit to meet their margin calls." The piece adds, "The CFTC's questions surrounding the safety of money market funds come just as the SEC is gearing up to propose new rules next month that aim to restore investors' confidence in them. Those rules will seek to improve the liquidity and credit quality of money market funds."
