Mornin Scruffy,

Here's a little extra relating to your "new financial regulations" post:

I read some time ago that perhaps the CFTC was waiting to deal with the big banks' huge short positions until after they (the CFTC) knew for certain what possible conflicting new rules the US Congress had put in the new financial regulation bill.

We should know shortly, since the proposed bill has finally cleared negotiations and should be on President Obama's desk by July 4th.

In the new bill, it appears the big banks will have gotten their way in reference to certain derivative trades relating to gold and silver. Wouldn't you know. It remains to be seen what they are, but it makes me sick just guessing what they might be and how they will be interpreted. We can only hope at this point that whatever they are, they will not interfere with the CFTC clamping down on the big shorters, if and when they decide to do something.

Below are a couple of paragraphs from an AP report this AM about the pending legislation that refers to gold and silver:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100625/ap_on_bi_ge/us_financial_overhaul

"As they worked toward the home stretch early Friday, negotiators softened a contentious Wall Street restriction that would force large bank holding companies to spin off their lucrative derivatives business."

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"Under the agreement banks would only spin off their riskiest derivatives trades. Banks get to keep some of their lucrative business based on trades in derivatives related to interest rates, foreign changes, gold and silver. They could even arrange credit default swaps, the notorious instruments blamed for the meltdown, as long as they were traded through clearing houses. Banks also would be allowed to trade in derivatives with their own money to hedge against market fluctuations."

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Here's how it was put in the Reuter's article noted by Scruffy:

The compromise allows banks to stay involved in foreign-exchange and interest-rate swaps dealing, which account for the bulk of the $615 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market.

They also could participate in gold and silver swaps and derivatives designed to hedge banks' own risk.

They would need to spin off dealing operations that handle agricultural, energy and metal swaps, equity swaps, and uncleared credit default swaps