By Greg Burns | Two competing ventures seeking regulatory approval for movie futures have run into opposition from Congress likely to delay a decision from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The idea of trading contracts on the box-office receipts of major motion pictures has languished for months before regulators.
A spokesman for Media Derivatives Inc., one of the trading ventures,
said new futures contracts historically attract opposition from industry
groups based on fears about “gambling,” he said. “In reality, the
purpose of these markets is to provide risk transfer and price
discovery.”
It is appalling that our legislators are corrupting the entire regulatory approval process by promoting this debate 5 MONTHS after the public comment period expired.
I’d much rather see them demanding that the CFTC adhere to the Commodity Exchange Act, which authorizes the very existence of the CFTC, and promptly rule on these exchanges.
Ever since the questionable comment submissioin by the MPAA, the CFTC has abandoned their policies and procedures, and is now simply making up their own rules as they go along in regards to a timely review and approval process for these applications, which sets a very disturbing precedent for future applications into the CFTC.