In many respects, the world of foreign exchange regulation is much like a playground.  Retail clients sometimes get hurt while playing wildly and recklessly on the playground of the FX market, and regulators act like teachers or parents that oversee the free-spirited retail clients trying to speculate in the FX market in the hope of winning big.  Just like children, retail clients are vulnerable.  A wrong decision or a wild bet can cause vulnerability in this high stakes game.

For those who are new to the world of FX regulation, it is important to note that other than the US, most regulated jurisdictions do not promulgate specific FX legal authority.

The birth of retail foreign exchange regulations brings to mind Clint Eastwood in the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The NFA regulates the retail over-the-counter forex industry under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is pending reauthorisation.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) set up the task force as part of recent actions to toughen standards in the retail FX market, which trades about $100 billion a day globally.

Earlier this year, the CFTC Reauthorisation Act of 2008 was enacted into law as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.

Change seems to be a common theme in Chicago this year.