STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 5 April 2012

[Demeter]

53. CANADA FIGHTS BACK: U.S. regulator in RBC case faces scrutiny

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/us-regulator-in-rbc-case-faces-scrutiny/article2392423/

The U.S. regulator that launched a lawsuit against Royal Bank of Canada (RY-T57.190.090.16%) this week is now coming under scrutiny after facing criticism in recent months over its handling of a high profile case in the United States.

A few months prior to launching a lawsuit against RBC over alleged improper stock trading, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington faced intense criticism from the U.S. government over the job it did leading up to the collapse of investing firm MF Global.

The Washington-based CFTC is one of the key regulators in charge of overseeing the derivatives market in the U.S., and was the regulator in charge of MF Global, which fell apart in a scandal that saw as much as $1.2-billion worth of money belonging to its clients go missing.

After the CFTC was grilled by U.S. Senators in December over whether it did enough to police the market, and whether it was too cozy with executives at MF Financial. That has prompted observers to question whether the regulator is now looking to send a strong message that it is getting tough on alleged improprieties in the derivatives market, and whether the RBC case is a step in that direction....

MORE LIKE KICKING THE DOG WHEN YOU GET HOME, AFTER BEING CHEWED OUT AT WORK BY THE BOSS...

RBC has called the claims “absurd” and said it will vigorously defend its reputation.