Bill Limits Futures Trading: The House passed...

Bill Limits Futures Trading: The House passed legislation that would outlaw the types of trading fraud allegedly uncovered in a wave of indictments at the nation’s two largest futures exchanges in Chicago. The Commodity Futures Improvements Act, which passed 420-0, would also give extra muscle to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees the market. The bill would: ban insider trading on the nation’s 13 active futures exchanges, require floor traders to register with CFTC, limit trading among broker associations that could conflict with customers’ accounts, and severely restrict the practice of dual trading, in which floor traders can trade for themselves as well as customers on the same day. While not illegal, that practice has raised conflict-of-interest questions.