The group signed up as so-called swap dealers, the designation for firms that arrange derivative contracts tied to the value of commodities, interest rates or mortgage securities.
In other news, Smithfield Foods, the hog producer and pork processor, said Tuesday it swung to a fiscal first-quarter loss partly because of a $20.1 million write-down in the value of commodities contracts.
The agency's plan also affects hedge funds and other traders that have large positions in swaps, the derivative contracts tied to the value of commodities, interest rates and mortgage securities.
The commission's plan also would apply to hedge funds and other companies that have huge positions in swaps, the derivative contracts tied to the value of commodities, interest rates or mortgage securities.
Under Dodd-Frank, the agency for the first time has broad new authority over swaps, the derivative contracts often tied to the value of commodities, interest rates or mortgage securities.
Dodd-Frank requires the S.E.C. to monitor so-called swap dealers, those firms that arrange derivatives trades, and other companies that have huge positions in swaps, the derivative contracts tied to the value of commodities, interest rates or mortgage securities.
The so-called swap data repositories, named after the type of derivative contract that is tied to the value of commodities and other assets, will in turn release the information to federal regulators like the trading commission, which can use the information to monitor the market.
We are inundated with conflicting recommendations about the value of commodities, which stocks or sectors are likely to outperform or underperform, and which mutual fund managers are "hot".
During the quarter, PepsiCo took a pretax restructuring charge of $543 million for layoffs and the closing of six plants, as well as a $227 million reduction in the value of commodity hedges.
With the value of commodity assets rising across the board, BHP and Rio Tinto are shifting their focus to organic growth, preferring to expand on existing operations or through global joint ventures rather than through the voracious acquisition strategy of recent years.
