The CFTC continues the offensive in its jurisdictional dispute
with the FERC.
On November 3, 2008, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC) intervened in Brian Hunter, et al v. FERC, thus,
continuing its ongoing jurisdictional dispute with the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In its filing, the CFTC once
again argued that it has exclusive authority to police manipulation
in the futures markets. Hunter is the former Amaranth trader
accused of manipulating the price of various NYMEX gas futures
contracts in the spring of 2006 by selling a large number of
futures contracts in the last 30 minutes of trading, allegedly
attempting to drive down the settlement price in order to benefit a
related and substantially larger over-the-counter derivatives
position.
