Reuters first to put spotlight on key development in position limit debate

Reuters was first to alert readers to a key development in the long-running debate over how the U.S. futures regulator plans to crack down on speculative trading in commodities markets. Reuters correspondents recognized the significance of an exchange between Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and the agency’s chief counsel at a public hearing, and promptly alerted clients that the CFTC has legal flexibility to phase in the limits — rather than having them made effective by a mid-January rule-making deadline. Reporters from other news agencies did not fully grasp the details of the exchange until after the hearing ending almost two hours later. Rampton and Doering received kudos from top players who are closely watching the issue. ‘Most who cover this space do not understand enough of the underlying business to pull out the important points/issues. You obviously do not fall into that category,’ one firm told the reporters.