The refilling of two of the three vacant commissioner seats at Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in late November has been met with cautious optimism by industry executives.
The agency, which has been operating since July with just two commissioners, filled two vacancies with Democrats Frederick Hatfield, a staffer with Louisiana Senator John Breaux, and Michael Dunn, a long-time staffer with Iowa Senator Tom Harken. Hatfield's term ends in 2008 and Dunn's expires in June 2006. Sharon Brown-Hruska, the acting chairman of CFTC, was also given another appointment with her term ending in 2009. They join Walt Lukken, whose term expires next April, creating an even split between Republican and Democrat commissioners. A fifth spot may be filled, although no serious candidates for the job have been...