Markets Wired

FTC Approves Final Consent Order Related to James B. Nutter & Company

Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved a final consent order in the matter of James B. Nutter & Company. The vote approving the final order was 4-0. (FTC File No. 072-3108; the staff contact is Alain Sheer, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-2252; see press release dated May 5, 2009, at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/peer2peer.shtm.)

Commission Extends Business Opportunity Rule Public Comment Period Until June 29

The FTC has extended until June 29, 2009, the period for submitting workshop comments in the proceeding to amend the Commission’s Business Opportunity Rule, 16 CFR Part 437. The FTC has proposed streamlining and updating the Rule, which is designed to protect consumers from bogus business opportunities without imposing unnecessary or ill-suited compliance obligations on legitimate sellers of such ventures. The Commission held a workshop on the proposed Rule on June 1, 2009 that focused primarily on a proposed one-page disclosure form that had been revised after consumer testing. The comment period, which originally would have ended on June 15, 2009, and is intended to allow the public to provide feedback on the revised form and other topics covered at the workshop.

The vote to extend the public comment period was 4-0. (FTC File No. R511993; the staff contact is Alan W. Hile, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3122; see press release dated April 21, 2009, at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/04/bizopp.shtm.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.

(FYI 29.2009.wpd)