I keep seeing news stories on firms applying to be a SEF, here's the one's I've seen, send in any others and I'll add them.

SWP points out the worst of Dodd Frank (in his opinion), the Made Available to Trade rule (MAT). Have a read of his post, then

Standard messaging using FIX for SEFs, full story below. Bank-backed initiative to ease SEF migration | news | Trading & Execution | Industry issues |

A really good history of futures, which illustrates the passion by Gary Gensler to bring OTCs into the same framework. The Evolution of Executing Futures–

Like the "big bang" for CDS which moved them to standard coupons, "The nonbinding proposal would see some of Wall Street's biggest customers trade interest-rate

A great piece of research comparing the differences in cost and regulation of equivalent OTC & ETD products, here

The Smart Automated Agency Broker (SAAB) via Determining if SEF Aggregation Really Matters. Good extract from a paid-for TABB report on alternative ways to get to

Ricky Maloney at Ignis Asset Management posted a question on LinkedIn "Does the OTC market need clearing?", you can see the progress of the discussion