Free Republic

New York — NASD today announced that its Board of Governors overwhelmingly approved by-law amendments that would implement governance changes to enable the recently announced consolidation of the member regulation units of NASD and NYSE Regulation into a new, independent self-regulatory organization (SRO). The by-law amendments will be voted on by the full membership of NASD before taking effect. "The vote today by the NASD Board recognizes the importance to the securities industry and investors of creating this single SRO," said Richard Brueckner, NASD's Presiding Governor and CEO of Pershing, LLC. "The greatly increased efficiency and cost savings brought about...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's two main private regulatory arms said on Tuesday they have agreed to merge in a widely anticipated move aimed at reducing industry costs and streamlining oversight functions. Industry self-regulatory units run by the NASD and NYSE Group Inc. (NYX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which operates the New York Stock Exchange, will combine self-regulatory operations into a single watchdog overseeing all securities firms doing business with the public in the United States. The new organization is expected to begin operations in the second quarter of 2007, and will consist of the current 2,400-person NASD organization and...

Score another round this week for Frank Quattrone. Silicon Valley's once-powerful investment banker won a ruling Friday that overturned a order banning him for life from working in the stock-market industry. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 5-0 to overturn the ban imposed by an industry regulator, the National Association of Securities Dealers. Now NASD must decide whether to try again to discipline Quattrone for refusing to testify in an investigation of activities during the technology industry boom. Earlier this week, on Monday, a federal appeals court in New York overturned Quattrone's conviction on charges of obstructing justice. Prosecutors have...

NEW YORK - High-powered technology banker Frank Quattrone was granted a new trial Monday when a federal appeals court tossed out his conviction on charges he obstructed a government probe of stock offerings at the height of the dot-com boom. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the evidence was sufficient to sustain a conviction but that the May 2004 verdict must be thrown out because the jury was improperly instructed on how to interpret the law. It also ordered that the case be reassigned to another judge. The government is weighing whether to retry the case....

I spent a good chunk of the 1990s writing mutual fund advertising, so much of it that the required caveats and footnotes still trip off the fingers: "Past performance is no guarantee of future results." "The Fund is offered only by prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money." Financial services advertising, you see, is ringed about by careful regulation. You can't cherry pick and show off only one good year. You can't make false comparisons. And so forth. One home truth came through that long experience, and I share it here with doubters and fear-mongers who...

SEC IS SAID TO EXAMINE STOCK PRICING BY BIG BROKERS /// Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating dozen brokerage firms -- including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Ameritrade, Charles Schwab and E Trade Financial -- on suspicion they failed to secure best available price for stocks for customers... Developing...

Stock Futures Point to Higher Opening 17 minutes ago By Nick Olivari NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher market open on Monday after the earlier-than-expected transfer of Iraqi sovereignty to an interim government. The news that the United States handed over sovereignty two days ahead of expectations formally ended the 14-month occupation and overshadowed expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI - news) fell before the opening bell after it forecast lower-than-anticipated results. Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) may gain after the European Commission (news - web sites)...

Ex-Merrill Analyst on Tyco ChargedWed, May 28, 2003By Tim McLaughlin BOSTON (Reuters) - Securities regulators on Wednesday said they charged former Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Phua Young with issuing misleading reports on Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE:TYC - news) and accused him of improper conduct, including flying on Tyco corporate jets. While former Merrill (NYSE:MER - news) analyst and managing director Young touted Tyco's stock between 1999 and early 2002, the conglomerate traded inside information with him and even agreed to hire a private investigator to do a background check on one of his friends, industry regulator NASD said in...