Free Republic

The NYSE's has had its share of bad publicity recently, much of it well deserved, but the latest development is something that we can all cheer: the public lynching of so-called "front-runners." These are the floor-trading institutions who step ahead of their own customers to buy or sell stock more or less risklessly. One way they do it is by using the options markets. For example, XYZ Brokers might have a customer who wants to acquire a million shares of Ajax Corp, paying no more than $2.00 above a current market price of $45.25. "No problem," says XYZ, which immediately...

<p>Angry investors are yanking billions out of mutual funds being probed for improper trading that's stacked against them.</p> <p>At least four of the 11 funds being investigated by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer were hit with significant withdrawals in the past month since the scandal first erupted - totaling $7.9 billion in withdrawals.</p>