This is probably national news, but here:
September 23, 1999
S.E.C. Chief Wants One Site for Posting Stock Prices
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
he chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a system on Thursday for displaying electronically all orders to buy and sell United States stocks and called such a central posting essential to preserve the integrity of the nation's stock markets.
Arthur Levitt, the S.E.C. chairman, outlined his general vision for the financial markets on Thursday after months of wrenching changes in how stocks are traded. New electronic trading systems have emerged, on-line trading by individuals has exploded, trading by small investors has begun to occur outside the exchanges' hours of operation and the exchanges themselves have proposed becoming publicly traded for-profit companies.
Levitt seems most concerned that if trading continues to migrate to the new electronic market systems, investors may not get the best prices. Information about orders and transactions across the entire market are not now available in any one place. Technology, he said, allows the creation of a central system in which investors will be fully informed about prices everywhere, from the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq market, the American Stock Exchange and the new systems.
He stressed that he was asking for the development of a technology that would allow all orders to be shown to investors, not an institution or a place where all orders would be executed. In this way, competition would continue, along with innovation and pressure to keep costs low. "The beauty of this is technology has taken us to the point where we may be able to enjoy the benefits of competition while getting the benefits of centrality," Levitt said.
Speaking at Columbia Law School, Levitt also said he was intrigued by the possibility of creating a single, self-regulatory organization to oversee the markets but suggested that each exchange continue its own surveillance. The exchanges now have self-regulating units, but those units could be compromised or at least conflicted if the exchanges become public companies with an obligation to provide the highest return to shareholders.
In other areas, he was most concerned about fairness. He urged the elimination of a rule by the New York Stock Exchange that prohibits the trading of certain stocks by exchange members anywhere other than on the exchange floor. Fees charged to outside participants by the new electronic stock networks, he said, should also be eliminated. And the options exchanges, which have been effective monopolies for decades, must open their doors to true competition, he said.
"I recognize the industry's inherent resistance to change," Levitt said in an interview before the speech.
"But I'm willing to fight very hard to move in the direction of change rather than being a custodian."
Text of speech: nytimes.com
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