LG, Re: Documented Collusion
I frequently ask the question: What happens when the pirates control the regulatory bodies?
If memory serves, it was the summer of 1996. The NASD was censured by the SEC and signed a consent decree with the Department of Justice acknowledging, among other issues, that collusion existed among the major Maket Makers to widen the spread between the bid and ask price to investors. According to Arthur Levitt, the chairman of the SEC, the regulatory body, composed of the Market Makers, "simply looked the other way."
According to a Money (October, 1996) article, this practice cost investors $2B annually! The Market Makers agreed, as part of the settlement, that they would spend $100M over the next 5 years on increased surveillance of the problem. Not a bad ROI.
The issue of collusion is not an illusion. It is been documented to exist. How far it goes is the real question. Frankly, I don't even really care as long as I'm not caught in their game, but the fact remains that we are playing a big money game.
Berney |
