To: Matt Brown  who wrote (4949 ) 3/18/2000 8:32:00 AM From: Sprintcar     Read Replies (1)  | Respond to    of 5041  
SEC CHIEF WARNS OF          PRICE PROBLEMS           1 EXCHANGE FAILED TO          PROPERLY SHOW SOME LIMIT          ORDERS           By Bill Barnhart           Tribune Markets Columnist           March 17, 2000           On the heaviest day ever in New York          Stock Exchange trading, the head of          the Securities and Exchange          Commission warned Thursday that          investors are not always being shown          the best prices when they buy and          sell.          Arthur Levitt said that one stock          exchange, which he declined to name,          had failed to properly display one in six          of the so-called limit orders coming to          the exchange from investors. He said          the practice is under investigation.          Limit orders, which have become          increasingly popular among individual          investors, are orders to buy or sell          securities at a specific price, as          opposed to an order to buy or sell at          the prevailing market price.          "In far too many cases, limit orders          are being mishandled by market          intermediaries," Levitt said. "I am          deeply troubled by this apparent          disregard for customer orders and          systematic competition."          SEC sources indicated that the stock          exchange with lax enforcement of limit          order display rules was one of the four          regional exchanges.          Paul O'Kelly, executive vice president          at the Chicago Stock Exchange, said          his exchange was not the target of the          SEC probe. "I can tell you with          certainty it isn't us," he said. The other          regional exchanges are in Boston,          Philadelphia and San Francisco.          Levitt said the SEC would issue a          report in the next 45 days probing          market compliance with limit order          display rules in equity and options          markets.          In a speech at the Northwestern          University School of Law in Chicago,          Levitt called on the nation's stock          exchanges, securities dealers and          electronic communication networks to          open their books of limit orders fully to          the public. All orders to buy and sell,          not just orders at the prevailing best          price, should be revealed, he said.          Levitt urged all dealers and exchanges          receiving limit orders to fashion a          system in which orders would be          quickly displayed publicly.          In the worst case, a dealer or          exchange specialist hides a limit order          that improves on the prevailing price in          an attempt to trade ahead of the          order. Such practices were the subject          of sweeping SEC regulatory action in          1997.          "Given the plain importance of limit          orders to investor confidence and          market efficiency, you would expect          that ensuring their visibility would be an          unyielding imperative of our          marketplace," Levitt said. "But          information gathered this past year by          SEC examiners indicates just the          opposite."          Levitt said the SEC's pending          requirement that stock exchange quote          prices in decimals rather than fractions          based on one-eighth of a dollar          magnify the need for fully open limit          order books. The change in price          quotations is scheduled to begin July          3.          On a related theme, Levitt called on          the securities industry to create better          links across proliferating stock          exchanges, dealer networks and          electronic communication networks.          He said the current system linking          markets in exchange-listed stocks and          the SelectNet network of Nasdaq          stocks were not performing          adequately.          "With today's unprecedented volumes          and new demands, it's the obligation          of every market institution to commit          their resources first to          technology--before marketing          campaigns or dealer benefits," he          said. sprintcar