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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mick Mørmøny who wrote (159376)	8/10/2000 4:17:16 PM
From: Dorine Essey	Respond to of 176387

US options exchanges have no comment on probe report -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHICAGO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Four U.S. options exchanges on Thursday would not confirm or deny a Wall Street Journal report that they were close to settling federal price-fixing and antitrust investigations based on their options listing practices. The Chicago Board Options Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Pacific Exchange all declined to comment. A spokeswoman at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange said the exchange was currently in negotiations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the commission's probe but would not disclose any details. "When there is something to announce we will announce it," the Philadelphia exchange spokeswoman said. "We don't plan on announcing anything tomorrow." The Securities and Exchange Commission also declined to comment on its investigation. Officials of the U.S. Justice Department, which is conducting a separate probe, could not immediately be reached for comment. The newspaper said the Justice Department, in a bid to encourage the exchanges to settle, had recently activated subpoenas that had been sent to various exchange officials. The Pacific Exchange and Philadelphia Stock Exchange in May settled an investor lawsuit alleging that U.S. options exchanges had colluded to keep options listings exclusive and thus prevented customers from receiving the best prices. Both exchanges denied the allegations. The CBOE, also contesting the allegations in the investor suit, said it would seek a motion to dismiss. The American Stock Exchange had no comment. Some 30 separate civil lawsuits were filed against the U.S. options exchanges last year after the Justice Department and the SEC announced they had opened investigations into exchanges' options listing practices. The suits were subsequently consolidated into a single suit that was based on the Justice Department and SEC inquiries into why the options exchanges had not multiple-listed the older, more active optionsissues that had been exclusively traded on one market or another for years. Last August, the exchanges for the first time began competing for all options listings, including some of the most liquid options such as those on Dell Computer Corp. , which are now offered on all the exchanges. 408-8750 chicago.derivatives.newsroom@reuters.com)) REUTERS Rtr 15:12 08-10-00