Securities Industry

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday stepped up its war against what it believes is manipulation of stocks by "short sellers" -- traders who bet on falling share prices. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox surprised Wall Street with a plan to curb illegal short selling in 19 major financial company shares, including embattled mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Shares of Fannie and Freddie have been big targets of bearish traders this year.

Looking down from his building's 87th floor at the glittering signs of multinational banks along the river here, Fan Dizhao declared confidently that Wall Street's reign as the world's No. 1 financial hub is coming to an end. The United States is grappling with its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, but these are go-go days in China. Venture capital, private equity and foreign direct investment are at all-time highs.

Mona Mond had a plan -- and it didn't include Wall Street going haywire and giving up a three-bedroom house with a half-acre yard for a small apartment. She'd married a man with a career on Wall Street, and at the very least she was going to live in a house, preferably brand new, with a Jacuzzi in her bedroom and a pool in that yard. There'd be a maid -- and no skimping, no worrying that any day Amar, her husband, would lose his job.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, facing congressional questions over its vigilance in policing Wall Street and corporate fraud, said Monday that it im- posed more than $1 billion in sanctions in the last fiscal year. Fines and orders extracting ill-gotten profits surpassed that amount in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, the SEC said in an annual report, without giving specific figures. The agency imposed $1.

An effort to consolidate industry self-regulation of U.S. securities brokers and dealers moved a step closer Sunday, the NASD said. Members of the NASD, formerly known as the National Assn. of Securities Dealers, approved bylaw changes needed to combine with NYSE Group Inc. and form one organization to regulate securities brokers and dealers. Consolidating the self-regulatory functions of the NASD and NYSE Group into one entity will help end duplication, reduce costs and make U.S.

Congress should revamp securities regulation, shield accounting firms from litigation and take other steps to bolster American financial competitiveness, according to a new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Echoing other recent studies by business and political groups, the report to be released today by a chamber-appointed commission says that U.S.

A federal appeals court Friday overturned a rule that allowed securities brokers to avoid some requirements faced by financial planners in advising customers, saying both groups must be held to the same standards to protect investors. The 2-1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the Securities and Exchange Commission had overstepped its authority in adopting the rule in 2005. The Financial Planning Assn.

Judging from the crowded tables at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone in Times Square, it's hard to believe that some people are fretting about the future of Wall Street. The restaurant, where bikini-clad waitresses serve grass-fed veal chops and white peach Bellini cocktails, counts on free-spending bankers and traders for 20% of its business. "They definitely spend a lot of money, more than the tourists," said waitress Katherine Mesa. "The Wall Street guys are used to money."

A Calabasas-based securities broker was accused Wednesday of taking improper payments from a mutual fund company that he recommended to union retirement plans. Michael L. Bullock violated securities rules by accepting $262,500 in payments in 2002-03 from fund giant Massachusetts Financial Services Co. and then deceiving clients about taking the money, according to the NASD, the brokerage industry's chief regulator.

The private equity boom that has helped drive the 4 1/2 -year-old bull market in stocks is facing severe pressure as investors chastened by the sub-prime mortgage debacle balk at financing risky deals.