Промышленный лизинг Промышленный лизинг  Методички 

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Nasdaq Dealers Seek Settlement

Continued From Page CI Barney, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns each declined to comment.

It is unclear whether all 31 of the firms that havent settled individually will join the global class-action settlement Some people dose to the issue say one or two smaller firms were considering opting out of the deal. Smaller firms might find it more debilitating to pay тиШпШиоп-аЧЯ-lar settlements than giant brokerages that are experiencing record profits this year.

While every firm is likely to deny wrongdoing in settling the issue, there has been pressure to get this lawsuit settled by year end, people close to the firms say.

For one thing, record profit levels, estimated at S12 billion before taxes across all Wall Street firms, make a big settlement easier to absorb this year, say some people dose to the firms. Moreover, many of the firms named in the dass action are involved in mergers or merger discussions and dont want the uncertainty of a jury trial hanging over their heads.

Before investors get their hands on аду of this SI billion, members of the dass must be notified, possibly through mailings in their account statements or over the Internet, that they may have a claim. The court must approve the settlement after a hearing in which dass members can object to tha settlement if they wish. All that could take a year or more, some antitrust lawyers say.

The good news for investors is that with a settlement this large, the lawyers fees may represent well under 10% of the total. Mr. Rasmussen estimated. How to distribute the remaining funds to investors who can prove they have claims, and now much will go to each, will be worked out over the next year or more, he estimated.

A global settlement has been under discussion since Sherwood Securities became the first firm to opt to settle the case in April, people familiar with the matter say. As five other firms settled individually, it Increased the pressure on the other firms to settle together or singly, since under antitrust rules defendants who dont settle may face liabilities incurred by those who do, according to Mr. Rasmussen.

Last year, capping the first phase of its investigation, the SEC censured Nasdaqs parent, the National Association of Securities Dealers, for allegedly failing to police the market. Among the SECs findings: that Nasdaq dealers colluded to keep spreads artificially wide, thus boosting their profit margins. The SEC also concluded that dealers failed to honor their publidy quoted prices and deliberately delayed reporting trades until after the end of the trading day.

The SEC also ordered sweeping rule changes meant to prevent manipulation of spreads and to put small investors on a more equal looting with brokerage firms and institutions In getting access to the best available prices. Firms have complained that the new rules have significantly eroded their profits from acting as dealers, or market makers. In Nasdaq stocks.

Once the rule changes were put into effect, the SEC aimed to investigating specific Instances of allegedly illegal acts that came to light In thousands of hours of audiotapes the agency and the Justice Department had subpoenaed from the firms. Many Nasdaq dealer firms had routinely taped traders phone conversations to use as a reference if a trade was disputed.

Several PaineWebber traders were heard on tape discussing the manipulation of prices of slocks traded on Nasdaq, people familiar with tha firm said. But PaineWebber officials declined to say whether any of six departing traders were among them.

The firm said the longtime head of its. OTC desk. Richard Bruno, retired at the age of 51 but would remain a consultant. PaineWebber also said the six OTC traders were leaving the firm to pursue other opportunities. They are Peter F. Comas. Robert D. Coppola. Gerard Kane. Joseph J. Palma. Arthur Raiola and Joseph H. Raiola.

Joseph Raiola declined to comment on the reasons for his departure from PaineWebber. None of the others could be reached for comment

Воспроизводится с разрешения The Wall Street Journal*. © 1997 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.



АНКЕТ WATCH

FLOYD NORMS

Comeback Player Of1997: Nasdaq

The movements of stock markets are often ephemeral, on the front page one day and forgotten the next as prices fluctuate. We remember the 1929 crash because It foretold disaster, but the 1967 one, which dkt not. Is already fading from memory.

Thus it is that the enduring news made In

the financial markets in 1997 will probably not prove to be any of the it ms that sent prices soaring or f ailing. It will not be the extraordinary gains of the year or the brief plunge brought on by Asian concerns.

Instead, it is likely to be the reforms made at the National Association of Securities Dealers, which runs the Nasdaq stock market and licenses stockbrokers. It is well on Its way to being the first-class stock market that its advertisements used to say It already was. And its regulatory arm has made real progress in cleaning up the sleazy side of die brokerage business.

The N.A.S.D. should be honored as the Wall Street organization of the year.

Not all the credit for that goes to the association, of course. Change came only after the Feds cracked down in 1996 on trading practices that assured profits for market makers at the expense of investors. Credit should go to Arthur Levitt Jr., the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; to Richard Lindsay, the S.E.C.s director of market regulation, and to Anne Binga-man, who headed the antitrust division of the Justice Department

Still, the people who took over top posts at the NA.S.D. have done a magnificent job fa

turning around an organization that once appeared to be more responsive to the interests of its brokerage-firm members than it was to the interests of the investing public. Frank Zarb, the new head of the N.A.S.D.; Mary Schapiro. the boss of its regulatory arm, and Al Berkeley, the head of the Nasdaq stock market, all deserve praise.

On the regulatory front, Ms. Schapiro has moved to discipline not only the brokerage firms that routinely rip off customers, but also the brokers that used to go from one sleazy firm to another. Crooks now have good reason to fear the NA.S.D.

But tt is at the Nasdaq stock market that the roost far-reaching changes are being made. Investors are much more likely to get a good price-defined as a higher price if they are selling or a lower one If they are buying - than they ever were before. It may or may not be as good a market as the New York Stock Exchange, but until this year it was impossible to make the comparison without snick-

A Better Deal

Average change In quoted spreads between bid and asked prices on Nasdaq. Jan. 1997 to Nov. 1997.


Those savings for investors come from the brokerage Arms that make markets and that used to dominate Nasdaq. There have been forecasts of widespread withdrawals by market makers, and publicity has been given to some big firms that cut back on the number of stocks they trade. But the statistics snow that there are more market makers, not fewer, than before the reforms.

That may change. There probably were more market makers than were needed in many stocks, and some will find It hard to compete in the new environment. Also, the Jury is still out as to how much liquidity vlll be available in a prolonged bear market. The Nasdaq market grew out of the oil

over-the-counter market, a dicey place in which customers were often treated badly. And it was slow to change even as classy companies were listed.

One can argue that improvements should have been made years ago. But the important thing Is that the market is better. Frank Zarb and his colleagues deserve investors thanks.

Воспроизводится с разрешения.

© 1998 by The New York Times Company.



ным бумагам и биржам и должны быть отменены, чтобы все клиенты имели доступ к наилучшим возможным ценам.

Instinet не выставляла в систему NASDAQ все свои предложения на покупку и продажу. Вместе с тем значительное число заказов Instinet в настоящее время включено в котировки NASDAQ и представлено на уровне 2 NASDAQ под индексом INCA. Эти заказы повысили ликвидность на рынках NASDAQ. Большая часть из них размещена в NASDAQ и выполняется через Instinet (по оценкам, в прошлом доля таких заказов достигала 50%). От 80 до 90% этих заказов вводят маркет-мейкеры. Instinet считается наилучшей системой для институциональных трейдеров и маркет-мейкеров при торговле крупными пакетами акций NASDAQ. Несмотря на то что Instinet практически недоступна частным лицам, правила приема и размещения заказов Комиссии по ценным бумагам и биржам, предписывающие Instinet демонстрировать большинство своих заказов в NASDAQ, призваны обеспечить частным лицам доступ к такому уровню ликвидности, который ранее был уделом избранных.

Island

Island, введенная в эксплуатацию в 1996 г., стала наиболее быстро развивающейся ЭКС. Представленная в котировках уровня 2 NASDAQ с индексом ISLD, Island - недорогая, простая в обращении и доступная практически для каждого система. Финансовые институты, маркет-мейкеры и просто любой желающий могут передать заказы в Island различными способами - например, через терминалы для ввода заказов в Island, через Datek Online или Watcher. Все введенные в Island предложения на покупку и продажу, которые не исполнены немедленно, будут отражены в системе NASDAQ по всему миру. Это позволяет частным лицам реально формировать предложения на покупку и продажу и в действительности выполнять функции маркет-мейкеров по акциям NASDAQ. До 20 января 1997 г. это могли делать только мар-



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