Title: Wall Street to install 'circuit breaker' to head off market gyrations

2010-05-19

Computerworld - Regulators plan to enact new rules to curb the type of market volatility behind the May 6 "flash crash" that caused the Dow to plunge almost 1,000 points in a half hour. The goal is to head off market gyrations that can be exacerbated by automated high-speed trading.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which is the enforcement arm of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and national securities exchanges filed the proposed rules on Tuesday. Once in place the rules would require a pause in trading for individual stocks if the price moves 10% or more in a five-minute period.

The rules will likely be rolled out under a six-month pilot program beginning June 14. The SEC is now seeking comment on the planned changes.

"We continue to believe that the market disruption of May 6 was exacerbated by disparate trading rules and conventions across the exchanges," SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said in a statement. "As such, I believe it is important that all the exchanges quickly reached consensus on a set of uniform circuit breakers that would be

Click here for complete article by Lucas Mearian.

 
Copyright © 2010 :::: WASHINGTON ASSET ADVISORS :::: All rights reserved.   Legal Disclaimer
Website by HedgeCo Websites