SEC Seeks Ideas on Regulating Markets

Federal securities regulators, hoping to keep pace with dramatic changes in the nation’s stock markets brought by technology, are seeking ideas on how they should supervise markets in the future. The four members of the Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to issue a “concept release” soliciting public comment on regulation of so-called alternative trading systems and foreign stock exchange activities in the U.S. as well as more traditional U.S. stock markets. The changes under consideration would mark the biggest shift in the way the SEC regulates stock markets since the agency’s formation in 1934, said Richard Lindsey, director of the SEC’s division of market regulation. There will be 90 days to comment on the proposals after their publication in the Federal Register next week.