THOMASSON: SEC in the hot seat

Dan K.Thomasson wrote: He couldn't have been more correct. Through the decades since those dark days of the 1930s, Kennedy's lingering influence has served the SEC well. But suddenly the byword became not regulation but deregulation, and, with that, obviously diminished oversight. During the huge financial failures of the last 12 months or so, it seemed that the SEC and OTS and others were nowhere to be seen. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox was roundly criticized for his lack of perceptiveness. ******************************************** How could this column get into this paper? Take it out post haste.

To truthwilltell, probably because it's accurate. The SEC has been asleep for many years. My life is made miserable by FINRA on a weekly basis but we run a clean BD because the hounds are always at the door barking. When you control billions in other peoples money greed is always at your elbow and it only takes a couple of amoral people to sink an entire company. Obama has started on the right foot by appointing Mary Shapiro to head the SEC. She has made our lives tough for years. But every BD is better for it. The SEC can start by making the rule about accounting for stock options as an expense mandatory. I have seen only 2 out of 500 companies in the S&P 500 do it. Until then income stmts from these companies are a fiction and hide the systamatic looting of stockholders but corporate execs.