Smith Barney fires four brokers for market-timing

[salin]

Smith Barney fires four brokers for market-timing

NEW YORK (AP) — Smith Barney, the brokerage arm of Citigroup Corp., fired four more brokers Thursday for improper trading of mutual funds, the firm's second such move in less than a month amid an expanding probe of the fund industry.

The company declined to identify the brokers by name or location, but a spokeswoman said they had engaged in "inappropriate behavior related to market-timing" and the dismissals were part of the firm's internal probe into its fund trading operations.

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This is the second time Smith Barney has fired an employee for improper fund trading. On Oct. 2, the company fired another broker for improperly canceling mutual-fund orders after the market closed, an illegal practice known as late trading. That broker has not been identified by the company, or charged with wrongdoing by the government.

more: http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/funds/2003-10-23-smithbarney_x.htm