Is the SEC trying to regulate a stock market crash out of possibly happening?

[raccoon]

(I don't know about you, but to me, more of this sort of thing makes the stock market look more and more rigged.

It's as if the SEC is trying to regulate a stock market crash out of possibly happening.)


SEC puts in new 'circuit breaker' rules

By MARCY GORDON, AP Business Writer 30 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators on Thursday put in place new rules aimed at preventing a repeat of last month's harrowing "flash crash" in the stock market.

Members of the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the rules, which call for U.S. stock exchanges to briefly halt trading of some stocks that make big swings. The exchanges will start putting the trading breaks into effect as early as Friday for six months.

The plan for the "circuit breakers" was worked out by the SEC and the major exchanges following the May 6 market plunge that saw the Dow Jones industrials lose nearly 1,000 points in less than a half-hour.

Under the new rules, trading of any Standard & Poor's 500 stock that rises or falls 10 percent or more in a five-minute period will be halted for five minutes. The "circuit breakers" would be applied if the price swing occurs between 9:45 a.m. and 3:35 p.m. Eastern time — almost the entire trading day...


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100610/ap_on_bi_ge/us_market_plunge_sec

[the other one]

1. Market stability is one of their missions

[Taitertots]

2. The illusion of market stability

Maybe they should stop turning investment into a cross between a casino and a ponzi scheme.

[sendero]

3. It's amazing..

... that these folks think that "circuit breakers" are going to add stability to the market. If anything, its just the opposite.