SEC in spotlight on critical issues

By Dominic Jones

IS THE U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission becoming too pro-business? Or, as many in the business community claim, are its rules anti-business and hurting Corporate America’s competitiveness?

The Washington Post’s SEC reporter Carrie Johnson today previews the critical issues that the SEC must decide in the coming weeks. The report provides interesting perspective on House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank’s oversight hearing next month where the five SEC commissioners are expected to testify.

The hearing is seen as a reaction to growing complaints from investor and labor groups about the path the SEC is taking on a variety of important issues. Johnson reveals that former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt and former agency general counsel Harvey Goldschmid have called Frank in recent weeks to share concerns.

Meanwhile, the SEC and its rules are under fire from the business lobby. Johnson points to a series of industry-funded reports supported by Bush administration allies that have “advocated a sweeping deregulatory agenda that would rewrite securities rules and defang enforcement efforts in the name of making American business more competitive against foreign rivals.”

Are we the only ones happy with the SEC?

So is the SEC favoring business or investors? The answers to those questions probably depend on who you speak to. No one seems happy — except us.

In the area that matters most to us here at IR Web Report — using web technology to improve disclosure and empower investors to make more informed decisions — this commission rocks!

You don’t see the fruits of their efforts yet, but when we do, investors and U.S. industry as a whole are going to be big, big winners.

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