Days of whispering are over on Wall Street

The days of whispers and winks on Wall Street are coming to an end thanks to a new regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. How can that fact help small investors?<br><br>The Fair Disclosure

Wednesday, October 25th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The days of whispers and winks on Wall Street are coming to an end thanks to a new regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. How can that fact help small investors?

The Fair Disclosure regulation requires companies to report possible market-moving news to the public at the same time they report it to analysts and large institutions. The chairman of the S-E-C says in the past, a company would share information to selected analysts. By the time the public knew what was going on, a vast number of shares could have already been traded. " The purpose of this rule is to level the playing field, and see to it that the individual investor has the same opportunities as the large institution guys,â€ said Arthur Levitt, S-E-C chairman.

Some critics say companies may cut back on the amount of information they make available out of fear of violating the new rule.