Changes in stock quoting throws system into confusion
On the Money From the April 1, 2011 print edition A recent change in how some over-the-counter (OTC) stocks are quoted caused lots of distress for their investors — who wondered if their stocks had disappeared, stopped trading, been delisted or otherwise had vanished from the trading platforms. The situation started in September 2009, when FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), which owns and operates the OTC Bulletin Board, announced it wished to sell it. But FINRA hasn’t been able to sell the OTCBB, and many nervous broker dealers left that exchange starting in January. That’s left many companies with no representation on the OTCBB, resulting in them being pushed down to the less-prestigious Pink Sheets. The OTCBB has been identified with companies that fully report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Pink Sheets with companies that don’t report. Until recently, most small, fully reporting issuers believed they were being listed exclusively on OTCBB, owned by FINRA. However, to their shock, many learned their shares simultaneously were trading...
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