Long live penny stocks! Reuters alone with NYSE scrapping minimum price rule
11.14.2008
Reuters was unmatched with news on Nov. 14 that the New York Stock Exchange received SEC approval to kill its minimum price rule, meaning 91 securities would rejoin the Big Board. The depressed stocks — including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Nortel, Rite Aid and Blockbuster — had been bumped to the small-cap Arca trading platform. Reuters learned that the NYSE, worried it would lose listings to rival Nasdaq Stock Market, would drop its sub-penny rule and simply round prices to the nearest penny. With the market selloff deepening and players scrambling to adjust, the story illustrated yet another concession by exchange operators who themselves are struggling to survive.
