December 12, 2006
The bigger question to ask here is why an SRO which places disclosure obligations on its listed companies is selling services to enable the same listed companies to comply with those obligations.
Such conflicts of interest have very real potential to bring disrepute upon the US securities system at a time when it can least afford it.
Of course, Euronext NV owns a newswire service (make that two as of today), and similar situations exist in the UK and Italy.
Perhaps this is yet another of those situations where people say, "if everyone else is doing it, then it must be ok."
Only we know deep down that it just doesn't feel right.
NASDAQ should know better, and it truly disturbs me that it apparently does not.