Big names, small dollars. The SEC levied $13 million in fines against fifteen Wall Street firms that included such Thor's Hammer-heavy hitters as Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs in relation to allegations that the firms acted improperly in the handling of auction-rate securities - either failing to adequately advise investors of the Associated risks, or in some cases favoring some investors over others. The numbers being are seen as perfunctory given the high-end firms implicated. The SEC cited cooperation on the part of the broker-dealers as a primary reason for the regulatory agency's "measured response." The head of Goldman setting up shop as the head of the Treasury Department was not similarly cited.

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-- MDT