October 12, 2002	Saturday	Sha'aban 5, 1423

BOCA RATON, Oct 11: The goals of the widespread investigation by securities regulators and law enforcement officials into abusive Wall Street practices are to produce a global enforcement settlement with errant investment banks and a global business model for the industry, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange said on Friday.

“It won’t be easy,” NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso told the Security Traders Association’s 69th Annual Conference and Business Meeting in Boca Raton, Florida. “It certainly won’t be without pain.”

But it needs to get done to ensure investors have confidence in corporate America, he said.

“As long as we continue this debate, the public’s trust continues to erode,” Grasso said.

Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York State Attorney General, stock exchange regulators and state officials — all engaged in a host of separate investigations — said they would mount a united assault on the stock offering and analyst scandals embroiling Wall Street.—Reuters