Grasso's Not Greener on the Other Side, NYSE Boss Tells Members

Twice in the past six months, New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso has backed away from bold pronouncements -- about the Big Board's possible initial public offering and its scheme to accommodate extended-hours trading -- after regulators and members advocated pausing to study the plans' far-reaching effects.

Such high-profile retreats might have cowed another exchange boss. But even as his patrons' caution has dictated that he take in his sails, Grasso has shrewdly managed to use the NYSE's vast wake to keep a seething pool of competitors at bay. Additionally, the feds -- in the form of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department -- are hounding the markets to break down traditional barriers. Grasso, the guy who made his name tightening the Big Board's operational nuts and bolts, had to say something and get out in front.

Richard Grasso
NYSE boss taking a new role
Photo credit: AP

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