Regulators Pushing for Action on Best-Price Options Trading

Coming soon to your PC: best-price options trading.

For years, regulators gently prodded the four U.S. options exchanges to "link" their price quotes to make the best market for an order readily apparent to investors. Early this year the Securities and Exchange Commission began forcing the issue, and this month the agency threatened to impose its own solution on the exchanges unless they develop their own linkage.

Well, there's nothing like the threat of bureaucratic intervention to speed things up. Potential solutions have come from three firms with strong ties to the options establishment, and the issue will be discussed further Tuesday when regulators meet with exchange officials in Washington, D.C. ...