E-Brokers and Daytraders Are Vying to Stop New Margin Rules

It ain't over till the SEC says it's over.

With that in mind, online brokerages such as Charles Schwab (SCH Quote) and E*Trade (EGRP Quote) and daytrading firms are aligned in an 11th-hour attempt to quash a strict set of proposed margin rules.

The firms are part of a 15-member task force set up by the National Association of Securities Dealers board. It first met last week. The NASD originally went along with the New York Stock Exchange in submitting the proposed rules to the Securities and Exchange Commission in January, but it then formed the task force after some members voiced concerns. Rules for the NASD and NYSE are required to be similar so any revisions by the NASD task force would change what the Big Board drew up. ...