SECURITIES

Brady Defends Integrity of Auctions: Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady defended the integrity of the scandal-plagued government securities auctions, saying the “system has worked.” “Last year, the Treasury issued $1.5 trillion of new securities. That’s over $4 billion per day. These figures alone offer proof of the strength and integrity of the U.S. Treasury market,” Brady told a group of international regulators in Washington. Brady acknowledged that federal investigations had uncovered “serious violations” in the Treasury auction market, but said regulators had moved quickly to correct the problems and catch the wrongdoers. Brady warned against moving too quickly on legislation intended to correct problems in the Treasury market auction that would have the result of weakening it.