SECURITIES

SEC Decides to Stay Put: The Securities and Exchange Commission scrapped plans to move its headquarters to the Maryland suburbs, a proposal criticized as draining jobs from the cash-strapped District of Columbia. The SEC’s plans for a new office in nearby Silver Spring, Md., was condemned by civil rights activist Jesse Jackson and consumer activist Ralph Nader as a major setback for the economy in the nation’s capital. The SEC employs about 1,900 people, primarily attorneys and accountants, at its Washington headquarters, a short walk from the Capitol. The SEC said it asked the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for permission to remain at its current location by exercising a five-year option in its lease. The developer of the Maryland office building sued the SEC.