Corporate Bond Prices to Be More Available

Federal regulators and industry officials announced plans Wednesday to reshape the $2.3-trillion corporate bond market by making prices and trading information more widely available to investors. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt said that, as part of the effort, the National Assn. of Securities Dealers has agreed to take steps to improve the way prices are disseminated. Although some corporate bond prices are posted on the New York and American stock exchanges, most are traded over the telephone by pension funds and other big investors who pass on pricing information by word-of-mouth. The new system to track corporate bond prices is expected to be up and running in 18 months. Levitt, meanwhile, also said the $1.4-trillion municipal bond market soon will move to immediate electronic reporting of bond prices.