SEC May Push for New Disclosure Rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission may propose a rule next month that would prohibit companies from disclosing potentially market-moving information to analysts before they release it to the general public, SEC officials said Thursday. “It would open the flow of information to get into the hands of the many instead of the few,” said SEC enforcement chief Richard H. Walker.

Companies including Microsoft Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Exxon Corp. did not invite all shareholders to participate in telephone conference calls in recent months during which executives discussed earnings and other matters with securities analysts and institutional investors.

The rule would be part of a larger SEC review of insider-trading regulations that began early this year. The inquiry comes amid evidence that companies are providing information about profits, production plans and mergers to analysts before announcing the news.

“We consider selective disclosure a very serious problem, and we want to make the market fairer,” said SEC General Counsel Harvey Goldschmid.