Transitional figures like Jay Gould were starting to turn into hybrid financial operators and business managers: adept at both railroad Go-playing and stock-market manipulation.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has promised trading halts, lawsuits and other probes in its efforts to curb manipulation in the penny stock market--and halt a tsunami of e-mails touting these questionable securities.
The discussion comes as Beijing has stepped up its efforts to shore up confidence in its stockmarket, which has suffered from weakened investor demand, widespread investor perceptions of insider trading and price manipulation and concern over China's slowing economy.