SECURITIES

Off-Exchange Trading Rule OKd: The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule that enables the New York Stock Exchange to gather information on after-hours and overseas trading of Big Board stocks. The new rule should not only help the exchange spot illegal trading practices, but also enable exchange officials to gather information on off-exchange trading in NYSE stocks, a phenomenon that has taken business from the Big Board. The new rule requires securities firms to submit information on off-exchange trades the day after the trades take place and should provide a more complete audit trail for the NYSE and better depict total member trading in each NYSE-listed stock. In turn, that would strengthen the exchange’s surveillance efforts.