Stock Markets
US SEC proposes limits on brokerage trading rebates
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are seen in Washington, July 6, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo
(Reuters) – Wall Street’s top regulator on Wednesday proposed new regulations it said should level the playing field among broker-dealers operating on U.S. stock exchanges by ending pricing schemes that tend to favor bigger players.
At a public meeting in Washington, a divided five-member U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 to propose banning stock exchanges from offering lower transaction prices and rebates to brokerages with higher trading volumes, something officials said creates unfair competitive advantages for larger firms.
“Sometimes the large brokers get rebates that are even larger than the fees they pay or actually have a situation where the exchanges are paying the largest brokers for that order flow,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
However, the commission’s Republican members objected, saying the proposal was a solution in search of a problem.
The number and complexity of pricing tiers that can exist among exchanges, and which leave different brokerages facing sizeable differences in cost, can make price schemes complex and difficult to understand, officials said in advance of the meeting.
Ending such pricing advantages will also help prevent conflicts of interest in which brokerages may route orders for execution in ways that benefit the brokerage but not the client, according to the SEC.
The ban on transaction price discounts and rebates would not apply when brokerages trade for themselves, SEC officials said in advance of the meeting.
In those cases, stock exchanges will have to disclose pricing tiers and the number of exchange members who qualify to the SEC, which will make this available to the public.
Republican commission member Hester Peirce, a critic of the SEC’s regulatory agenda, said agency staff who drafted the proposal had not shown it was necessary.
“Though replete with concerns about possible future harms, the release fails to mention what, if any, harm has occurred to justify the proposed changes,” she said in prepared remarks during the meeting.
“Economies of scale trigger discounts in almost every industry. You buy in bulk and you pay less. Why should similar discounts be unavailable in this industry?”
The proposal is now subject to a period of public comment and may be revised prior to any decision on whether to adopt it.
The American Securities Association, a trade group which announced on Tuesday that it had joined a lawsuit against the SEC over a different regulation, said the commission had “an obligation to promote competition and transparency” on equities markets and that the ASA would study the proposal.
By Michael Erman
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 250 branded medications including Pfizer (NYSE:) COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol Myers (NYSE:) Squibb’s cancer cell therapies and vaccines from France’s Sanofi (NASDAQ:) at the start of 2025, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.
Nearly all of the drug price increases are below 10% – most well below. The median price increase of the drugs being hiked Jan. 1 is 4.5%, which is in line with the median for all price increases last year.
The increases are to list prices, which do not include rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and other discounts.
Larger drug price increases were once far more common in the U.S. but in recent years drugmakers have scaled them back after price hikes drew sharp criticism in the middle of the last decade.
“Drugmakers don’t have much real estate any longer to increase prices over time, which means taking greater liberties on launch prices is really the only option they have in the face of expanded penalties for year-over-year price increases,” 3 Axis President Antonio Ciaccia said.
A Reuters analysis of prices for new drugs found that pharmaceutical companies launched new U.S. drugs in 2023 at prices 35% higher than in 2022.
The over 250 drug hikes represent an increase from Dec. 29 last year when drugmakers unveiled plans to raise prices on more than 140 brands of drugs.
Drug companies are also reducing some prices on Jan. 1. Merck & Co (NYSE:) plans to cut the list price of its heavily discounted diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet “to align the list price more closely to the net price.”
U.S. PAYS MOST
The U.S. pays more for prescription medicines than any other country, and incoming President Donald Trump has vowed to lower drug costs by focusing on middlemen in the U.S. healthcare system.
More drug price increases are likely to be announced by other drugmakers over the course of January – historically the biggest month for drugmakers to raise prices.
Pfizer raised prices of the most drugs on the latest list – more than 60 drugs. As well as a 3% hike on Paxlovid, the company raised prices on medicines including migraine treatment Nurtec and cancer drugs Adcetris, Ibrance and Xeljanz between 3% and 5%.
“Pfizer has adjusted the average list prices of our medicines and vaccines for 2025 below the overall rate of inflation – approximately 2.4% – across many products in our diverse product portfolio,” Pfizer spokesperson Amy Rose said in an email. She said the increases help support investments in drug development and offset costs.
Bristol Myers raised the price of its expensive cancer cell therapies Abecma and Breyanzi by 6% and 9%, respectively. The personalized blood cancer treatments can already cost close to half a million dollars.
A BMS spokesperson said in an email that the company is “committed to achieving unfettered patient access” to its medicines. She said the price of Breyanzi in particular “is reflective of the potentially transformative, individualized treatment in a one-time infusion.”
Sanofi raised prices on around a dozen of its vaccines between 2.9% and 9%.
The largest brand price increases according to the 3 Axis analysis were from Leadiant Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Italy’s Essetifin. The company raised prices around 15% on its Hodgkin’s disease treatment Matulane and about 20% on Cystaran, eye drops to help patients with symptoms from a rare condition called cystinosis.
Spokespeople from Leadiant and Sanofi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New York, New York–(Newsfile Corp. – December 31, 2024) – Kuehn Law, PLLC, a shareholder litigation law firm, is investigating whether certain officers and directors of Gitlab (NASDAQ:) Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLB) breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders.
According to a federal securities lawsuit, Gitlab insiders caused the company to misrepresent or fail to disclose material adverse facts concerning GitLab’s ability to develop AI features that would generate code more efficiently and increase market demand for its DevSecOps platform, and, as a result, positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
If you currently own GTLB and purchased prior to June 6, 2023 please contact Justin Kuehn, Esq. here, by email at justin@kuehn.law or call (833) 672-0814. The consultation and case are free with no obligation to you. Kuehn Law pays all case costs and does not charge its investor clients. Shareholders should contact the firm immediately as there may be limited time to enforce your rights.
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LONDON, Dec. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Travelzoo ® (NASDAQ: TZOO), the club for travel enthusiasts, has won “Best Travel Website for Travel Deals” for the 13th year in a row at the prestigious British Travel Awards. Travelzoo is one of only a small handful of brands with such a long-standing number of consecutive wins.
Over 1.2 million votes were cast in 2024, making the British Travel Awards the biggest consumer voted awards in the UK.
It was the biggest event of the UK travel awards season. The ceremony pulled out all the stops, with comedian and actor Tom Davis, star of The BBC’s King Gary, presenting. James Clarke, Travelzoo’s General Manager, UK, accepted the award on behalf of the team.
About Travelzoo
We, Travelzoo ®, are the club for travel enthusiasts. Our 30 million members receive exclusive offers and one-of-a-kind experiences personally reviewed by our deal experts around the globe. We have our finger on the pulse of outstanding travel, entertainment, and lifestyle experiences. We work in partnership with more than 5,000 top travel suppliers”our long-standing relationships give Travelzoo members access to irresistible deals.
Travelzoo is a registered trademark of Travelzoo. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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