'Flash crash' report due out next week

SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter promises that the long-awaited report on the causes of the May 6 disruption will provide a detailed look at why market prices suddenly fell off a cliff. Walter, speaking this morning in San Diego at a meeting of the Council of Institutional Investors, would not provide details, but the WSJ has reported that the government is looking into a practice called "quote stuffing" where very large orders to buy or sell stocks are placed and canceled almost immediately. Also being looked at is something called "sub-penny pricing," where orders are priced in increments smaller than a penny, but are far from the price at which the stock is trading.