WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- A massive burst of stock trading ahead of a key Federal Reserve policy statement has U.S. officials talking to news organizations in search of a possible leak.
"As is generally the case with other releases of market-sensitive information by government agencies, news organizations receiving embargoed information from the Federal Reserve agree in writing to make no public use of the information until the time set for its release," the Fed said in a statement Wednesday.
"We will be conducting follow-up conversations with news organizations to ensure our procedures are completely understood."
ABC News reported Chicago research firm Nanex said there was high trading activity before the 2 p.m. announcement Sept. 18 that the Fed was not going to alter its bond-buying program.
Nanex Chief Executive Eric Scott Hunsader said there was a flurry of trading ahead of the announcement and the 1/100th of a second after 2 p.m. was the most active 10 milliseconds in the history of the U.S. stock and futures markets.
ABC said a Security and Exchange Commission spokesman declined to say whether it is reviewing the matter.
