Panel Rules Out Nasdaq Collusion

A panel of veteran economists said Monday that by one key measure, trading costs are more expensive on the Nasdaq Stock Market than on the rival New York Stock Exchange. But the panel didn’t find evidence that Nasdaq dealers colluded to keep prices artificially wide.

The findings by the Financial Economists Roundtable come a day before a committee led by former New Hampshire Sen. Warren Rudman is scheduled to release of a major report on ways to reform Nasdaq, the nation’s second largest stock market.

One source familiar with the report, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rudman’s panel will offer “tough criticism.”

Nasdaq is a fast-growing market that links 500 securities firms to a central computer system which displays prices for stocks such as Microsoft Corp. and Apple Computer Inc.