Nasdaq gains greater discretion to reject high-risk IPOs.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Nasdaq has been granted greater discretion to reject IPO applications that raise concerns about manipulation. This new rule was immediately approved and took effect on Friday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The new rule authorizes Nasdaq to reject a company listing if: the company's place of business does not cooperate with U.S. regulatory scrutiny; the underwriters, brokers, lawyers, or auditors have been involved in questionable transactions; or there are doubts about the integrity of management or major shareholders. This move aims to address the problem of numerous small IPOs experiencing sharp price drops after listing in recent years. In the past year, half of Nasdaq IPOs raised less than $15 million, and most of these IPOs saw their share prices fall by more than 35% within a year. (Reuters)