Investigations into irregular stock trading are up an average of between 10% and 15% over last year, The New York Sun reports. According to the paper, since the beginning of the month, the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched more than a dozen probes, with at least five of them involving the energy sector and 10 of them focusing on companies that trade shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Despite the hot mergers and acquisition market, most of the new investigations are not M&A-related. The SEC, reports the Sun, has sent letters to brokers asking the names of firm clients or employees that may have traded in shares or options in 13 companies, including Plains All American Pipeline, Southwestern Energy, Genesis Energy and Regal Beloit Corp., among others.
