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Securities class action filings drop

Posted On: Jan. 2, 2007 12:00 AM CST

Some 110 securities fraud class action lawsuits were filed nationwide during 2006, a 38% decrease from 2005, concludes an annual study that was released Tuesday.

The 110 securities class actions filed last year also were 43% below the 10-year average of 193, the Securities Class Action Clearinghouse said.

The 2006 filings were the lowest yearly total since the adoption of the Public Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, noted researchers in the joint project of Stanford Law School of Palo Alto, Calif., and Cornerstone Research of Boston.

Researchers attributed the decline to strengthened federal enforcement and a strong stock market combined with lower stock price volatility, among other factors.

The study is available at http://securities.stanford.edu/.