U.S. authorities probing New York SEC staff investments

NEW YORK:  Federal prosecutors and the office of the inspector general of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have contacted some employees in the SEC's New York office in a probe of possibly improper financial holdings, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Investigators are checking whether the employees' investments comply with SEC internal rules that prohibit trading shares of companies under investigation, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.