Sunday's New York Times features "Money Funds, Waiting for the Fog to Lift". The article says, "For decades, investors have waited out financial fogs like these in the haven of money market mutual funds. Unfortunately, the outlook for money funds themselves is just as obscure these days. After wrangling for four years over new rules that would fundamentally change how money funds work, the Securities and Exchange Commission has hit the pause button to await the arrival of a new chairwoman and to study the accounting and tax issues raised by its reform agenda. The money-fund industry, meanwhile, is bracing for new rules while facing old realities: low interest rates that discourage investors and compress fees.... A result is expected to be a new slate of proposals that can pre-empt the oversight council and win passage on a commission that will soon be led by Ms. White -- who has kept her own counsel on the topic. At her recent confirmation hearing, she barely mentioned the phrase "money market funds" in her prepared statement. Questioned about the issue, she said only that she was "acutely aware of the value of the money market fund product" and would "take care that that is not harmed".... The next shoe may drop soon. The annual meeting of the Investment Company Institute is scheduled for the first three days of May in Washington; traditionally, the head of the S.E.C. is the closing speaker at that event. If Ms. White has been sworn in by then, the lectern will most likely be hers -- and the fog may finally start to lift a little for money-fund investors."
