SEC, FOR FIRST TIME EVER, SHUTS A MONEY MARKET FUND

In an unprecedented move, the Securities and Exchange Commission has liquidated a money market fund. The reason: the fund failed to to maintain its share price at the customary level of $1. Investors will get back only 94 cents on the dollar. SEC chairman Arthur Levitt announced the move at a hearing of the House Banking Committee Tuesday. The liquidation of the Denver-based fund, known as the Community Bankers U.S. Government Money Market Fund, should not affect retail investors directly. All of its $83 million in assets was deposited by 113 institutional customers, mostly banks. And Levitt emphasized that the demise of the fund, which lost value when risky derivatives that made up 43% of its assets plunged in price, appeared to be an isolated incident and not a warning signal of future failures. Concerned about your money market fund? You can check to see if it invests in derivatives by calling the fund and asking for a copy of the most recent prospectus. That document lists all of