Regulator orders broker audit

Bloomberg reported that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) ordered an audit on China's 130 brokerages to see how bad their finances and practices are after last year's collapses and scandals. Firms have been told to deliver audits detailing problems and proposals for solving them by end-April, or face punishment, the agency said. The order follows by days the CSRC's promise to implement an industry-wide clean-up after markets plunged to six-year lows.