Veteran Bloomberg reporter Susan Antilla wonders in her latest column whether Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Mary Schapiro is the right person to have at the helm of the SEC.

Back in 2006, Schapiro was the head of the National Association of Securities Dealers when the organization decided to merge its regulatory functions with the NYSE to create Finra -- the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Now a pair of Finra-member firms are suing Finra and Schapiro, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, misleading statements and unjust enrichment.

The economic numbers are getting better, and every time the bears call an overbought market the market just gets even more overbought. Even some of the bulls are surprised at how there has been no pullback. The housing prices and consumer confidence reflect this data.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,539.21 +29.93 (0.31%)
S&P 500 1,028.00 +2.43 (0.24%)
Nasdaq 2,024.23 +6.25 (0.31%)

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According to The Wall Street Journal, securities regulators will be heading over to Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to examine weekly meetings where research analysts give tips to traders and big clients.

The problem, as regulators may view it, is that financial firms are not treating all clients equally. Should there be an expectation for equal treatment? Theoretically, yes. But do I expect GS to share trading tips with me for free? Nope.

In a word: yes.

Despite all the talk about regulating these speculative investment vehicles, "Obama's financial overhaul plan included no big surprises or threats to the lucrative, secretive industry," writes The Wall Street Journal.

The name of the game is lobbying, which is easily funded by the $1.3 trillion dollar industry. Even after numerous Ponzi schemes and frauds have recently been exposed, the U.S. government has failed at regulating hedge funds, the most speculative area in finance, in part due to the industry's lobbying efforts.

Isn't it finally time to put someone in charge of the SEC who really cares about investors?

There are many well qualified candidates. Here are a few suggestions:

William Galvin: The highly respected Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He has taken on the industry and recovered millions of dollars of damages for aggrieved investors.

Joe Borg: Executive Director of the Alabama Securities Commission. Mr. Borg has a stellar record of protecting the interests of investors in Alabama.

Andrew Cuomo: The Attorney General of New York. He knows the industry and has shown great tenacity in exposing the recent fraud involving Auction Rate Bonds and other misdeeds.

Mary Schapiro, who is President-elect Obama's choice, has spent her career protecting the securities industry from investors.