is a law governing the secondary trading of securities (stocks, bonds, and debentures) in the United States of America.

[1] A landmark piece of wide-ranging legislation, the Act of '34 and related statutes form the basis of regulation of the financial markets and their participants in the United States.

One area subject to the 1934 Act's regulation is the physical place where securities (stocks, bonds, notes of debenture) are exchanged.

The Maloney Act led to the creation of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. – the NASD, which is a Self-Regulatory Organization (or SRO).

The alternative trading system, or ATS, is a quasi exchange where stocks are commonly purchased and sold through a smaller, private network of brokers, dealers, and other market participants.

A specialized form of ATS, the Electronic Communications Network (or ECN), has been described as the "black box" of securities trading.

With these regularly required filings, buyers are better able to assess the worth of the company, and buy and sell the stock according to that information.

Section 10(b) of the Act (as amended) provides (in pertinent part): It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, by the use of any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce or of the mails, or of any facility of any national securities exchange ...

On May 5, 2006, in a notice in the Federal Register, President Bush delegated authority under this section to John Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence.

Administration officials told Business Week that they believe this is the first time a President has ever delegated the authority to someone outside the Oval Office.