U.S. Investors Face An Age of Murky Pricing

--"less than half" securities are traded on exchange. more on OTC --The growing uncertainty over what assets are really worth could wreak havoc on the efforts of both individuals and money managers to invest rationally. During this summer's confusion over bond valuations, for example, it was especially difficult to know whether to buy or sell. Investors forced to fly blind sometimes resort to panic selling, which can produce wild swings in the markets. --Over the years, nonexchange-traded investments have produced plenty of pain for investors. Some go-go mutual funds dabbled disastrously in illiquid investments in the late 1960s and early 1970s; a 19 94 meltdown in the mortgage-securities market toppled Wall Street titan Kidder Peabody; and giant hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management collapsed in 1998 after bad bets on opaque bond markets. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119214581308956665.html?mod=todays_us_page_one