] U.S. securities regulators put a further onus on
] financial firms to keep records of their business this
] week, this time focusing on the increasingly popular form
] of communication known as instant messaging.
]
] The National Association of Securities Dealers informed
] its roughly 5300 brokerage-firm members Wednesday that
] they must retain their IM records for at least three
] years. Under federal law, every securities firm doing
] business with the U.S. public must be a member of NASD.