S.E.C. Chairman Sees First Year as One of Needle-Threading

For Securities and Exchange Chairman Christopher Cox, his first year as the nation’s top securities cop has been one of diplomacy, not brashness. It has been one of emphasis on gathering consensus on a variety of hot-button issues, he said in an interview with the Washington Post published Wednesday.

From pushing forward a compensation disclosure package without the ballyhooed “Katie Couric” rule to giving foreign firms more time to comply with Sarbanes Oxley financial controls (a decision that could be announecd this week), Mr. Cox mostly has sought to gently prod change.