Iowa Pub. Employees' Ret. Sys. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.

KATHERINE POLK FAILLA, District Judge:

*297In a 398-paragraph complaint, Plaintiffs detail a wide-ranging conspiracy to prevent the antiquated stock loan market from evolving into a transparent, direct, all-to-all electronic exchange. This market is critical to the short selling of stocks, a not-uncommon investment tool. The thrust of Plaintiffs' allegations is that Defendants conspired to boycott new market entrants - specifically, AQS, SL-x, and Data Explorers - in order to maintain their monopoly grip as prime broker intermediaries, and, by extension, to charge excessive fees under the cover of…