Former Dow Jones (NYSE: NWS) director David K. P. Li is close to settling insider trading charges with the SEC, according to the FT and WSJ. Li, who is chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-based Bank of East China, has close friends who allegedly purchased 415,000 Dow Jones shares just prior to the acquisition offer from News Corp. That charge, against husband and wife Kan King Wong and Charlotte Ka On Wong Leung, is being contested and is ongoing. The size of Li’s preliminary settlement, a reported $8 million, is based on the profits that the couple are alleged to have made. With the settlement, Li is not compelled to admit wrongdoing.

• NWS-DJ: Monday Meeting; SEC Civil Charges; Fretting Journos