Friday 24 September 2010

FSA to increase insider trading in UK markets

Sadly this is only to be expected from an organisation that thought Northern Wreck was a well run organisation that needed only occasional light touch regulation by a 22 year old straight out of uni.

As usual the FSA have seen the problem and utterly failed to engage their brain. The issue so they think is that bankers tell journalists about deals that are yet to happen. This apparently leads to unusual trading as speculation mounts. Of course the FSA does not regulate accountants, lawyers and PR's who all do the same thing.

There are two epic failures of understanding here. Firstly, insider trading is when the news IS NOT shared with journalists but with individual investors who then profit from secret information that may affect share prices. Journalists have a strict code about investing in companies, their role is just to print information or gossip.

The second failure is to try to restrict information in the age of twitter. Good luck with that, what re you going to do send everyone to jail? It is really finger in the dyke thinking.

The real, glaringly obvious answer, is to make information MORE freely available, so that bankers don't get to stitch up retail investors behind closed doors. In this age of mass information dissemination this is of course easier to do too. More negotiations conducted in public would be a good thing.

The City would hate it too; the fact that the FSA is trying to do the opposite just shows how in the pocket of bankers the place is. Can't wait until it is disbanded.

10 comments:

BrianSJ said...

... and the Treasury leaking to Pesto?

CityUnslicker said...

Brian, how dare you....

Brenda said...

Its like today's pub announcements.
Stop violent alcohol crime by making all bottles and glasses plastic.

..is the glass bottle the problem? Or is it excessive alcohol consumption?

respectable and gentle drinker said...

It's neither Brenda.

Decent people don't start slashing each other with broken bottles just because they've had a drink. Irrespective of how excessive their consumption has been.

Thugs engage in this kind of behaviour, I don't see why I should have to drink out of a plastic cup because others can't behave themselves.

Babies spill their food down their fronts, should I therefore be made to wear a bib?

Michael Fowke said...

I think I'm being followed by the FSA.

CityUnslicker said...

Michael - a good sign fo success, surely.

Anonymous said...

The FSA, like it's creator Gordon Brown, is incompetent and completely useless.

Steven_L said...

Can't wait until it is disbanded.

I think you'll be waiting a while, looks to me like it's being re-branded!

Anonymous said...

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UK investors

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