Regulatory Column

The late, great Frank Muir used to write about the antics of a rather scruffy Afghan Hound. All those who came across the unfortunate mutt would exclaim: “What a mess!” Unsurprisingly, the poor animal came to believe that this was in fact his real name. One would not be surprised to find that those whose task it is to contain the perennial problem of insider dealing and market abuse in the UK might have a similar reaction when they try and implement the latest initiatives from HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in this area.

HM Treasury recently produced a “consultation paper” dated 7 February 2008. It's always hard not to think of the words “kick” “long” and “grass” when one sees the word “consultation” in this context but perhaps genuine input from market users is what HM Treasury wants (or needs) this time round.

Since the adoption of the Market Abuse Directive (MAD) in July 2005, s