False information on the internet is distorting share prices, warns the trade body representing UK stockbrokers.
Published:
23 January 2000 y., Sunday
In recent weeks several companies have had to issue statements to the London Stock Exchange after misleading comments were circulated on financial websites. Last week shares in British coffee roasting company Coburg Group suddenly rocketed after an anonymous tipster suggested it was about to transform into an internet concern. This appeared to be news to Coburg_s board, which put out a statement saying it was unaware of any reason for the share price rise. The Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers (APCIMS) says it may now be time for legal action. Online trading has proliferated in the UK over recent months, with the London Stock Exchange now processing almost 100,000 private client trades every day - two-and-a-half times as many as this time last year. Although most private traders deal in relatively small amounts - the average is about Ј5,000 - the sheer number of people doing so means they are wielding more and more power in the markets. The APCIMS warning refers to internet chat rooms, where novice dealers can share gossip, tips and information. On these sites there have been several instances of “share ramping” or “punting and dumping”. Investors deliberately offer misinformation - there is often no way it can be verified - to raise the share price, and then sell the shares in question at falsely inflated prices. Firms which run the websites say they offer a valuable service and help novice investors to let off steam.But there is growing pressure for the main city regulator, the Financial Services Authority, to prosecute the unqualified internet tipsters.
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Software company announced new structure_ of it_s business.
more »
A number of MEPs urged Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier to come up with common rules to regulate cross border online gambling in Europe.
more »
Think before you post as once you do it is online forever. That was the message on Safer Internet Day marked on 9 February by a seminar in the European Parliament.
more »
50% of European teenagers give out personal information on the web – according to an EU study – which can remain online forever and can be seen by anybody.
more »
When did the Commission start working on social networking sites?
more »
ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon Business, is the first independent security-product testing and certification laboratory to earn ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, validating the laboratory's world-class capabilities.
more »
From today, European citizens, businesses and organisations can register .eu website names using characters from all 23 official languages of the European Union.
more »
Authorities investigated 301 mobile phone services websites in follow-up to EU crackdown on misleading consumer practices.
more »
After nearly 2 years of legislative work the Telecom Package is due to be put to a final vote in Parliament on 24 November in Strasbourg.
more »
The Christian Science Monitor reports that three men have been named as being the masterminds behind the hacking of RBS WorldPay, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
more »
BAI’s Banking Strategies Insights reports that banks must get serious about improving their ATMs, especially in the area of envelope-free deposit.
more »