Stock market shake-up

THE murky world of stock market floats is to be made transparent with new rules from the City watchdog.

At present, advance information on stock market floats is given to a small pool of analysts who work for the investment banks running the book.

But the Financial Conduct Authority is to introduce fresh rules to force busi- nesses to share more information with independent experts. The experts’ research could then be made public rather than being closely guarded and passed to favoured clients and giant fund managers.

The rules take effect in July, and are part of a push to make British markets the most transparent and competitive in the world.