3 weeks ago
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Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Dr. Marlene Street Forrest, is calling on the Financial Services Commission, FSC, to set standards regarding ethical behaviour in financial journalism.
The call comes amid recent concerns over liquidity and the potential of market manipulation triggered by the activities of a local journalist.
Dr. Street-Forrest says setting rules and regulations surrounding the management of trades does not fall within the remit of the Stock Exchange.
She says this is the sole ambit of the FSC.
Chevon Campbell tells us more.
The ‘baneful kiss’ is how one financial journalist described the recent tumble of NCB shares from 40 dollars to a low of 32, triggering the circuit breaker or temporarily ending trading.
It followed weeks of articles regarding the potential fortunes of NCB and its chairman, Michael Lee-Chin.
Those articles raised concerns about the tenuous financial situation faced by one of the Caribbean region’s largest financial conglomerates and Lee-Chin’s ability to maintain control of the entity.
It’s understood that the plummet was triggered by the trading activity of a single journalist with relatively few shares.
But, Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Marlene Street-Forrest, say’s she’s not in a position to call into question the trading activity of investors, leaving the determination of what can be considered stock manipulation up to the Financial Services Commission, FSC.
She told Nationwide News that the FSC has taken an interest in the recent activity.
Mrs. Street Forrest says it’s clear that where the interests of financial journalism and stock trading collide, ethical disclosure is important.
Mrs. Street Forrest says a potential gap exists where conflicts of interest must only be reported in the case of the company in question and member dealers.
She says safeguards are lacking for individual investors.
This is an area the JSE Managing Director again says is the sole remit of the FSC to solve.
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