Argus welcomes price reporting protection in US financial reform actLondon, 21 July, 2010 (Argus) Global energy price reporting agency Argus welcomes clarification in the financial reform act that innocent mistakes in communicating with price reporting agencies will not breach anti market manipulation regulations. Participants in spot energy and commodity markets had voiced fears that an anti market manipulation clause contained within the bill could deter companies from sharing price and transactional information with price-reporting agencies.
But the 2,315 page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was signed by President Barack Obama in Washington today, encompassing a swathe of financial reforms, contains the important clarification that: “Mistakenly transmitting, in good faith, false or misleading or inaccurate information to a price reporting service would not be sufficient to violate [anti-manipulation measures].” Argus believes this language should provide comfort to all market participants that they can maintain the flow of market-related information to price reporting agencies. “This is a victory for common sense,” says Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks. “It shows that Congress understands the important role played by price reporting agencies in bringing transparency to the cash energy and commodity markets. And it is a testament to the openness of the American political system that it will act on industry’s concerns.” “Argus is firmly in favour of anti-manipulation legislation, but the law needs to protect the ability of the trade press to shed light on otherwise opaque markets. This piece of legislation does exactly that.” About Argus Media |