6 Interpretation

Subject(s):

Conduct of business regulation — Market abuse

This chapter discusses the interpretation and understanding of the statutes and other regulating provisions on market abuse. The fundamental standard of behaviour is relatively simple: the duty not to compromise the fair and efficient operation of the market or to unfairly damage investors. However, the ways in which this standard will be applied and interpreted are many and flexible. The discussion covers the Code of Market Conduct and Market Abuse Regulation, and the term ‘likely’, which frequently appears in the statutory and Handbook sections relating to market abuse. The term is used to emphasize that in a number of cases, market abuse can result not only from conduct that does cause a particular effect, but also from conduct ‘likely’ to have such an effect.