FSA REPORTS: “abnormal pre-announcement price movements” in 21.2% of 2010 UK deals

Via Bloomberg:

“Unusual share price movements in the two days before takeovers announced by U.K. companies last year fell 9.4 percent, in a sign that insider trading may be decreasing.

There were ‘abnormal pre-announcement price movements’ before 21.2 percent of the 118 deal notices in the U.K. in 2010, the Financial Services Authority said in its annual report, published yesterday. That was down from 30.6 percent in 2009, and the lowest rate since 2003.

Factors other than insider trading, such as speculation by analysts or the press about an upcoming deal, or information leaks, could be the cause of the share price movements, the regulator said. The FSA has made market abuse and insider trading by top bankers a focus of its enforcement efforts.”