European rules on stock trading move closer

The Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has released its second round of consultation documents for providers of alternative trading systems (ATSs) to consider. The documents contain proposed standards for the providers of securities services, such as online brokers, which would be applied equally across the European Economic Area, including the EU. The proposed standards come as a response to the relevant directives from the European Commission. The standards have two purposes: to promote market integrity, and to provide investor protection. Current regula...