Finance minister (FM) Pranab Mukherjee’s Budget speech has again raised the issue of increasing public shareholding in listed companies. The FM correctly says that it is easy to manipulate share prices when public shareholding is not diversified and below 15%. This is true of public sector entities (ONGC, MMTC, NDMC, etc), where the public float is outrageously low, as well as several private...

Retail investors are always agitated at stock market scams because they lose money when stock prices crash, but how many bother to find out what happens to those who are accused of unfair trading practices? I have frequently argued that SEBI’s flawed consent mechanism is letting manipulators walk free with a paltry penalty and sometimes just a warning. SEBI’s consent orders are patchy on...

Although an initial public offering (IPO) from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) doesn’t look imminent, its investors are a lot more upbeat about the initial actions of Madhu Kannan, the new chief executive officer. For the first time ever, the BSE has a senior management team whose combined international experience surpasses that of any other bourse or even the regulator. The team comprises...