Sweeping regulatory changes in financial markets were agreed to this week by European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, after almost four years of negotiations and debate on the issue.
Known as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID), the changes include a new, regulated category of trading venues, greater transparency and investor protections, curbs on commodity trading, and rules covering high-frequency trading. The two groups agreed to the terms in principle and the final language will be ironed out in technical meetings.
