Deferred prosecution agreements to be introduced in England and Wales

The Government has confirmed that it will legislate to allow companies to enter into deferred prosecution agreements. The Ministry of Justice press release is here and the Government’s document responding to its earlier consultation is here. From the press release:

Women on boards: gender directive discussion at European Commission postponed until November

The discussion scheduled for today at the European Commission around the Justice Commissioner’s proposed gender directive on mandatory quotas for women on boards has been postponed until later in 2012, as a Commission spokesman explained on Twitter:

“olivier bailly‏@ECspokesOlivie #womenonboards. #EC agrees today on need to address gender balance. More time to reach an ambitious consensus. Will return to this 14 Nov”

More detail from EurActive here.

See also: “Golden skirts”: FT reports that the EU will propose mandatory quotas for women on boards

10 EU member states get approval to proceed with financial transactions tax

The European Commission today gave 10 EU member states the green light to go ahead with the introduction of a financial transactions tax through the enhanced cooperation procedure. The countries are Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Slovenia, Greece, Italy, Span and Slovakia.

The Commission’s press release is here and a set of Q&As are here.

No direct evidence that computer-based high frequency trading has increased volatility in financial markets, says Beddington report

“The Future of Computer Trading in Financial Markets – An International Perspective” – a report two years in the making by the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser Sir John Beddington and published today (here is the BIS press release and the report is here) concludes that: