Banks losing ruling on hot news ban

Three Wall Street banks suffered a legal setback when a federal appeals court in New York put on hold a ban on financial news service Theflyonthewall.com from quickly reporting ‘hot news’ about their analysts’ research, reports Jonathan Stempel of Reuters.

Stempel writes, “These banks had won an injunction on March 18 from U.S. District Judge Denise Cote that required Theflyonthewall.com to wait two or more hours before publishing their research. Wednesday’s appeals court ruling lifts that restriction.

“The Second Circuit also granted Theflyonthewall.com’s request for an expedited appeal. It will hear arguments at the earliest available date after July 26, when briefs are due.

“Bank of America, Barclays and Morgan Stanley have argued that Theflyonthewall.com had been getting a ‘free ride’ by systematically misappropriating analyst research, including upgrades and downgrades that can instantly move stock prices.

“Cote had ordered Theflyonthewall.com to wait until 10 a.m. to report research issued before the market opens, and at least two hours for research issued thereafter.”

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