ON FRIDAY, the Financial Services Board (FSB) commenced a second investigation into shareholder activist Dave Woollam that could have a chilling effect on company reporting by journalists and analysts.In April this year, the FSB received a second complaint from Lewis relating to Woollam and last Friday it began an investigation into the "false and misleading" reporting alleged in this complaint. This is the first time the FSB will investigate an allegation of false and/or misleading reporting by someone who is not an agent of the company.Its findings have implications for commentators such as journalists and analysts who frequently report a view or opinion on a company.The existence of the second complaint emerged after the FSB disclosed it had cleared Woollam of insider trading allegations that were contained in Lewis’ first complaint.The first complaint, which was sent in July 2015, requested the FSB to undertake an investigation into "potential market abuse/manipulation and/or in...
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