The relevance of intermediate steps of protracted process as inside information in the light of the new european regulation of market abuse

The paper will describe the definition of inside information as a key concept of the Market Abuse regime. Under European law, it is prohibited dealing (or make selective disclosure) on the basis of non-public, precise information concerning one or more financial instruments which, if made public, would be likely to affect the price of those instruments or the price of related derivative financial instruments. In the last ten years one of the most relevant issue has been the relevance of intermediate steps of protracted process as inside information. To answer this question it is necessary analyse the definition of insider information under the MAD I with a specific focus on the concept of “precise nature” and its potential impact on the price (known as price sensitivity).