Teresa Hunter: Rogue traders and city raiders on crime watch

THERE'S been an avalanche of e-mails pinging into my inbox over the past month with news of brokers, bankers and traders hauled off the streets and into police stations by the Financial Services Authority. So abundant is this previously barren channel, I can hardly keep up with it.

Is there anyone left in the City of London, I'm beginning to wonder?

Like veritable Keystone Cops, their crack teams have been striking terror into the hearts of all those working in the financial sector with their dawn swoops, and handcuff-swirling swagger.

Indeed, it seems quite unfair that while the rest of us are being bored stiff by the Budget and electioneering bickering, the FSA storm-troopers are allowed to have such fun.

Do you think, if I asked nicely, they would allow me to be "embedded" on their next raid, like war correspondents are embedded with the army? What I'd give to be a fly on the wall.

Take last week. Nearly 150 police and enforcement officers swooped on the homes and offices of seven employees of top institutions suspected of running an insider trading ring.

This must be many times the number dispatched to arrest them if they'd committed murder, although the Scottish Police Federation has asked me to point out that only a fraction of those attending would have been serving officers.

This leads me to deduce, my dear Watson, that the bulk must have been FSA staff. The watchdog refuses to say one way or another, but we all know it has thousands of bodies sitting around doing nothing. That's how we got into this financial mess in the first place.

One shouldn't joke, of course, because in time they may train their guns on Edinburgh and Glasgow. If you've got any dodgy papers or e-mail trails, take my advice and get rid of them pronto.

Naturally, we support their activities fully, and are delighted to see bad boys or girls bang to rights, even if it comes some ten years too late to save us from financial ruin.

By my count there have been eight interventions over the past month involving sizeable firms, which means their lock-up or knock-out rate is running at about two a week. So be warned.

The most high-profile case resulted in the jailing for 21 months of former Cazenove broker Malcolm Calvert for insider trading, after he used information about mergers and acquisitions to buy and sell shares. His tip-offs came from a "deep throat", who was never caught.

Jailing him, Judge Peter Testar said the conviction showed "if someone is determined to break the rules it's impossible to stop them". On what planet was his worshipful previously living?

Shockingly, the seven arrested last week worked for highly reputable institutions, including Deutsche Bank and Exane BNP Paribas, and are said to be among the best connected in the financial world.

Even more worryingly, rumours were flying on Friday that watchdogs now suspect some of those involved may have been involved in an activity known as "front running".

This is where an institutional client, such as an insurance company or large corporate, places an order to buy or sell a huge tranche of shares, big enough to move the market. Those receiving the order, front run it by buying or selling ahead to make their own profit.

The seven arrested are believed to have been bailed pending further inquiries, but already one has vowed to fight to clear his name.

Roll on next week. Forget the election. Can't wait for the next episode of QOA...or .. Quiet On Arrival… oh, how I bet they were. I'm hooked on what could be the latest hit crime series. And if their writers run short of scripts, I know my readers will happily provide names and faces.

Scottish stimulus

Buried in the middle of the Budget red book is a Labour pledge to legislate to enact the recommendations of the Calman Commission, which concluded that Scotland should be allowed to raise its own taxes.

Rather than increase taxes, might it not be better to stimulate the economy by slashing them, like removing stamp duty from share dealing? It currently raises about 3 billion for the UK Treasury. Many institutions would immediately move their dealing operations north of the Border to save money.

Financial fee

When an adviser sells you insurance, a pension or other investments it is hard to be sure whether he is picking the best option for you or the one which pays the highest commission.

Finally, after a 20-year battle, commissions are to be banned from 2012. In future fees will be charged, and if a client cannot afford fees, some other system will be devised. They had better get working on that one fast.