Portugal

As investors go online, markets are rapidly growing and merging into a 24 hour global exchange. Who needs old stock markets anyway? This message obviously hasn't made its way through to the authorities at the Lisbon Stock Exchange, once a flourishing garden for the bulls, out in the cold and bearing the burden of a big downturn.

During the first quarter of the year, European exchanges failed to gain altitude, as Wall Street soared towards the eleven thousand barrier, driven by the healthy performance of the US companies and the hottest stocks in the market internet companies. The fact is the biggest commercial market in world, the European Union, is still looking away from the overwhelming power of e-commerce. Some say it is due to total absence of expertise in this area, but Easdaq and the Neuer Market provide some encouragement though it might take more than that for Euro stocks to jump on the bandwagon.

Typically, Europeans are concerned with the abstract aspect of e-commerce and how to legislate on this issue. Discussions for a Directive are under way and three main guidelines are expected to shape the core legal regime: the existence of loi de police, the general application of state securities offering laws, and consistent financial protection for consumers.

In the meantime, from the floors of the BVL, the Portuguese stock exchange the only known official comments are remarks on the low liquidity in the market. But what local investors are crying out for is for them to get hold of the future before the future gets a hold of them. And right they are.

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