IN THE SHADOW OF THE PRICKLY CACTUS

We were intrigued by Cactus's very good post today on the appearance of a Jenni McManus Jane Diplock story in the Independent . As usual it was a classy piece. What people forget is that it was
Cactus who first started asking some pointed questions about Diplocks overseas travel bill and the curious lack of focus the Securities commission had on its core business. Simon Power, a bloke we have come to admire, it seems, is now taking an interest. Well done Cactus.

However, it was also the readership figures of the Independent she quoted that we found particularly interesting.

Cactus is now one of the top dozen political blogs and undoubtedly the country's best female blogger and one of our best columnists in either print or on line.

She is pulling four times the audience of the ailing Independent.

Now we are back to being a part time blogger , but we too at Roarprawn are already back up to audiences that compete with the Independent. And each week that audience base just keep growing.

The battle of the dead tree press and the blogbitches rages......

CACTUS'S ELEGANT DISSECTION OF NZX

Cactus has the flu. That means she has had an awful lot of time to think over the weekend and as a result she has picked the wings of the fly that is NZX and she has done it with academic precision and elegance. If we were NZX we would send Cactus some tamiflu anti viral and some flu vaccine so she doesn't get the chance to think too much again. Or they could just send her a few cases of Krug and a decent shag or two. Otherwise the Barbed Barbie is going to keep on their case until there is some action.

Its a mammoth read - but the guts of it is as follows.

Executive Summary

1. NZX is privy because of their Regulatory position to information that makes them a trusted source.
2. NZX charges for dissemination of this information to the marketplace and generates 45% of its operating revenue in this fashion.
3. NZX is spreading its Regulatory role of a trusted source collector and disseminator of this information into commercial publications it is planning to purchase.
4. NZX has had no permanent Head of Supervision for a year and it is arguable that this person is truly independent anyway.
5. NZX claims that its Supervisory and Commercial operations are "quarantined".
6. NZX Supervisory staff have been financed into an employee share scheme. The NZX CEO is according to the latest accounts, the third largest shareholder in the company and has a sole financial incentive to increase the earnings per share to receive more shareholding.
7. The Securities Commission has previously raised issues of conflict with respect to NZX.
8. The Securities Commission is over stretched and under resourced, more so due to recent finance company issues.
9. The Securities Commission has called internationally for "independent, strengthened, and well-funded regulators for implementation at the domestic level" due to recent subprime crisis issues.
10. The NZX CEO has a new politicised role and is seen by political advisors as having large influence on John Key.

We reckon Cactus is on the money. As she tends to be. We wait with interest the response from the MSM.