EU's top court dismisses British court action and upholds short-selling ban

BRUSSELS - The European Union's top court has dismissed a British lawsuit contesting an EU-wide regulation that bans some short-selling practices to increase financial market stability.

The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice on Wednesday ruled the legal basis for the European Securities and Markets Authority to adopt such emergency measures is in accordance with EU law since its powers "are precisely delineated and amenable to judicial review."

Many blamed short-selling, a practice in which investors bet that the price of a stock or bond will go down, for creating tremendous volatility and threatening the stability of the financial system.

The regulation in 2012 once more exposed rifts among the EU's 28 members in their bid to overcome the financial crisis, with London arguing the short-selling ban goes beyond the European authorities' powers.