It’s the ultimate disgrace for the ASX Ltd and market regulation, and especially for the now all-powerful ASIC.

The listed company controlling the ASX had a significant bit of market disclosure forced out of it after the  report in The Australian this morning, which pointed out the 10% rise in the ASX share price in the past week amid talk of possible deals to be announced at tomorrow’s annual meeting.

The company said it has had talks with a small number of exchange groups regarding possible business combinations.

The news saw the shares open in premarket bidding at an enthusiastic $36.15, compared with yesterday’s close of $33.79, but those bids quickly disappeared with the statement.

The statement and its contents left the shares off 8 cents at $33.71, still up about10% over the past week.

In fact, the shares are up 16% since hitting the most recent low of $29.11 on August 31.

So much for new, aggressive market surveillance. That a 16% rise in the share price of a leading company has gone unexplained is pretty weak regulation.

The exchange recently lost its market surveillance role over the ASX to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, after a move by the former government to introduce new competition.

ASIC is asleep at the wheel of regulation, again.