After all the turmoil of the past few months, the New York Stock Exchange is beginning to emerge from the fog of renewal and reorganization to join Nasdaq in casting a shrewd and beady eye across the Atlantic to the ancient institution at the heart of the City of London.

The London Stock Exchange must feel its ears burning with all the global chatter mustering around its fate. After Nasdaq’s preliminary thrust, rapid withdrawal, then silent grab for territory, Clara Furse will be wondering what’s going to come her way next. Wonder no more, Clara, the NYSE has at last plighted its troth, or at least its first tentative intentions are becoming vaguely clear.

In a statement, the NYSE said: “We are currently engaged in discussions with certain participants, although no definite terms have been discussed or agreements reached.” I think we’re beginning to get the picture.

All interest today revolves around Nasdaq’s next move. It will be entitled to lift its shareholding from just under 15 percent to just under 30 percent without triggering a full-blown bid. If it does, it will hold most of the aces in the game to control the London exchange.

The ghost at the feast, though, is Sarbox — the American Sarbanes-Oxley rules feared by businesses worldwide for their eye-watering toughness. Much of London’s business advantage could be shed if the US SEC decides it must comply with its regime rather than the UK’s declaration of honesty rules and light-touch regulation.

Isn’t it time the British Treasury intervened just a little here to stiffen up the LSE’s resistance in the face of constant attacks on its independence and integrity?