Rumours often reveal more about those peddling the stories than they do about the subjects of the scuttlebutt. That may well be the case with the tale doing the rounds about UBS and activist investors.

The claim is that UBS has decided to break ranks with other big investment banks that have self-imposed bans on advising activists seeking to profit from shaking up underperforming companies. The banks have feared that helping these funds might lose them business with their traditional corporate clients which have seen activists as the enemy, the modern day Barbarians at the Gate.