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Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by bedhead on Saturday June 05, 2021 @02:13PM (#27407322)
"Controversial" has no meaning in this context and I dislike the framing. Insider trading is defined as both material and non-public. The notion that a senate briefing about COVID by some random person about their personal opinion on what might happen doesn't even come close to qualifying as material. Nowhere close, not even in the universe of material. People might not like it, but not only were these stock sales 100% legal, they weren't even controversial.
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by ProjectArcturis on Saturday June 05, 2021 @02:28PM (#27407450)
The Senate is never briefed by "some random person." These were expert virologists and epidemiologists testifying in a closed door session. Absolutely material, absolutely nonpublic. Absolutely obscene that Burr in particular would publicly say that everything is fine while selling off most of his stocks.
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by kortilla on Saturday June 05, 2021 @03:16PM (#27407768)
Unless the information is from someone with a fiduciary duty to the company, it does not count as insider trading.

Information that will impact a company or many companies that is the result of research is never insider trading, at least not by any legal definition.

Millions of investors do private analysis on things that could impact securities, trade on that info, and share that info with others to trade on. Just being information not publicly available doesn’t make it “non-public” for the legal definition of “material non-public information”.

Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by kennywinker on Saturday June 05, 2021 @03:39PM (#27407923)
You're really fixating legal definitions on insider trading. Oddly enough, we're discussing the activities of the people WHO MAKE THOSE DEFINITIONS.

I think most americans are pretty uncomfortable with our leaders profiting off their own decisions and information they have access to but we don't. Those briefings were private. It's also deeply troubling that they were saying one thing, and privately doing another

Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by kortilla on Saturday June 12, 2021 @02:10AM (#27482017)
There is no other definition. It’s not “insider trading” anymore if it’s just people with private information because anyone can come up with private information that might be useful to trade on.

An excellent weather forecaster can make a fortune in the natural gas market, could trade fruit company stock, etc. and there is nothing wrong with that.

You have a problem with Congress using their access, that’s fine. But let’s not call it something it’s not because that hurts your cause.

Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by ProjectArcturis on Saturday June 05, 2021 @03:37PM (#27407910)
The fact that this behavior may not meet the legal criteria for an insider trading charge does not make it morally right.
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by reasonabl_human on Saturday June 05, 2021 @03:55PM (#27408021)
They weren’t given financial data from company execs… instead a research report on pathology / virology. Cut and dry, not insider trading. Vote to pass new / other legislation if it bothers you that politicians can trade stocks freely.
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by ViViDboarder on Saturday June 05, 2021 @05:29PM (#27408600)
Sorry, that’s not how it works. The people who are doing it are the ones that can vote to pass new / other legislation.
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by jkhdigital on Saturday June 05, 2021 @07:38PM (#27409339)
And they are voted into office by people like you. It’s called representative government.
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by ViViDboarder on Friday June 11, 2021 @02:21AM (#27469950)
Yes. That’s exactly my point. We don’t have a direct democracy so then it fea that people should stop complaining and “just vote” is ignorant of how change happens. You have to get a loud enough voice to make representatives to take up this action in the first place.
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by LatteLazy on Saturday June 05, 2021 @02:38PM (#27407505)
It's "controversial" because people don't like when politicians use their positions to make private profits. That it isn't insider trading in the strictly legal sense doesn't really change that it is questionable behaviour...
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by hartator on Saturday June 05, 2021 @02:23PM (#27407397)
The thing they will decide policies that will influence markets. So it’s material and non-public if they make trades before an announcement.
Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by kortilla on Saturday June 05, 2021 @03:18PM (#27407782)
Nope. That’s not enough.

This happens many times a year with company buyouts where many shares are accumulated first, then a buyout is announced, which boosts the share price further.

Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by hartator on Sunday June 06, 2021 @01:41PM (#27414773)
> This happens many times a year with company buyouts where many shares are accumulated first, then a buyout is announced, which boosts the share price further.

That doesn't make it more ethical.

Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by kortilla on Saturday June 12, 2021 @02:04AM (#27481988)
I don’t think you’ve thought that through. This is how it works for everyone who promotes something they have a vested interest in.

Professors who promote their own research programs. Surgeons who come up with new techniques, etc.

There is nothing wrong with coming out and saying, “we really like this company so we bought 5% of the shares and intend to take it fully private at $X/share” if the rest of the share holders are interested.

Re:All controversial trades by Senators in the 2020 Congress... by jkhdigital on Saturday June 05, 2021 @07:37PM (#27409334)
Yeah, and I didn’t even need a secret congressional briefing to know that I should be selling hand-over-fist when it became clear that the virus was pandemic-bound.