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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case about insider trading for the first time in two decades:
U.S. Supreme Court justices suggested they will make it easier to prosecute Wall Street figures for insider trading as the court heard arguments on the subject for the first time in two decades. Taking up the conviction of onetime Chicago grocery wholesaler Bassam Yacoub Salman, the justices weighed Wednesday whether someone can be sent to prison for making trades when the insider who provided the tip wasn't looking to make any money. A majority of the eight justices indicated a willingness to uphold the conviction.
A victory for the government would be a boost for prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission, restoring some of the leverage they lost in 2014 when a federal appeals court in Manhattan imposed new requirements on government lawyers. The New York court's ruling undercut U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's eight-year crackdown on Wall Street cheating and led to more than a dozen insider-trading convictions being thrown out. Justice Stephen Breyer said that ruling had changed decades-old rules for insider trading by requiring prosecutors to show that the insider received a concrete benefit. Salman's lawyer is urging the court to adopt that standard nationwide.
Also at Reuters and The New York Times .
(Score: 1) by Francis on Thursday October 06 2016, @08:34PM
I take it you don't know what insider trading or care about the consequences.
It's already hard enough for small investors and investors that aren't in the loop to make a profit trading in stocks and bonds. Allowing rumors to be the basis for trading when the rumors aren't available to the public means that certain traders can reap most of the rewards that come from the stock market with everybody else shouldering much more risk for much less reward.
It's bad enough that things like High Frequency Trading and options are allowed, allowing them to keep each other in the loop about events that are likely to impact stock price would break the system in an irreparable way.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 06 2016, @11:40PM
So basically, WAH WAH!! I'm not one of the cool kids, its NOT FAIR!