Congressional Insider Trading

[Jacob]

Congressional insiders used information about the impending financial crisis to profit on the stockmarket: http://www.businessinsider.com/spencer-bachus-congress-insider-trading-60-minutes-2011-11

What says languish? Will there be repercussions?

[DGuller]

Should be?  Yes.  Will be?  No.

[crazy canuck]

What are the restrictions on elected officials making their own trades in the US?  I dont think it is even allowed here.

[jimmy olsen]

Congressional insiders used information about the impending financial crisis to profit on the stockmarket: http://www.businessinsider.com/spencer-bachus-congress-insider-trading-60-minutes-2011-11

What says languish? Will there be repercussions?

There sure as hell should be. 

[viper37]

What are the restrictions on elected officials making their own trades in the US?  I dont think it is even allowed here.

wasn't there something like this with Ralph Goodale and a leaked budget?

[crazy canuck]

It wasnt Goodale himself.  A civil servant breached the rules.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/personalfinance/incometrust-probe-faqs.html

The IMET team spent many months sifting through a huge paper trail, using sophisticated software programs that flag unusual trading patterns. The team looked at thousands of trades in dozens of income trusts and dividend-paying stocks and talked to many officials inside and outside of government and the investment industry.

On Feb. 15, 2007, the RCMP and the IMET team charged a top Finance Department bureaucrat, Serge Nadeau, with criminal breach of trust. The Mounties alleged that he "used confidential Government of Canada information for the purchase of securities which gave him a personal benefit." Nadeau faces up to five years in prison if convicted. The RCMP said their 14-month-long investigation is now concluded

In 2010 Nadeau pled guilty, recieved a fine and community service and apparently is now teaching at the University of Ottawa.  His defence was that his unlawful use in information had nothing to do with the wider leak and apparently that defence won the day in terms of a light sentence being negotiated with the Crown.

http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=a9423bad-99ab-46ad-abe2-35dcf3706241

[Admiral Yi]

What are the restrictions on elected officials making their own trades in the US?  I dont think it is even allowed here.

Cabinet members have to put their assets in a blind trust I think.  No restrictions on members of Congress.

[MadImmortalMan]

Doesn't even scratch the surface. Look at the trades of their spouses too and we'll really start getting dirty.

[Grey Fox]

So when they send picture of their schlong on twitter they lose their jobs but fucking up voters is A-Ok?

[HVC]

To paraphrase: sex is bad, greed is good.

[Razgovory]

I thought everyone knew about this.  Congress members, Senators, and staffers should really be required to put stocks in a blind trust.

[fhdz]

What's far more interesting than the fact that members of Congress can use inside information for trading, in my opinion, is that a Congressman would take information regarding the impending crash and use it to profit rather than bring that information to the attention of the House Financial Services Committee to see if anything could be done to mitigate it.

[crazy canuck]

What's far more interesting than the fact that members of Congress can use inside information for trading, in my opinion, is that a Congressman would take information regarding the impending crash and use it to profit rather than bring that information to the attention of the House Financial Services Committee to see if anything could be done to mitigate it.

What!  You want him to lose on his short position!

[fhdz]

What!  You want him to lose on his short position!

It strikes me a lot of the time that Congressmen seem to forget why they're in Congress in the first place.

[Admiral Yi]

Anyone else try Yakie's link?  Anyone else have problems with it?  It opened about 7 tabs on my browser and froze me up.