Options Trading Tutorial

Are people who have priviliged previewing access to calendar event data allowed to trade stocks or options?

The idea that they would be allowed seems highly unethical, and of course, if they were to share actual data with acquaintances, that would be insider trading violation(s), would it not? Does the law treat these circumstances as such? Is there a priviliged element of our society that gets this information when the rest of us don't and can trade on a sure thing? I mean if I know that crude supply data will be low for a given day's reporting to the public, I can buy oil commodities or buy a large oil stock and be guaranteed at least a commensurate rise or lower in my profits accordingly in that commodity or stock. Other goods and services would also apply. So do we have people running our economy, subject to privilige of (not what you would call knowledge...implying that they surmised something from data) but from the actual data that others have calculated that I pay my taxes to collect the data and calculate, and that these people are using their unfair advantage to make money

Public Comments

1. in the US, it is not legal to do so. However there are many ways people get around this. - Let's say you have access to priviledged data. You can't trade this yourself but perhaps you tell someone you know about it. They may trade it. And you expect a similar favor later. - You may have knowledge of an accident or some unexpected occurrence before the rest of the world does. So you may trade this before the news gets out. - US Government employees that have access to the type of data you talk about are NOT allowed to trade.