FINANCE CLASSROOM

This previous couple of weeks, we've detected lots concerning analysis conducted by Ziobrowski  et. al. (see here and here) on the likelihood of privy mercantilism by Senators and Congressmen. supported abnormal returns earned  on their portfolios, it seems that they are doing use their "inside information" in ways in which would be contraband for those not in government service. just in case you haven't seen it, here's the hr story that brought Ziobrowski's analysis into the general public eye:

Now here's another fun reality - Congresscritters not solely get to cash in on material private data, they conjointly get to reveal it to pick out parties too. It feels like variety of hedge funds frequently meet with members of congress to induce way access to the present data. Here's a video from the Wall Street Journal for your viewing pleasure.



And here I though our elected officials were pure of heart and above approach (sorry - I think I shouldn't have changed my meds without doctor's orders).

Mark Cuban, HDnet founder and owner of the Dallas Mavericks was just charged with insider trading by the SEC. The commission alleges that Cuban received a call from tje Mamma.com CEO about a pending PIPE offering of Mamma's stock. The call was supposedly prefaced by a disclaimer from the CEO that the information was confidential. The SEC complaint alleges that Cuban then used this insider information to sell all his Mamma.com shares in after-hours trading, thereby avoiding a loss of about $750,000. In case you're interested, here's a link to the complaint.

It should make for an interesting case. Cuban has the resources to fight this thing pretty much as far as he wants (even potentially all the way to the Supreme Court), and is definitely stubborn enough to do exactly that. He's already posted a response to the complaint on his blog:

Mr. Cuban stated, “I am disappointed that the Commission chose to bring this case based upon its Enforcement staff’s win-at-any-cost ambitions. The staff’s process was result-oriented, facts be damned. The government’s claims are false and they will be proven to be so.”

Not surprisingly, Stephen Bainbridge has a very thorough legal analysis of the issue. After all, it's in his wheelhouse.

In the meanwhile, I have SAS programs to run and papers to write.