insider trading

Illegal use of privileged information in dealing on a stock exchange, for example, when a company takeover bid is imminent. Insider trading is in theory detected by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the USA, and by the Securities and Investment Board (SIB) in the UK. Neither agency, however, has any legal powers other than public disclosure and they do not bring prosecutions themselves.

Although some economists argue that insider dealing may actually be beneficial, not harmful, to markets, most academics agree that the damage it does to market confidence, by shattering the impression of a level playing field, is justification for its criminalization.