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#Written by David Tam, 1997. #
#davidkftam@netscape.net Copyright 1999#
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David Tam
Thursday, February 26, 1997.
BUSINESS PRESS REVIEW
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Saunders, John. "Insiders sold before setbacks sank stock", The Globe and Mail.
Thursday, February 20, 1997. B1, B7. ------------------
There are reports that key executives at Bre-X conducted insider trading
during August and September of last year. Insider trading is illegal because
it gives certain individuals an unfair advantage when trading stocks on the the
open market. In this particular case, the executives sold their highly-valued
shares after they were notified by the Indonesian government that their
original ownerships rights were denied. However, this setback was not
announced to the public at the time. As a result, the executives had an unfair
advantage by possessing insider information. They sold off their shares at a
high price before the public announcement that dramatically decreased their
share prices. The executives performed $37.6-million in trade during this time
period.
Under the rules of the Ontario Securities Commission, this type of trading
is not allowed. Strangely, the article does not mention any of the
consequences that the executives will have to face for this illegal activity.
It may leave an impression to other readers that this type of trading is
allowed and is acceptable when it is not. Given the nature of the oil and
mineral exploration companies, insider trading would pose a serious problem to
the open market if it was legal. Individuals such as the senior officers of a
company could make millions at the expense of the rest of the open market.
(
geocities.com/siliconvalley/campus/9640/2ndYear) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley/campus/9640) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley/campus) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley)