While I'm no securities attorney, I can assure you that it is most assuredly insider trading.
The key words are "material non-public information".
IF it is information and IF that information might make a material difference, it could be subject to insider trading.
IF that material information is time-sensitive, and it is not yet available to the general public, then I can assure you that it is subject to insider trading rules (as Nathaniel Chastain is now discovering to his detriment).
If such were not the case, then there would be queues of people wanting to work for free as interns at every financial wire service.
I can also report that a family member has worked at some major law firms (which do work for major corps & individuals), and they, and their family are specifically forbidden from trading in individual stocks without specific advance permission for each trade. This is to both avoid even the appearance of impropriety, and also just so everyone knows that if you break the rule and it ever comes up as a problem, you'll be fired in a New York Second [1].
[1] New York Second = the amount of time between the time a light turns green and the driver behind you hits the horn if you aren't already moving - considerably shorter than the standard International Atomic Time second.
The key words are "material non-public information".
IF it is information and IF that information might make a material difference, it could be subject to insider trading.
IF that material information is time-sensitive, and it is not yet available to the general public, then I can assure you that it is subject to insider trading rules (as Nathaniel Chastain is now discovering to his detriment).
If such were not the case, then there would be queues of people wanting to work for free as interns at every financial wire service.
I can also report that a family member has worked at some major law firms (which do work for major corps & individuals), and they, and their family are specifically forbidden from trading in individual stocks without specific advance permission for each trade. This is to both avoid even the appearance of impropriety, and also just so everyone knows that if you break the rule and it ever comes up as a problem, you'll be fired in a New York Second [1].
[1] New York Second = the amount of time between the time a light turns green and the driver behind you hits the horn if you aren't already moving - considerably shorter than the standard International Atomic Time second.