With employees working from home and handling material, nonpublic information, insider trading issues may arise. Speakers from the Firm's U.S., UK, Australian, and European offices led an engaging conversation on handling inside information and the potential for market abuse in the current COVID-19 context.
This 30-minute conversation revolved around the following hypothetical scenario:
- Trader A is an energy trader whose firm is having financial difficulties and may go bankrupt.
- Trader A discloses to Trader B, an energy trader at a financial institution, that Trader A's firm is suffering cash flow issues and may go bankrupt.
Our speakers then addressed the following questions arising from this scenario:
- Can Trader B use this information in oil and equity trading?
- Can Trader B pass on the information to others at Trader B's institution who trade with Trader A's firm or trade in that firm's stocks?
- Does it matter why or when Trader A disclosed the information to Trader B?
- What if Trader A just wanted to increase favorability with the financial institution when he has to look for another job?
Watch the webinar to see how this scenario played out and how our lawyers addressed these questions.
Any presentation by a Jones Day lawyer or employee should not be considered or construed as legal advice on any individual matter or circumstance. The contents of this document are intended for general information purposes only and may not be quoted or referred to in any other presentation, publication, or proceeding without the prior written consent of Jones Day, which may be given or withheld at Jones Day's discretion. The distribution of this presentation or its content is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. The views set forth herein are the personal views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Jones Day.
Article originally published on 2 June 2020
