Grand Theft Oil Futures: Insider traders keep making a killing at our expense | Hacker News

A Hacker News thread debates whether oil-futures trades made before major news reflected illegal insider trading or just rapid information gathering.

The discussion centers on government officials and Congress, where access to privileged, nonpublic information may give traders an unfair edge.

Commenters dispute how U.S. law applies, including the Commodity Exchange Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The broader concern is market integrity: whether public officials should be able to profit from information unavailable to ordinary investors.