> The real reason this is not insider trading is that there is no information provided from the inside here - simply deducing facts from outside information is

> The real reason this is not insider trading is that there is no information provided from the inside here - simply deducing facts from outside information is both legal and ethical (though if you do have material inside information, claiming that it could have been deduced from outside is not a defense.) Nit: “material inside information” isn’t illegal, and would not have to be defended at all ordinarily. Material, nonpublic information can be deduced from the outside, in which case it’s not illegal, because you are not an insider by confidentiality or fiduciary requirements. In fact, you can even trade on information provided to you by an insider with such constraints, so long as you were not entered into agreement with the same constraints, and so long as there is no quid pro quo between the parties.[1] ___________________________ 1. Though lately, the SEC has been getting more aggressive and trying to lower the bar for a quid pro quo to “friendship”...