"The boom in corporate mergers is creating concerns of illiicit trading."

[The Backlash Cometh]

These kinds of crimes are getting so prevalent, that you have to wonder why our white collar criminal departments aren't growing more rapidly.

NYT study finds 41% of corps receiving buyout bids in last year show 'abnormal and suspicious' trading before deals went public

A NY Times study finds that 41% of companies receiving buyout bids in the last twelve months show "abnormal and suspicious trading" before the deals became public.

"The boom in corporate mergers is creating concern that illicit trading ahead of deal announcements is becoming a systemic problem," writes Gretchen Morgenson for the Times.

"It is against the law to trade on inside information about an imminent merger, of course," Morgenson writes.

"But an analysis of the nation’s biggest mergers over the last 12 months indicates that the securities of 41 percent of the companies receiving buyout bids exhibited abnormal and suspicious trading in the days and weeks before those deals became public," the article continues. "For those who bought shares during these periods of unusual trading, quick gains of as much as 40 percent were possible."

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/NY_Times_study_finds_41_of_0826.html