A senior Democratic senator is calling for an investigation into potential insider trading by fossil-fuel billionaires close to the Trump administration, after a Guardian investigation raised questions about an unusual share buying spree. Robert Pender and Michael Sabel, the founders and co-chairs of Venture Global, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company headquartered in Virginia, bought more than a million shares worth almost $12m each, just days after meeting with senior Trump officials in March.
Prosecutors allege that in 2024, the five suspects each sold large blocks of SoftwareOne shares before the company published two press releases that negatively impacted the share price. According to the Swiss public prosecutor's office, the suspects allegedly misused confidential information from the press releases. This allowed them to avoid financial losses of up to 2.49 million Swiss francs, equivalent to more than 3.1 million dollars.
10b5-1 trading plans were once offered mainly to the C-Suite and Board, designed to provide them with a structured and compliant framework for trading their company stock under the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Rule 10b5-1. Now, many companies are adopting a broader view of risk management that includes democratizing access to 10b5-1 trading plans. This is anchored in the reality that senior executives are not the only employee segment with access to sensitive information and equity compensation: Other roles often require working with MNPI.
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) is a Dividend Aristocrat trading at 2018 prices after a slew of unfortunate events that caused it to plunge. The December assassination of CEO Brian Thompson rattled investors and triggered an internal succession scramble, followed immediately by a rare 1.2% earnings miss in Q1, a guidance withdrawal, and the group's CEO resigning.
Bitcoin's recent price volatility has been notably influenced by political statements, particularly those from Donald Trump, indicating a growing link between crypto markets and political events.
For Republicans, it's long been Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, whose husband, Paul, is a prolific stock trader. 'I watched Nancy Pelosi get rich through insider information,' Trump recently told TIME.