Why is this a bad thing?

[KrazyHorse]

Compliance here...

[Dauphin]

The cynic's take is correct, but if people behaved at all rationally what would fall would be trading volumes, not prices...

Which is superficially interesting, because higher trade volumes often equate to higher prices.

[KrazyHorse]

Postulating a fundamental change in the way people trade equities invalidates an empirical relationship between levels and volumes

[OneFootInTheGrave]

The cynic's take is correct, but if people behaved at all rationally what would fall would be trading volumes, not prices...

if people behaved rationally there would be no booms and no busts... rationality is an imaginary concept, it's for the borg.

[KrazyHorse]

if people behaved rationally there would be no booms and no busts...

Utter nonsense.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

semantics

[KrazyHorse]

An inability to divine the future price path of assets is precisely what demonstrates that markets are rational.

[N35t0r]

Also, that there aren't any stocks valued pi or 2^(1/2)

[KrazyHorse]

'struth

[OneFootInTheGrave]

future driven by greed and fear <> rational

rational > low risk > no outright fraud > stable market > non-human

[KrazyHorse]

Is that supposed to be coherent?

Fear and greed are perfectly rational.

Greed is what drives people to take risks, fear is what reins them in.

[KrazyHorse]

I also have no idea why you are conflating "rational" with "taking few risks"

It appears to me as though you think you know better than other people what their risk preferences should be.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking or acting without inclusion of rationality. The term is used, usually pejoratively, to describe thinking and actions that are, or appear to be, less useful or more illogical than other more rational alternatives

if people behaved at all rationally what would fall would be trading volumes, not prices...

not only would the trading volumes fall with "rational" price levels staying, the risks and prices would be a lot more in line with the known performance of the participants the market = stability = utopia.

[KrazyHorse]

Yeah, I repeat:

Is that supposed to be coherent?

[Felch]

Two things to consider.

First, senators are smart people. They're not chasing the latest fad or buying stock on tips from their imbecile cousins. They get sound advice from other smart people, and they know how to apply that advice sensibly.

Second, they are more likely to be aware of government actions that would influence the economy than the general public. The conclusion on page 16 points out, "Current law does not prohibit Senators from trading stock on the basis of information acquired in the course of performing their normal Senatorial functions." This isn't necessarily "nonpublic" information. It could just be that they are more interested and informed about publicly known Government affairs than the typical stockholder. Or at least, that's what I hope.