Surely that's insider trading in another guise....
Of course, but regulation is always' a day late and a dollar short'! Is that by design?
Insider trading actually refers to information asymmetry. Put simply, an 'insider' knows something that an outsider does, executes a trade either way to profit on the asymmetry. The market is 'assumed' to adhere to the efficient market hypothesis, which is enshrined in s674 of your Corporations Act 2001, also in the ASX listing rules 3.1. The idea is everyone has access to the same information. Then again ASX/NYSE companies have 'confidential briefings' for some investors..
Of course, the SEC and ASIC insist that insider trading is 'vigourously prosecuted' and may net a few. The interesting thing is that an option with a vesting date is a known well in advance, and something like a fleet impairment just an amazing coincidence, agreed to by auditors and senior management.
People I know looking at airlines always were curious as to the Balance sheet values of aircraft. I would suspect the Etihad write down of the A380 to effectively zero will be mirrored by a QAN CEO in years to come. Hopefully Joyce leaves that next opportunity for a big loss, depreciation change and probably pay freezes on helpless employees, to the new guy.
