abbeyswimmer

Do you think markets are efficient? If so, why do we have a ban on insider trading? Wouldn't it make more sense to permit insider trading as it would have information be reflected more quickly? Do you agree that insider trading bans really only serve high-speed traders?

I haven't seen the argument made, but if a company and its employees are prohibited from trading on insider information before it is made public, then it cannot make money from the inside information that it generates. When the news hits the market, it becomes generally available and those who can trade on the news most quickly net the profits. It seems our system shifts the gains from the company/insiders to the outsiders that are able to act most quickly on public information.

Recently, you wrote an article about "Average PE Ratio" being a bad metric, is there an Average PE Ratio for an index above which you would not invest? (E.g., I wouldn't invest in any S&P 500 stock if the indices average PE ratio were above 30 because I would think there would be a massive downturn coming and I wouldn't be confident enough that I could pick winners.) If so, what is that PE ratio for you? The article is at: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/19888591-sa-editor-mike-taylor/4513976-why-average-pe-ratio-can-be-a-dangerous-valuation-tool

With the understanding that you are not providing investment advice (and that you are essentially acting as Jim Cramer), if you were able to invest in only one publicly traded bio-tech company, which would it be and why? (And at the outset, would you view the purchase as a long-term or short-term buy?)

Do you read zerohedge.com? If so, what are your thoughts on it?