Such a medium may be a national business publication, a wire service or an analyst's report, such as the Dow Jones wire service or the Wall Street Journal. New, hard information about Double-Helix such as an earnings report, may be deemed public within a day or hours after its appearance on the Dow Jones. In such situations, it may take days or longer for the information to be considered public. If so, the information is considered material. For example, earnings projections and prospective takeover information are usually considered material.
Investors are generally free to trade on the basis of non-material information.
Smith's options depend on whether he has a fiduciary duty or relationship of trust with the source of the information. Traditional insiders are deemed to have a relationship of trust and confidence with their employers based on an employment contract, company policies or custom and practice in the employer's industry. Smith must therefore either disclose the information to the marketplace or abstain from trading in Double-Helix's securities and from tipping others who might trade. As temporary insiders, Park Johnson and its employees may not misappropriate or steal this confidential information from Double-Helix for their own personal benefit. It also bars insiders from trading in the securities of any company, based on information which the insider secreted from his employer or client.