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Case:

"Why so many late nights at work?" Chen asked his friend Tony, an investment banker.

"I've been working on a big project at work," replied Tony. "Actually, you'd like this one: One of our main clients, Bar-None Supplies has figured out a cost-effective way to produce a self-cooling beer can. It works with compressed gas or something, I guess something along the lines of those fizzy things they put in Guinness cans to make all that foam. Only this one makes the beer cold somehow."

"Sounds pretty cool to me--pardon the pun. But what's that got to do with you, anyway? Honestly, I'd figure you more for a seller of a product like that than someone working on "it."

"Well, Bar-None needs to restructure some of its loans and get some additional short-term financing before they can bring this thing to market. It's a big rush deal, and they've hired a top-notch patent lawyer to get that end of it on the fast track. But everyone who's actually seen this thing is amazed."

"So you've seen it then?"

"No, I keep begging for a can of the stuff, but no one listens. But my boss did get to try it. I guess the finance people from Bar-None brought over a case of prototypes when they made their big pitch for the loans they needed to get it to market."

Later that day, Chen is checking his stock portfolio, dreaming of the boat he's going to buy. He notices that Bar-None is traded on the NYSE.

Would it be insider trading if Chen were to buy a few shares of Bar-None stock? Why or why not?

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