Concerned the Fed believes in an Animal Farm market, where those who can legally trade on inside information are more equal than others? Don't be: The Fed's Inspector General is on the case...
The @federalreserve [3]'s inspector general is conducting an initial investigation #EarlyFedMinutes [4]
— Annalyn Kurtz (@AnnalynKurtz) April 10, 2013 [5]
A @federalreserve [3] spokesman tells me, the Fed accidentally emailed its March minutes to roughly 100 people yesterday, shortly after 2 p.m.
— Annalyn Kurtz (@AnnalynKurtz) April 10, 2013 [6]
Surely all those responsible for the "accidental" email will be swiftly and brutally punished, although it is unclear for what: maybe not leaking today's S&P closing price yet?
For those still confused, CNN with the full story [7]:
Oops. The Federal Reserve accidentally emailed the minutes from its March meeting to about 100 people a day early.
While no major news was expected to come from the minutes, they are nevertheless a key document that can move markets from time to time. Wall Street players often dig deep into the minutes for hints about when the central bank may pull back on its bond-buying policy or raise interest rates.
For that reason, the minutes are usually highly protected by the central bank and their release is supposed to be executed carefully.
A Fed spokesman told CNNMoney the mistake was "entirely accidental," and it was a "human error," not a technological one. The roughly 100 individuals on the list mostly included Congressional employees and employees of trade organizations. They received the minutes shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
After discovering the error this morning, the Federal Reserve decided to release the minutes to the broader public at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
At this point, it's not clear whether any trading took placed based on the early release, but the Federal Reserve Board's Inspector General will conduct an initial investigation of the error.
"We will be working with market regulators, the SEC and CFTC to insure they have the information they need to evaluate the incident," a Fed spokesman said.