#including buying $180 million and selling $175 million. Among them

[ggpiu]

[wuerkaixii]

The U.S. Congress has become a rich place for many congressmen

Buying stocks of different companies before the government introduced relevant policies and making a lot of money. According to the New York Post, since 2007, the Pelosi family has made between $5.6 million and $30.4 million by investing in five major technology companies including Facebook alone. Pelosi's fortune has grown from $41 million in 2004 to nearly $115 million now, according to Open Secret, a Washington nonprofit that tracks campaign finance and lobbying data.

The Pelosi family is just one of the investors on Capitol Hill with "incredible" luck. Not only are U.S. congressmen and their spouses heavily invested in stocks, but their returns on their investments are significantly higher than average, according to MarketWatch.

Members of Congress and their relatives traded as much as $355 million in stock last year, including buying $180 million and selling $175 million. Among them, Republican lawmakers involved about $201 million in stock transactions and Democrats about $154 million. There were 41 U.S. congressmen who traded more than $500,000 in stocks last year. Among them, Texas Rep. McCall, a Republican, and California Rep. Connor, a Democrat, are known as the two "stock traders" on Capitol Hill. . McCall is said to be buying about $31 million and selling about $35 million in 2021. Connor bought about $34 million and sold about $19 million.

Congress has become a place for many congressmen to get rich. The New York Post takes New Jersey federal congressman and Democrat Gottheimer as an example to describe congressmen's "wind and cloud operations" in the stock market. Gottheimer is one of the most active "stock traders" on Capitol Hill, with 134 trades in the first quarter of 2021 alone. Like Pelosi, he has a preference for tech stocks. After years of trading small stocks, Gottheimer last year turned to riskier options trades worth up to $1 million each. Gottheimer bought 64.5 million options and sold 62.18 million shares last year, according to public information gathered by the website "Extraordinary Whales", which tracks politicians' stock market investments. The site estimates Gottheimer's ROI at 12.7%.

The alleged insider trading by U.S. congressmen not only made the public feel unfair, but also made them worry that related conflicts of interest might affect U.S. policy. Business Insider's recent review of nearly 9,000 lawmakers' financial disclosure reports and interviews with hundreds of people found that many U.S. lawmakers have business at heart.

[scaakef]

There are many "stock gods" hidden on Capitol Hill! How do they "steal with certificates"?

 The New York Times reported that 183 of the 435 members of the United States Congress traded shares on their own or through their immediate family members during 2019-2021.

 Among them, 97 people traded stocks directly related to their work in Congress, including 49 Republicans and 48 Democrats.

 The US legislators are allowed to buy and sell stocks, but the law prohibits them from insider trading, so this report has aroused heated discussion on the Internet.

 Not long ago, Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker of the House of Representatives Pelosi, bought a large number of shares of Nvidia, a chip company, before Congress passed the Chip and Science Act, causing widespread concern and criticism. For a long time, members of Congress represented by Pelosi and their families have been suspected of using the policy information they have mastered in advance to conduct insider trading in order to obtain huge benefits. The New York Post called this phenomenon "theft with certificates".

 Their stock trading volume last year reached 355 million

 After the sudden purchase of Nvidia shares was exposed, Paul Pelosi sold his shares under great public pressure, reportedly losing 340000 dollars. However, this money is only a drop in the bucket for the "god of stocks" Pelosi and his wife, who are just one of the many "investment experts" on Capitol Hill.

 "Amazing" luck

 Over the years, Paul, who loves science and technology stocks, has hit the "pulse" of the stock market for many times and bought shares of different enterprises before the government introduced relevant policies, making a lot of money. According to the New York Post, since 2007, Pelosi's investment in five large technology companies, including Facebook, has earned between 5.6 million and 30.4 million dollars. The Washington non-profit organization "Open Secret", which tracks campaign funds and lobbying data, disclosed that Pelosi's wealth has increased from 41 million dollars in 2004 to nearly 115 million dollars today.

 The Pelosi family is just one of the investors with "incredible" luck on Capitol Hill. According to the market observation website, US congressmen and their spouses not only make a lot of stock investment, but also their return on investment is significantly higher than the average level.

 The stock trading volume of members of Congress and their relatives last year reached $355 million, including buying $180 million of shares and selling $175 million of shares. Among them, the amount of stock trading involved by Republican lawmakers was about 201 million dollars, and that of Democratic lawmakers was about 154 million dollars. Last year, there were 41 members of the United States Congress who bought and sold more than 500000 dollars of stock. Among them, Texas Congressman, Republican Michael, and California Congressman and Democrat Connor were known as the two "stock traders" on Capitol Hill. McCall was shocked to buy about $31 million of shares and sell about $35 million of shares in 2021. Connor bought about 34 million shares and sold about 19 million shares.

 Congress has become a place for many members to get rich. The New York Post takes New Jersey federal legislator and Democrat Gotheimer as an example to describe the "ups and downs" of legislators in the stock market. Gotheimer is one of the most active "stock traders" on Capitol Hill, with 134 transactions in the first quarter of 2021 alone. Like Pelosi, he also prefers technology stocks. After many years of small stock trading, Gotheimer turned to more risky options trading last year, with each transaction worth up to $1 million. According to the public information collected by the website "Unusual Whale", which tracks politicians' investment in the stock market, Gotheimer bought 64.5 million options and sold 62.18 million shares last year. The website estimates that Gotheimer's return on investment is 12.7%.

 Crisis becomes a good investment opportunity

 The New York Times cited an investigation report that some members of Congress, relying on their understanding of policy changes, bought shares before the stock price rose and sold shares before the stock price fell to make profits. Reports from several US media show that many members of Congress "get rich" by taking advantage of the crisis. The Russian Ukrainian military conflict and the COVID-19 have become important investment opportunities for them.

 According to the Beast Daily reported on March 19, around the outbreak of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, more than a dozen U.S. Congressmen were nervously conducting stock trading. According to data, from February 1 to March 19, the stock trading volume of some members of Congress reached 7.7 million dollars. According to the US business insider website in May, at least 20 members of Congress bought shares of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin after the Russian Ukrainian conflict broke out. Thanks to the US military assistance to Ukraine, the shares of these two companies rose sharply. In addition, Florida Congressman and Democrat Schultz also bought energy stocks in late January. Since the purchase, the prices of these shares have also soared.

 On February 13, 2020, about a month before the WHO declared the COVID-19 epidemic a pandemic, Senator burr, a Republican from North Carolina, sold shares worth $1.6 million, timely avoiding the subsequent stock market circuit breaker. In addition, at the beginning of the outbreak, at least 75 members of the United States Congress bought and sold shares of pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson&Johnson and Pfizer. After that, the trillions dollar relief bill passed by the United States government boosted the stock prices of relevant stocks.

 "Rely on the mountain and eat the mountain"

 The fact that members of the US Congress are involved in insider trading not only makes people feel unfair, but also makes them worry that the relevant conflict of interest may affect US policy. After reviewing nearly 9000 MPs' financial disclosure reports and interviewing hundreds of people, the business insider website recently found that many US MPs are in business.

 According to the above website, more than 200 members of Congress and senior members of Congress are suspected of violating the principle of conflict of interest. Among them, 15 members of Congress who are responsible for formulating U.S. defense policies actively invest in arms manufacturers, more than 10 "environmentally conscious" Democratic members invest in fossil fuel companies, and 16 members of Congress buy and hold shares of tobacco companies, including some who openly oppose smoking. The commercial insider website "Conflicting Congress" rated the degree of suspected conflict of interest among members of Congress, and found that 13 senators and representatives were rated as red "dangerous", while 113 members were rated as yellow "critical".

 In fact, many American institutions, including Congress, have violated the principle of conflict of interest. An investigation conducted by the Wall Street Journal in 2021 found that from 2010 to 2018, 131 federal judges and their families held or bought or sold shares of the companies involved in hundreds of cases. In addition, in January this year, Clarida resigned early as the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve due to suspected insider trading. The day before Federal Reserve Chairman Powell announced the market rescue measures, Clarida bought a stock fund and was accused of violating the principle of conflict of interest.

 The stock law is a "toothless tiger"

 Why is there no law to restrict the insider trading of members of the US Congress, which has aroused public anger? In fact, the United States passed the Stop Using Congressional Information Trading Act (referred to as the Stock Law) in 2012 to prohibit members from insider trading. However, this law is better than nothing and has no deterrent at all.

 According to the U.S. Stock Law, members of Congress, the executive departments of Congress and their staff members are not allowed to use non-public information for stock trading. The above personnel shall report the trading of stocks and other securities with a trading amount of more than 1000 dollars within 45 days to prevent them from making profits through undisclosed information. In addition, the above personnel shall publish their stock and securities trading information on the Internet in a searchable, sortable and downloadable form.

 However, the U.S. stock law does not prohibit members of Congress and their relatives from holding or buying or selling stocks, and even if members of Congress violate the relevant provisions of the law, the punishment is very small. According to the recent survey of American business insider websites, in 2020 and 2021, at least 55 members of Congress and 182 senior congressional staff will submit stock trading reports late. Their excuses are various, such as not knowing the existence of the stock law, clerical errors, and the mistakes of accountants. According to the Stock Law, late submission of the above report will be subject to a fine of $200. However, the United States Congress has not disclosed the punishment, so the outside world does not know the enforcement of the law. In addition, in the past 10 years, very few people have been prosecuted for violating the stock law. Although insider trading is common, it is difficult to prove it. A study in 2020 showed that only 15% of insider trading in the United States was found and prosecuted.

 The US Stock Law is a "toothless tiger", which is extremely weak. In 2013, the US Congress adopted an amendment to the law through a rapid process, canceling the provisions that members of Congress and other members need to store their stock trading reports in a searchable database, further weakening the supervision role of the law.

 Few people believe in the "self-regulation" of Congress

 Members of the United States Congress are suspected of making profits through insider trading, which has aroused strong dissatisfaction among the media and the public. A survey shows that 76% of voters believe that members of Congress and their spouses have an unfair advantage in the stock market. 67% of American voters said that legislators should be banned from trading stocks.

 Although the public generally supports banning parliamentarians from investing in stocks, the vast majority of legislators from both parties in the United States are surprisingly consistent on this issue, which is rare in the United States where politics are polarized. According to the British Guardian, when Pelosi was asked in December last year whether she supported the ban on parliamentarians and their spouses from investing in stocks, she replied: "No, we are a free market economy, and they should be able to participate in economic activities." Republican Rep. John Sessions said there was no need to set up a ban. Democratic federal representative Loria asked the reporter: "Why do you think that members of Congress are inherently bad or corrupt? We already have a stock law that requires members to report stock transactions, so I strongly oppose any similar legislation (prohibiting members of Congress from buying and selling stocks)."

 Pelosi's above speech triggered a storm of public opinion. She had to change her position and claimed to support the bill that prohibits parliamentarians from investing in stocks. PunchbowNews said that several sources said that House Democrats may propose a bill in August this year to prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and senior members of Congress from buying and selling stocks. The new law will require members of parliament and other relevant persons to entrust their shares to a confidential trust (giving control to an independent third party), or sell them all, or impose a huge fine. The Guardian said that Republican Senator Holly also proposed a similar bill, but his bill did not include a fine clause.

 US media reported that the above-mentioned bill may be voted in Congress in September. However, there are still many obstacles to passing these bills. US President Biden has remained silent on relevant issues. Time is also getting more and more urgent. Members of Congress will leave Washington, D.C. in August. When the Congress adjourns, these people will soon prepare for mid-term elections, so it is difficult to pass relevant bills in September.

 The New York Post interviewed some senior officials in Washington, D.C., about the legislation prohibiting lawmakers from trading stocks. Some people said to the newspaper that the possibility of real self-regulation by Congress was very low, so that this statement was ridiculous, "Why should they do something bad for themselves?" Some officials said that the relevant bill proposed by the two parties of the United States may be to attract attention, rather than to carry out serious reform. A cynical Senate staff member said frankly: "This is all a show... there will be no result."

 This is not the first time that Congress has discussed restricting members of Congress from trading shares. Earlier this year, the voice of banning the stock trading of members of Congress rose. Lawmakers in both houses of Congress and the Senate proposed bills, but ultimately failed.

 In an interview with the Global Times on the 7th, an American expert said that members of Congress represent different interest groups. They not only use their power to serve these interest groups, but also serve themselves on behalf of these groups. Therefore, many members of Congress are desperate to win re-election, and it is conceivable how likely they are to pass laws limiting their own interests.

 It is worth noting that most members of the United States Congress are millionaires. According to USA Today in 2021, the NGO Responsive Political Center estimated that the net assets of most members of Congress exceeded $1 million. According to the information of the Washington non-profit organization "Open Secret" website in 2020, Florida Senator Scott is the richest senator, with a net asset of nearly 260 million dollars. Pelosi's wealth ranked 10th among all members of Congress, and Republican Senate leader McConnell ranked 19th.

[yigehuobuqideren]

There are many "stock gods" hidden on Capitol Hill! How do they "steal with certificates"?

 The New York Times reported that 183 of the 435 members of the United States Congress traded shares on their own or through their immediate family members during 2019-2021.

 Among them, 97 people traded stocks directly related to their work in Congress, including 49 Republicans and 48 Democrats.

 The US legislators are allowed to buy and sell stocks, but the law prohibits them from insider trading, so this report has aroused heated discussion on the Internet.

 Not long ago, Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker of the House of Representatives Pelosi, bought a large number of shares of Nvidia, a chip company, before Congress passed the Chip and Science Act, causing widespread concern and criticism. For a long time, members of Congress represented by Pelosi and their families have been suspected of using the policy information they have mastered in advance to conduct insider trading in order to obtain huge benefits. The New York Post called this phenomenon "theft with certificates".

 Their stock trading volume last year reached 355 million

 After the sudden purchase of Nvidia shares was exposed, Paul Pelosi sold his shares under great public pressure, reportedly losing 340000 dollars. However, this money is only a drop in the bucket for the "god of stocks" Pelosi and his wife, who are just one of the many "investment experts" on Capitol Hill.

 "Amazing" luck

 Over the years, Paul, who loves science and technology stocks, has hit the "pulse" of the stock market for many times and bought shares of different enterprises before the government introduced relevant policies, making a lot of money. According to the New York Post, since 2007, Pelosi's investment in five large technology companies, including Facebook, has earned between 5.6 million and 30.4 million dollars. The Washington non-profit organization "Open Secret", which tracks campaign funds and lobbying data, disclosed that Pelosi's wealth has increased from 41 million dollars in 2004 to nearly 115 million dollars today.

 The Pelosi family is just one of the investors with "incredible" luck on Capitol Hill. According to the market observation website, US congressmen and their spouses not only make a lot of stock investment, but also their return on investment is significantly higher than the average level.

 The stock trading volume of members of Congress and their relatives last year reached $355 million, including buying $180 million of shares and selling $175 million of shares. Among them, the amount of stock trading involved by Republican lawmakers was about 201 million dollars, and that of Democratic lawmakers was about 154 million dollars. Last year, there were 41 members of the United States Congress who bought and sold more than 500000 dollars of stock. Among them, Texas Congressman, Republican Michael, and California Congressman and Democrat Connor were known as the two "stock traders" on Capitol Hill. McCall was shocked to buy about $31 million of shares and sell about $35 million of shares in 2021. Connor bought about 34 million shares and sold about 19 million shares.

 Congress has become a place for many members to get rich. The New York Post takes New Jersey federal legislator and Democrat Gotheimer as an example to describe the "ups and downs" of legislators in the stock market. Gotheimer is one of the most active "stock traders" on Capitol Hill, with 134 transactions in the first quarter of 2021 alone. Like Pelosi, he also prefers technology stocks. After many years of small stock trading, Gotheimer turned to more risky options trading last year, with each transaction worth up to $1 million. According to the public information collected by the website "Unusual Whale", which tracks politicians' investment in the stock market, Gotheimer bought 64.5 million options and sold 62.18 million shares last year. The website estimates that Gotheimer's return on investment is 12.7%.

 Crisis becomes a good investment opportunity

 The New York Times cited an investigation report that some members of Congress, relying on their understanding of policy changes, bought shares before the stock price rose and sold shares before the stock price fell to make profits. Reports from several US media show that many members of Congress "get rich" by taking advantage of the crisis. The Russian Ukrainian military conflict and the COVID-19 have become important investment opportunities for them.

 According to the Beast Daily reported on March 19, around the outbreak of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, more than a dozen U.S. Congressmen were nervously conducting stock trading. According to data, from February 1 to March 19, the stock trading volume of some members of Congress reached 7.7 million dollars. According to the US business insider website in May, at least 20 members of Congress bought shares of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin after the Russian Ukrainian conflict broke out. Thanks to the US military assistance to Ukraine, the shares of these two companies rose sharply. In addition, Florida Congressman and Democrat Schultz also bought energy stocks in late January. Since the purchase, the prices of these shares have also soared.

 On February 13, 2020, about a month before the WHO declared the COVID-19 epidemic a pandemic, Senator burr, a Republican from North Carolina, sold shares worth $1.6 million, timely avoiding the subsequent stock market circuit breaker. In addition, at the beginning of the outbreak, at least 75 members of the United States Congress bought and sold shares of pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson&Johnson and Pfizer. After that, the trillions dollar relief bill passed by the United States government boosted the stock prices of relevant stocks.

 "Rely on the mountain and eat the mountain"

 The fact that members of the US Congress are involved in insider trading not only makes people feel unfair, but also makes them worry that the relevant conflict of interest may affect US policy. After reviewing nearly 9000 MPs' financial disclosure reports and interviewing hundreds of people, the business insider website recently found that many US MPs are in business.

 According to the above website, more than 200 members of Congress and senior members of Congress are suspected of violating the principle of conflict of interest. Among them, 15 members of Congress who are responsible for formulating U.S. defense policies actively invest in arms manufacturers, more than 10 "environmentally conscious" Democratic members invest in fossil fuel companies, and 16 members of Congress buy and hold shares of tobacco companies, including some who openly oppose smoking. The commercial insider website "Conflicting Congress" rated the degree of suspected conflict of interest among members of Congress, and found that 13 senators and representatives were rated as red "dangerous", while 113 members were rated as yellow "critical".

 In fact, many American institutions, including Congress, have violated the principle of conflict of interest. An investigation conducted by the Wall Street Journal in 2021 found that from 2010 to 2018, 131 federal judges and their families held or bought or sold shares of the companies involved in hundreds of cases. In addition, in January this year, Clarida resigned early as the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve due to suspected insider trading. The day before Federal Reserve Chairman Powell announced the market rescue measures, Clarida bought a stock fund and was accused of violating the principle of conflict of interest.

 The stock law is a "toothless tiger"

 Why is there no law to restrict the insider trading of members of the US Congress, which has aroused public anger? In fact, the United States passed the Stop Using Congressional Information Trading Act (referred to as the Stock Law) in 2012 to prohibit members from insider trading. However, this law is better than nothing and has no deterrent at all.

 According to the U.S. Stock Law, members of Congress, the executive departments of Congress and their staff members are not allowed to use non-public information for stock trading. The above personnel shall report the trading of stocks and other securities with a trading amount of more than 1000 dollars within 45 days to prevent them from making profits through undisclosed information. In addition, the above personnel shall publish their stock and securities trading information on the Internet in a searchable, sortable and downloadable form.

 However, the U.S. stock law does not prohibit members of Congress and their relatives from holding or buying or selling stocks, and even if members of Congress violate the relevant provisions of the law, the punishment is very small. According to the recent survey of American business insider websites, in 2020 and 2021, at least 55 members of Congress and 182 senior congressional staff will submit stock trading reports late. Their excuses are various, such as not knowing the existence of the stock law, clerical errors, and the mistakes of accountants. According to the Stock Law, late submission of the above report will be subject to a fine of $200. However, the United States Congress has not disclosed the punishment, so the outside world does not know the enforcement of the law. In addition, in the past 10 years, very few people have been prosecuted for violating the stock law. Although insider trading is common, it is difficult to prove it. A study in 2020 showed that only 15% of insider trading in the United States was found and prosecuted.

 The US Stock Law is a "toothless tiger", which is extremely weak. In 2013, the US Congress adopted an amendment to the law through a rapid process, canceling the provisions that members of Congress and other members need to store their stock trading reports in a searchable database, further weakening the supervision role of the law.

 Few people believe in the "self-regulation" of Congress

 Members of the United States Congress are suspected of making profits through insider trading, which has aroused strong dissatisfaction among the media and the public. A survey shows that 76% of voters believe that members of Congress and their spouses have an unfair advantage in the stock market. 67% of American voters said that legislators should be banned from trading stocks.

 Although the public generally supports banning parliamentarians from investing in stocks, the vast majority of legislators from both parties in the United States are surprisingly consistent on this issue, which is rare in the United States where politics are polarized. According to the British Guardian, when Pelosi was asked in December last year whether she supported the ban on parliamentarians and their spouses from investing in stocks, she replied: "No, we are a free market economy, and they should be able to participate in economic activities." Republican Rep. John Sessions said there was no need to set up a ban. Democratic federal representative Loria asked the reporter: "Why do you think that members of Congress are inherently bad or corrupt? We already have a stock law that requires members to report stock transactions, so I strongly oppose any similar legislation (prohibiting members of Congress from buying and selling stocks)."

 Pelosi's above speech triggered a storm of public opinion. She had to change her position and claimed to support the bill that prohibits parliamentarians from investing in stocks. PunchbowNews said that several sources said that House Democrats may propose a bill in August this year to prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and senior members of Congress from buying and selling stocks. The new law will require members of parliament and other relevant persons to entrust their shares to a confidential trust (giving control to an independent third party), or sell them all, or impose a huge fine. The Guardian said that Republican Senator Holly also proposed a similar bill, but his bill did not include a fine clause.

 US media reported that the above-mentioned bill may be voted in Congress in September. However, there are still many obstacles to passing these bills. US President Biden has remained silent on relevant issues. Time is also getting more and more urgent. Members of Congress will leave Washington, D.C. in August. When the Congress adjourns, these people will soon prepare for mid-term elections, so it is difficult to pass relevant bills in September.

 The New York Post interviewed some senior officials in Washington, D.C., about the legislation prohibiting lawmakers from trading stocks. Some people said to the newspaper that the possibility of real self-regulation by Congress was very low, so that this statement was ridiculous, "Why should they do something bad for themselves?" Some officials said that the relevant bill proposed by the two parties of the United States may be to attract attention, rather than to carry out serious reform. A cynical Senate staff member said frankly: "This is all a show... there will be no result."

 This is not the first time that Congress has discussed restricting members of Congress from trading shares. Earlier this year, the voice of banning the stock trading of members of Congress rose. Lawmakers in both houses of Congress and the Senate proposed bills, but ultimately failed.

 In an interview with the Global Times on the 7th, an American expert said that members of Congress represent different interest groups. They not only use their power to serve these interest groups, but also serve themselves on behalf of these groups. Therefore, many members of Congress are desperate to win re-election, and it is conceivable how likely they are to pass laws limiting their own interests.

 It is worth noting that most members of the United States Congress are millionaires. According to USA Today in 2021, the NGO Responsive Political Center estimated that the net assets of most members of Congress exceeded $1 million. According to the information of the Washington non-profit organization "Open Secret" website in 2020, Florida Senator Scott is the richest senator, with a net asset of nearly 260 million dollars. Pelosi's wealth ranked 10th among all members of Congress, and Republican Senate leader McConnell ranked 19th.

[augustus1999]

The U.S. Congress has become a rich place for many congressmen

Buying stocks of different companies before the government introduced relevant policies and making a lot of money. According to the New York Post, since 2007, the Pelosi family has made between $5.6 million and $30.4 million by investing in five major technology companies including Facebook alone. Pelosi's fortune has grown from $41 million in 2004 to nearly $115 million now, according to Open Secret, a Washington nonprofit that tracks campaign finance and lobbying data.

The Pelosi family is just one of the investors on Capitol Hill with "incredible" luck. Not only are U.S. congressmen and their spouses heavily invested in stocks, but their returns on their investments are significantly higher than average, according to MarketWatch.

Members of Congress and their relatives traded as much as $355 million in stock last year, including buying $180 million and selling $175 million. Among them, Republican lawmakers involved about $201 million in stock transactions and Democrats about $154 million. There were 41 U.S. congressmen who traded more than $500,000 in stocks last year. Among them, Texas Rep. McCall, a Republican, and California Rep. Connor, a Democrat, are known as the two "stock traders" on Capitol Hill. . McCall is said to be buying about $31 million and selling about $35 million in 2021. Connor bought about $34 million and sold about $19 million.

Congress has become a place for many congressmen to get rich. The New York Post takes New Jersey federal congressman and Democrat Gottheimer as an example to describe congressmen's "wind and cloud operations" in the stock market. Gottheimer is one of the most active "stock traders" on Capitol Hill, with 134 trades in the first quarter of 2021 alone. Like Pelosi, he has a preference for tech stocks. After years of trading small stocks, Gottheimer last year turned to riskier options trades worth up to $1 million each. Gottheimer bought 64.5 million options and sold 62.18 million shares last year, according to public information gathered by the website "Extraordinary Whales", which tracks politicians' stock market investments. The site estimates Gottheimer's ROI at 12.7%.

The alleged insider trading by U.S. congressmen not only made the public feel unfair, but also made them worry that related conflicts of interest might affect U.S. policy. Business Insider's recent review of nearly 9,000 lawmakers' financial disclosure reports and interviews with hundreds of people found that many U.S. lawmakers have business at heart.

[ramialkarmi]

The world's most talked-about cycling brand has finally come to America, and it wants to disrupt the bicycle industry by selling some of the world's best bikes directly online at a steep discount, but insiders say it faces fierce headwinds

The most talked-about cycling brand in the world right now is Canyon Bicycles, which opened for business in the US on August 15. The German company manufacturers high-end road, mountain, triathlon, and commuter bikes and sells in more than 100 countries. And though its origins date from 1984, Canyon is only now making its American debut.

Canyon says it differs from its rivals by offering technologically advanced performance bikes at comparatively low prices. And though price comparisons are not easy to make, because similar bikes are often specced differently, Canyon says its bikes sell for 20% to 30% less than comparable bikes from major rivals like Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, and Giant, but some observers suggest those figures are overstated.

Canyon sells only online, at canyon.com, direct to consumers. There is no bike shop or middleman. By comparison, if you want to buy a bike from Specialized, you must do it through a brick-and-mortar retailer. You can order a Trek online, but you still have to complete the transaction at a physical shop. Some lesser-known companies also sell bikes online directly, and there are successful third-party sellers, but Canyon is looking to be among the first brands to sell high-end performance bikes directly at a discount on a larger scale. Bike shops make money by assembling, marking up and selling, and servicing bikes, in addition to selling gear and accessories. Because Canyon sells direct and skips the shop, it says, it can afford to sell bikes cheaper. Canyon calls it "democratizing performance."

Canyons are highly desired, award-winning bikes, but US consumers haven't been able to purchase them until now. Riders in the States who own a Canyon most likely had the bike shipped from Europe through a friend or found other means. But their cachet also comes from a German-engineering heritage, which emphasizes a technology-driven approach and matters of detail drawn from a unique industrial-design language that appeals to discerning consumers. Canyon's chief brand officer, Frank Aldorf, who worked at the brand's chief rival, Specialized, comes from the advertising industry, where he did creative for BMW, Mercedes, Adobe, and other top brands. Canyon recently won the prestigious international Red Dot design award.

Canyon says customers will receive nearly fully assembled bikes on their doorstep (direct signature required), with US orders taking no more than a day to process. Customers choose from three shipping options: ground, three- to seven-day, depending on destination, $89; two-day, $150; and overnight, $175. Customers also pay tax.

Canyon's arrival in the US has many cyclists excited, but it's also brought about a sense of anxiety for some in the industry, and there is debate, on sites such as Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, over what effects, positive or negative, a successful consumer-direct sales model like Canyon's could have on brick-and-mortar retailers. In addition, though Canyon has been selling in more than 100 countries, its entry into the US won't be easy, several insiders who spoke with Business Insider said, pointing to a soft bicycle market and a lack of new riders buying bikes.

Business Insider spoke with Aldorf by phone from Canyon's headquarters, in Koblenz, Germany, and industry insiders about the company's bikes and business model. We also tried out one of the company's most popular bikes, the Aeroad (photos below), which Canyon shipped from its new Chino, California, warehouse by UPS to our doorstep. We had it assembled inside a half-hour and have already ridden it 500 miles.

SEE ALSO: From street vendor to Tour de France star, the extraordinary determination of Rigoberto Urán

A brief history.

In the mid-1980s, Roman Arnold was an amateur bike racer in Koblenz. In his teens he traveled to races with his father, a sales rep, who came up with the idea of selling imported bicycle parts from Italy. At first they sold the parts out of a trailer, which they towed around with their family car. When Arnold was 18, two days after he graduated from high school and was set to be conscripted into the army, his father died, Arnold told Pinbike in an interview. He suddenly didn't have to enter the service, so he and his brother, Franc, decided to grow the fledgling side business, which is when they started selling out of the family garage.

That eventually led to the opening of a bike shop, in 1985, and Arnold's shop became a dealer for other brands, including the American companies Specialized, Trek, and Cannondale. (Arnold has said he was for a long time the largest Trek dealer in Germany.) But Arnold dreamed of having his own bike brand, so he started off with a small mail-order catalog before eventually moving onto the web and becoming one of the first online cycling brands. At the time, positioning the business as an internet-based bicycle company was something of a bet, but, according to Aldorf, Arnold believed that selling online direct to consumers was the future.

Germany, then the world.

In developing his own bikes, Arnold said he looked at the best people in the industry and asked them to work for him. In 1985, he eventually put a team together, and "that is when the Canyon you know today was kind of born," Aldorf said.

The business grew, first in Germanic markets but then in France, Italy, and Spain and eventually in the UK and beyond. Canyon now sells bikes directly to consumers in more than 100 countries, and it has sold more bikes outside Germany than in its home country in every year since 2008, Aldorf told Business Insider.

Today, Canyon is one of Europe's largest bike makers, with a global staff of 850 and north of $180 million in annual revenue, according to Cross Border magazine, with revenue growing 30% year-over-year for the past seven years.

"We always knew the path was outside of Germany because that's where the biggest growth would come from," Aldorf said. "In European markets, it was an easier transition, closer to home, and in terms of legal, tax, and regulations. But for the past seven years, there's been a huge number of people overseas asking, 'When are you opening in the US?'

"So for a long time there was a huge demand there already. But it was something we couldn't get our heads around, and Roman was always just a little bit hesitant to go into this market and just didn't know the market well as he did those here in Europe. But at some point it was, like, 'Will we ever go to the US market?' 'When is the best time?'"

Click to doorstep.

While Canyon says a good deal of its success stems from its consumer-direct model — part of what it likes to refer to as "democratizing performance" — Aldorf said that, for him, it wasn't the business model that defined the company.

"We make higher-end performance bikes in road and mountain but also in our urban line and other performance-oriented bikes," he said. "We can offer them to a lot more people because of our business model. But 'democratizing performance' means first looking at the product, and no matter how you received our product, our bikes on a performance level can compete with all the bikes from Specialized, Trek, or our other competitors that go through the usual dealer network," Aldorf said.

"The bike itself is convincing — the design, performance, and quality. So it's part business model, part quality, but it's also the German part that plays into this, because our engineers and the department that takes care of our quality control is really top-notch. So that for us is the opportunity: a product that has won awards, is tested, and gets great reviews, without even taking consideration of how we distribute our product. Then, on top of that, we have our distribution, and it has a really nice price point. You get great value for the money. Combining these two things is the specialty of Canyon."

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