Something that is visible from space - the number of cars in a parking lot - seems to be the very antithesis of "non-public" information. I think Berkeley missed the thread on this one.
Yes, but it's not like the cars are ONLY visible from space. You are welcome to organize a large group of people to travel around to parking lots and count cars and then privately share your findings. What the funds are doing is just a more efficient version of that. It's all public information.
OP agrees with you: antithesis of non-public = public.
If the information is only shared privately, then it seems to me that it is by definition not public information; regardless of what the law says.
What is your definition of "public information"? It's trickier than you may think to define it precisely. For example, is any processed version of "public information" also public information?
Completely agree. My point is only that there's no real argument here that this is "non-public information," which is what insider trading laws are about.
So snooping on your neighbour gets more morally sound the higher your ladder is?