Business Scenario: Trading Guild

 
At the dawn of each business morning, an intriguing game begins that will determine the stock prices of several public companies.  A financial entrepreneur has organized a contest for thousands of day-traders to pick the most volatile performing stock for that day.  There's a $100 per day fee to enter, but everyone involved knows that the value of participating is worth thousands!
 
Earlier that morning, each contestant is allowed to enter a stock pick, along with any pertinent data they wish to include to argue their case (charts, spreadsheets, links, etc.).  At 8:00 AM, participants are notified that the judging phase of the contest has begun.  By logging back to the site, participants now get to view five anonymous submissions from other day-traders.  They have 15 minutes to score the stock picks they have been given.  They are also allowed to attach commentary as to why they scored a particular stock that way.  Once finished, they wait for the system to tabulate their scores.
 
As a sorting engine eliminates the lowest scoring stock picks, many of the participating day-traders are already starting to place trading orders in advance of the opening bell.  Some of the stock picks are so compelling that they decide to not wait for the conclusion of the contest.  At 8:15, participants are given another five stock picks that they haven't review before.  The process continues until 9:15 AM when the reviewing phase is complete.
 
At that point, the system releases the ranking, itemized scores, and comments to all of its participants, minus their individual identities.  At 9:30 AM, it is posted publicly on the Internet for the entire investment community to see.
 
This particular "trading guild" (as some people are starting to call them) has become as influential as it is profitable.  Some argue that their success is only due to the volatility of so many many traders piling on to a particular stock.  Members argue that they are using fundamentals and their broad network of eyes and ears to see market opportunities better.  In either case, they have become a force to reckon with.  Many are beginning to suspect that their newer participants, as anonymous as they may be, must be employed by the major investment firms.  The subsequent trades that are beginning to take place in lieu of their stock recommendations have continued to increased, pushing several stocks to dizzying heights, as well as crushing those that are deemed "underperformers" by the collective assessment of independent traders.

 

And it's all perfectly legal...