Goldman analyst probed for leaking inside info: report

A sign shows the address of the Goldman Sachs headquarters building in New York July 19, 2010.

(Reuters) - A Goldman Sachs (GS.N) technology analyst is under investigation by federal authorities for leaking inside information to hedge funds, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people close to the situation.

The newspaper named the analyst as Henry King and said his activities focused on the flow of information from Taiwan to U.S. investors about the supply chain for personal-computer parts makers from Taiwan.

In recent years, technology investors have increasingly used snippets of information about the production of computer parts as an indication of how demand in the United States for computers might be shifting, in turn affecting the results of U.S. technology companies, the Journal said.

It did not give further details on the investigation.

Edward Naylor, Goldman Sachs' Hong Kong-based spokesman, declined to comment on the Journal report to Reuters. The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation could not be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular business hours.

A Goldman spokesman declined to comment to the paper on King's employment status. The Journal said representatives from the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation also declined to comment.

The newspaper said King did not return calls for comment.

Dozens of hedge fund managers, traders, consultants, lawyers and executives have been charged since 2009 in a sweep by federal authorities to stop money managers from gaining an illegal edge in the market with inside information.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan; Additional reporting by Sakthi Prasad, Editing by Mark Potter)