Author: FX_Trdr

As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy — they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.

Yahoo! Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian talks to Education Secretary Arne Duncan..

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday housing starts are up, boosting the stock market and causing optimism among investors.In the month of May, U.S. builders started work on more single-family homes and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in three and a half years. There was a 3.2% rise in building projects on homes, the third straight month of increases.In terms of permits, those increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 780,000, the most since September of 2008.These numbers are in line with the increase in the confidence index which we reported on yesterday. The Commerce Department’s report could finally mean the start of a true recovery in the housing market, something that hasn’t really recovered since the financial crisis in 2008.Markets are up on this news. The S&P and the Nasdaq both up over one percent and the Dow with triple digit gains, currently trading up 122 points.

As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy — they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon went before the House Committee on Financial Services today answering questions about a possible bill for exemptions from derivative transactions made by offshore branches of U.S. banks. Dimon was being questioned on this issue because J.P. Morgan’s massive trading losses, amounting to $2 billion dollars, were performed out of their London offices. Dimon says he supports congresses bill.Dimon was also asked as to whether may be clawbacks against him and certain traders involved in the catastrophic losses that took place. Dimon said that the board will do whatever they see is appropriate. Finally, Dimon, in response to the Volcker rule, said he supports a provision of allowing portfolio-hedging with a banks exposure to certain types of companies. Dimon said it would be impossible to limit exposure to a group of similar companies individually, something that a tough Volcker rule will prohibit.

This is what’s in the news for Monday, June 18 2012. The Wall Street journal reports Greek voters narrowly endorsed pro-bailout forces in a momentous election, easing fears for now of an imminent rupture with the euro zone. The Wall Street Journal also reports a U.S. government program that helps struggling homeowners take advantage of low interest rates to cut monthly mortgage payments is providing an unexpected revenue boost to major banks such as Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). Reuters reports AXA Private Equity (PINK:AXAHY) says it raised $8B for two of its funds, most of which it will use to take assets off the hands of banks cutting down their exposure in the face of rampant regulation. Reuters also reports British supermarket giant Tesco Plc (PINK:TSCDY) says it will sell 50% of its Japanese business to the country’s Aeon Corp. for a nominal sum, ending an eight-year attempt to break into Japan’s retail market. Finally, Bloomberg also reports Deutsche Boerse AG (PINK:DBOEY) asked an EU court to overturn a ban on its planned merger with NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX), saying regulators made errors when reviewing the deal that would have created the world’s biggest exchange.

IHS (IHS) today had its estimates raised by Credit Suisse (CS) due to new guidance issued by the company. A $113 price target was issued with an outperform rating.

Optimism over the possibility of further stimulus from the Federal Reserve kept the markets in positive territory today. There were mixed results on the economic front as the latest report from the Commerce Department showed a 4.8 percent drop in housing starts in May, to a seasonally adjusted 708,000 units.

Yahoo! Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian interviews Education Secretary Arne Duncan

AK Steel (AKS) was downgraded today by UBS (UBS) to from buy to neutral from buy with a price target of $5 due to underwhelming guided second quarter volumes. Shares are higher by about 3.5 percent.