ARTICLES

CEO, CIO, CFO, and head of manufacturing, pick up shares. On Thursday, August 29th, Michael McClaflin, CIO at Flexsteel Industries (FLXS)picked up 2,350 shares. The total price came to just under $32,000, and represents his first purchase of shares at the company. He was joined by Carl Hayden, vice president of manufacturing, who bought 2,000 shares, also starting a stake at the company and paying $27,000 to do so. CFO Marcus Hamilton also joined in, buying 2,300 shares and increasing his stake by 26 percent. Last but not least, CEO Jerald Dittmer bought 5,000 shares, at a cost just under $67,000. Insiders have ...
Read More

Fed buys typically boost assets like stocks and real estate. During the years the Federal Reserve was engaging in quantitative easing (QE), the bank would routinely purchase assets such as U.S. Treasuries. This buying stopped in October 2014, with the end of the QE program. However, over the past few weeks, the central bank appears to have started buying up Treasuries again, with about $14 billion bought so far. That’s based on changes in the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet in recent weeks. If true, it suggests a few possibilities. First, the Fed mentioned during their rate cut decision in July that they would ...
Read More

Data contraction after expectation for rally. August data from the University of Michigan showed a drop in consumer confidence to 89.6. This is the lowest level since October 2016, and the expectations index for consumer confidence slid to lows last seen in January. The overall data shows the biggest drop in six years, and is also at the lowest level of the Trump Presidency, a precarious position for the incumbent going into the final year before the 2020 election. The index previously reporting 92.1 and 98.4 in recent months. The index is measured with 100 as neutral, and any number below 100 as ...
Read More

Data shows expansion after contraction in prior month. The Chicago Purchasing Manufacturers Index, a measure of real goods being created and distributed throughout the economy came in with a read of 50.4 in August. That number was a jump over the July data of 44.4. The index is structured on a scale from 1 to 100, with 50 as a break-even point. The current read shows modest growth, compared to the July data which indicated a sharp contraction. Several components of the PMI showed good news for an expanding economy. Prices paid for goods rose at a faster pace. New orders rose—and even ...
Read More

Dollar at record strength against other major currencies. The Euro hit a price of $1.09 compared to the dollar, its weakest performance against the U.S. currency since May 2017. As Europe shows even slower growth than the United States, the U.S. dollar will continue to look like a haven for currency investors. Currency moves are binary in nature. A weak Euro means that the dollar looks relatively stronger. This is a situation that can have severe implications on trade issues. The weak Euro makes Eurozone goods more competitive on global markets relative to U.S. goods. While currencies tend to fluctuate between periods of ...
Read More

October put-buying suggests big drop soon. On Friday, over 20,240 contracts traded on the October 2019 $2.50 put option on NIO Inc (NIO). As the contract had a prior open interest of 422, this represents a 48-fold increase in volume on the bearish trade on shares. With shares of NIO trading around $2.90, the $2.50 bet is out-of-the-money at the moment, but could move to that strike price before these options expire in 46 days. NIO designs, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles around the world, primarily out of its home country of China. The company offers 5 to 7 seater SUVs, charging solutions, ...
Read More

Senior Vice President makes six-figure buy. On Thursday, August 29th, Geoff Tanner bought 1,000 shares of JM Smucker Company (SJM), where he serves as a senior vice president. By picking up shares around $103, his total cost to pick up those shares was $103,000. The buy increases his stake by 17 percent, leaving him with just under 14,400 shares. This is the first insider buy at the company this year, following some insider sales at higher prices in the past few months. The JM Smucker Company is a consumer brands giant, known for preserves, peanut butter under the Jif brand, Folgers coffee, and ...
Read More

There are a lot of ways to make money in the market. But even if you find that rare company that can move ten-fold and provide one of the best profits of your lifetime, that will take time.Most investors get impatient. Trading Tips’ Andrew Packer explains why you should be looking at blue-chip bargains ...
Read More