| | | | DOW 35,061.69 | +0.68% | | | | S&P 4,411.81 | +1.02% | | | | NASDAQ 14,836.99 | +1.04% | | | | *As of market close | | • | Stocks closed higher on Friday, with all indices on track for new record highs. | | • | Oil rose 0.2 percent, closing at $72.04 per barrel. | | • | Gold declined 0.2 percent, last going for $1,802 per ounce. | | • | Cryptocurrencies traded sideways, with Bitcoin at $32,280 at the stock market close. | | | | | | | | | | Insider Trading Report: Ames National Corp (ATLO) | | | | James Larson, a director at Ames National Corp (ATLO), recently picked up 1,300 shares. The buy increased his stake by just under 4 percent, and came to a total value of around $30,000. A number of other insiders also acquired shares around the same time, in amounts ranging from $3,500 to $5,000, in what looks like an options exercise. Company insiders, both directors and officers, have been accumulating shares over the past three years with no insider sales. » FULL STORY | | | | | | Unusual Options Activity: Las Vegas Sands (LVS) | | | | Shares of casino giant Las Vegas Sands (LVS) have been trending down since mid-March, and now stand near a six-month low. One trader sees shares breaking off the low and moving higher once again. That's based on the May 2022 $62.50 calls. With 298 days until expiration, over 35,780 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 677, for a 53-fold jump in volume. The buyer of the calls paid $2.21 on average.
» FULL STORY | | | | | | • | Fed Under Fire as Housing Market Rallies
The Federal Reserve remains committed to maintaining its current level of asset purchases and low interest rates. Some see that as a major contributor to the rise of home prices over the past year. Rising home prices reduce affordability. Lower interest rates can also improve home affordability, but with the Fed's rates at 0 percent, there's not much room on the lower band for mortgage rates. | | | | • | Eviction Moratorium Set to End
On the other side of the housing market, renters who fell behind during the pandemic have been able to defer eviction. But the federal moratorium on those evictions ends at the end of July. While state and federal aid has topped $47 billion, little of it has gone into the hands of renters or landlords at this time. | | | | • | Shrinkflation Hits Supermarket Shelves
Inflation causes producers to do one of two things. The first is to raise prices. But sometimes, a producer might keep the price the same, but reduce the quantity available. That's starting to occur in items such as cereal boxes and ice cream cartons, which are now being sold in smaller sizes. The term for this phenomenon is "shrinkflation." | | | | • | Musk Goes Pro-Nuclear
Elon Musk came out in favor of nuclear power last week, stating that plants are safe, and can be made even safer. Nuclear energy doesn't release greenhouse gases and has a high base load, which makes it an ideal compliment to other green technologies like solar and wind, which can be erratic. | | | | • | Taboola Seeks to Buy Connexity for $800 Million
Grid-based advertising recommendation network Taboola (TBLA) went public just in June, using a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. All SPAC deals transfer cash to the acquiring company, and Taboola has used that SPAC money to make an $800 million offer for Connexity, a marketing technology company. | | | | | | TOP | | MRNA | 7.837% | | | RHI | 7.364% | | | FB | 5.296% | | | DHI | 4.362% | | | GOOGL | 3.577% | | | BOTTOM | | NTES | 8.014% | | | INTC | 5.29% | | | JD | 4.769% | | | VRSN | 4.706% | | | TCOM | 4.657% | | | | | | | | | We saw during the depths of the pandemic that tech stocks and their earnings held up the best, so I think a lot of investors are going back to the well, given we have a Covid resurgence. Long term interest rates coming down as much as they have also makes those stocks more attractive. | | - Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at BMO Wealth Management, on the resurgence of tech stocks in the past few weeks as bond yields have declined. | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment