Month: July 2012

7-25-12-From fnno.com, this is the Financial News Network. The Commerce Department announced today that there was an 8.4% drop in home sales in June when compared to May. This decrease in home sales in the most significant since February of 2011. Sales plunged especially in the northeast, falling 60% last month.Home sale rates fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 350,000, which is still well below what is believed to be an economically healthy rate of 700,000.While this news out of the Commerce Department is not good, the sales rate for June is still about 15% higher than it was in the same month a year ago. For more coverage and analysis of the business world follow us on twitter @FNNOnline or check out our website at fnno.com.

7-25-12-Cynosure Inc. (NASDAQ:CYNO) stock gets a boost after posting higher than expected earnings for the second quarter on Tuesday. The company reported a profit of $0.20, beating analysts’ expectations by 11 cents and its earnings from a year ago, which was a loss of $0.10 per share. Revenue also rose by 50% to $39.6 million. Analysts were only expecting revenues to be $36 million. Cynosure reported that revenue from laser treatment in the North American markets almost doubled from a year ago. The company’s stock gained $2.34 yesterday to close at $23.86 on the highest volume of the year. It’s shares will most likely have even more growth in the coming session. For more coverage and analysis of the business world follow us on twitter @FNNOnline.

By CountingPips.com

The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report, released on Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), showed that large futures speculators decreased their overall US dollar long positions last week for the first time in three weeks as traders boosted positions in the Australian dollar, Japanese yen and Mexican peso.

Non-commercial large futures traders, including hedge funds and large speculators, cut their total US dollar long positions to $20.44 billion on July 24th from a total long position of $26.31 billion on July 17th, according to the CFTC COT data and calculations by Reuters which calculates the dollar positions against the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.

Individual Currencies:

EuroFX: Currency speculator sentiment for the euro rebounded last week after declining for the previous two consecutive weeks. Euro net short positions or bets against the currency fell to 155,066 contracts on July 24th from the previous week’s total of 167,249 net short contracts on July 17th.

The COT report is published every Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and shows futures positions as of the previous Tuesday. It can be a useful tool for traders to gauge investor sentiment and to look for potential changes in the direction of a currency or commodity.

Each currency contract is a quote for that currency directly against the U.S. dollar, a net short amount of contracts means that more speculators are betting that currency to fall against the dollar and a net long position expect that currency to rise versus the dollar.

(The graphs overlay the forex spot closing price of each Tuesday when COT trader positions are reported for each corresponding spot currency pair.)

GBP: British pound sterling positions improved for a second consecutive week last week although the currency remains bearish on the negative side against the US Dollar. British pound sterling speculative positions totaled 2,934 net short contracts on July 24th following a total of 7,453 net short contracts on July 17th.

JPY: Japanese yen speculative contracts rose by more than double and gained for a third consecutive week last week. Yen positions edged higher to a total of 25,061 net long contracts reported on July 24th following a total of 11,121 net long contracts on July 17th. Japanese positions have now continued to be positive on the long side for an eight consecutive week and are at the highest level since February.

CHF: Swiss franc speculator positions declined last week for a second consecutive week and fell to its lowest level since June 12th. Speculator positions for the Swiss currency futures registered a total of 25,945 net short contracts on July 24th following a total of 23,090 net short contracts as of July 17th. Franc contracts are the lowest level since dropping to a total of 33,301 short contracts on June 12th.

CAD: Canadian dollar positions declined lower for a fourth week in a row and are at their lowest level since January. Canadian dollar positions dipped to a total of 2,432 net short contracts as of July 24th following a total of 1,208 net short contracts that were reported for July 17th. This is the lowest level for Canadian dollar positions since January 30th when large speculators contracts equaled 19,409 short positions.

AUD: The Australian dollar positions rose sharply higher last week after declining previous week. Aussie speculative futures positions advanced to a total net amount of 26,443 long contracts on July 24th after registering a total of 13,931 net long contracts as of July 17th. The improvement in Aussie contracts brings positions to their highest level since May 1st when long contracts equaled 52,280.

NZD: New Zealand dollar futures speculator positions increased for a seventh straight week and are at the highest level since the beginning of May. NZD contracts increased to a total of 7,779 net long contracts as of July 24th following a total of 6,939 net long contracts on July 17th. The kiwi contracts are at their highest level since May 1st when contracts equaled 8,025 long positions.

MXN: Mexican peso speculative contracts surged higher for a seventh straight week and gained more ground after crossing over into positive territory on July 3rd. Peso positions rose to a total of 49,662 net long speculative positions as of July 24th following a total of 34,989 long contracts that were reported for July 17th. Mexican peso positions have now reached their highest level since the beginning of April.

COT Currency Data Summary as of July 24, 2012
Large Speculators Net Positions vs. the US Dollar

EUR -155066
GBP -2934
JPY +25061
CHF -25945
CAD -2432
AUD +26443
NZD +7779
MXN +49662

This thirtieth trading week of 2012 comes to a close with investors sending stock higher on Friday, betting that European leaders will act to get the region’s debt crisis under control soon. Hi.

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.

Bargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned dollars to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today we look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.

In trading on Friday, trucking shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 3.8%. Leading the group were shares of Saia (SAIA), up about 21.1% and shares of Con-way (CNW) up about 2.9% on the day.

Chevron (CVX) reported a lower quarterly profit, due to weaker oil prices versus the prior year. Better refining margins, however, helped mitigate this.

07-25-2012 Moody’s has Put Penn State on notice of a credit downgrade showing a faltering confidence in the university’s ability to survive the Sandusky child abuse scandal. Currently positioned at Aa1, the highest rating possible, suggesting little to no risk of default. However, the implications of a cumulative $60 million dollar fine are starting to worry creditors. It’s not that the school can’t make the payments over the next 5 years. They can, and then some. Except, the where the fine money comes from is being regulated, and it all comes down to their football program. No other sport programs funding or enrollment can be cut during these payoffs. Funding from the state cannot help out either. In short, it’s got to be the football program that eats this bill. The question is, will they survive it? For the next five years Penn State won’t be seeing new facilities, training regiments, scholarships, or really any additional funding. And 5 years is a long time-long enough to put them off their competitive edge for the next 10 years. Sponsors like StateFarm are already pulling their sponsorships. Student enrollment is down. And while the school may choose to make substantial cutbacks, none of their savings may go towards paying off the penalty. Moody’s says that Penn State has about $1 billion worth of debt, and a downgrade would make it that much harder for the school to borrow.For more news and updates, keep watching the financial news network. Find all our videos and stories on FNNO.com and follow us on Twitter @fnnonline.

07/25/2012 For FNNO.com you are watching The Financial News Network.There must me something in the water of Colorado. As the nation turns it’s attention to the Joker’s massacre and the tragedy that ensued, many individuals have turned to buying firearms. Now, it is not uncommon for people to go out and buy guns after a tragedy close to home. It is one way people cope to make themselves feel better. But the spike in gun sales and permits to carry a concealed firearm seem to have spiked unusually high recently. Colorado reports that they passed 2,887 background checks this past weekend –43% more than the weekend before and a quarter more than the average weekend this year. Coincidence? Not Likely.Another possible reason for the spike in sales centers around enthusiasts who see the deadly effectiveness of weapons through the news in the wake of incidences like this. Apparently a massacre is the best advertising for a weaponBut if you pay attention to the news, both Romney and President Obama have spoken about the troubling incident at the Colorado movie theater, but neither one has addressed the national gun control laws. Their avoidance of the issue tells us this is bound to be a hot topic come the elections. Many gun enthusiasts are fearful of a national crackdown. As a result, these enthusiasts begin to stockpile weapons and ammo before their liberties are curtailed. Some people think that Obama is waiting for re-election before imposing stricter regulations regarding guns, while others believe he has bigger fish to fry.Regardless, the number of guns sold is still overshadowed by the number of hearts that have gone out to everyone involved . For more news and updates, keep watching FNNO.com or follow us on twitter @fnnonline.