The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that consumer prices was unchanged for the second consecutive month in January due to falling gasoline prices and stable food prices. For the twelve months through January, cosumer prices increased by 1.6 percent.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) was upgraded by Oppenheimer (OPY) from perform to outperform with a price target of $66 as the firm believes that the the current stock price is an attractive entry point despite a pessimistic outlook. Shares are lower by about a tenth of a percent.
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 Thursday, cigarettes & tobacco shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.1%. Leading the group were shares of British American Tobacco Plc Adr (BTI), up about 1.1% and shares of Philip Morris International (PM) up about 0.8% on the day.
President Barack Obama called House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell Thursday about the looming spending cuts set to kick in on March 1.
It was a mixed open on Wall Street today with the markets heading into negative territory following the release of the latest Fed minutes. The Commerce Department is reporting a sharp drop in housing starts, which fell 8.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890,000 last month.
Visteon (VC) was upgraded by JP Morgan (JPM) to overweight as the the current stock price provides investors with an attractive entry point. A $73 price target was issued.
Here’s the latest news for Wednesday, February 20th: More bodies could be found after KC blast; Jesse Jackson, Jr. Pleads guilty in illegal use of campaign money; Prosecutors walks back claim in Pistorius case; Indoor hailstorm.
Toll Brothers (TOL) announced that it earned $4.4 million, or 3 cents per share, during its first fiscal quarter, versus a loss of $2.8 million, or two cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased by 32 percent to $424.6 million from $322 million.
Officials said if automatic budget cuts kick in on March 1, the Pentagon may be compelled to furlough the ‘vast majority’ of the Defense Department’s 800,000 civilian workers.
