For those looking for indications of a forthcoming boom in share values, yesterday’s FT held out some hope.  It reported on research published by the Washington Service who track legitimate insider share trades for 1,900 New York listed companies showing that senior executives and directors bought significantly more shares than they sold. 

According to the FT, the last time company insiders made net share purchases was January 1995 and the S&P 500 grew by 34.1% in that year.  Of course, this is a sample of one so it pays to be cautious but many investors will be hoping for a repeat this year.  That said, the FTSE responded by falling more than 160 points.