Stocks: Ready to hold steady

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were expected to open little changed Tuesday, while world markets responded positively to indications that the Federal Reserve is prepared to keep interest rates at very low levels.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were slightly negative. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Investors head into Tuesday's session mulling the latest data on the troubled housing market, and awaiting a new reading on consumer confidence that's on tap.

A slew of reports released last week suggest that the housing market remains a drag on an economy that otherwise shows signs of improving.
On top of home price data from the Case-Shiller 20-City Index, investors will also look at corporate results from homebuilder Lennar for a reading on the sector.
In the afternoon, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a lecture at George Washington University, and a House Financial Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on aid to the eurozone.

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U.S. stocks rallied Monday, after Bernanke's comments on the job market gave investors reason to believe the central bank will keep interest rates low.
World markets: European stocks were mixed in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) was unchanged, the DAX (DAX) in Germany rose 0.6% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) dropped 0.2%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) shed 0.2%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong gained 1.8% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) jumped 2.4%.
Economy: Home prices in 20 major cities fell to the lowest level since 2002, according to S&P/Case-Shiller.
The index for January dropped 3.8%, after a 4.1% drop in the month prior.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for March is expected to come in at 70.1, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com, down from 70.8 in February.
Companies: Lennar (LEN) posted earnings of 8 cents per share on revenue of $725 million, figures that topped analysts' estimates. The homebuilder said it has seen an uptick in sales and new orders in the first quarter. Shares were up 4% on the news.
Drug-store chain Walgreen (WAG, Fortune 500) reported earnings of 78 cents a share on $18.7 billion in revenue, slightly better than analyst estimates. Shares were up by 0.4% in premarket trading.

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Shares of private education provider Apollo Group (APOL, Fortune 500) dropped 6% in premarket trading, despite reporting earnings late Monday that beat Wall Street estimates.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar strengthened against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil for May delivery rose 16 cents to $107.19 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery increased $7.40 to $1,693 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury increased, pushing the yield down to 2.23% from 2.25% late Monday.

A Closer Look at the World of Insider Trading

Recently, insider trading is becoming a very common term, because it’s been in the news lately for all the improper motives. The quick explosion of negative media reports, have nonetheless bewildered many. Many investors, in particular those that happen to be not into stocks full-time, still find it something against the law. Are you one of them?
What’s The Real truth about Insider Trading?
The reality is, it can be both legal and illegal. Most of the controversies around it concern the illegal activities obviously.
In insider trading, the “insider” is a person in the management of the organization. Occasionally people in the panel or the management, and even employees purchase the stocks of the company where they work for. This is called insider trading. When this occurs, the industry perceives this as a “buy” signal just like an insider has the confidence in the stock, then the management must be certain concerning the way forward for the business – this is how the thinking runs.
Legal and Illegal Insider Trading

Legally, corporate insiders are permitted to buy the stocks and shares of the organizations wherever they are employed. There is no rule saying it’s wrong. However it is vital that the SEC or Securities and Exchange Commission comes to know about this trade. So it is completely authorized when the SEC is up to date.
However, it will become illegitimate if there’s a breach in the fiduciary duty or another relationship of confidence and trust. The reasoning here is – insiders may frequently have in possession, some good info or material about the industry or perhaps the business that is not on the market to people away from company, and will also give them an unfair edge. Telling this information secretly to an outsider is undoubtedly an act of tipping, and this can also be illegal insider trading.
Watching out for the hidden signals of insider trading i! s a bril liant method to stay ahead of the market.