The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Crude oil (WTI) closed on Monday around $74/barrel in what has already been a wild ride of late. But that ride re-accelerated after hours as OPEC cut its demand outlook and fears lessened about energy facilities being targeted as part of Middle East hostilities. After falling to an October 1 intraday low of $66.33, oil had surged to an October 8 intraday high of $78.46. But WTI dropped to an intraday low $71.53 the next day, and then rebounded to $76.24 by October 10. With that rally, WTI had broken some shorter-term bearish trendlines and completed a bullish false breakdown. But as evidenced by events over night, the worry for any intermediate-term bullish call on oil is the lack of positive demand and supply news. And while it's hard to believe things will quiet down in the Middle East in the near term, crude could move even lower when hostilities do calm. As we've said, the COT data for WTI is technically bullish. But mid-October to early December has been the worst time for oil over 40 years. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) ETF has moved sideways since September 26 and appears to be tracing out a bull flag. The reversal in the dollar and interest rates that started in mid-September has not hurt gold and silver so far; once again, the metals are ignoring a rising currency. As we have been saying, the COT data on the dollar is bullish while the COT data on the metals is terrible (but has been so for many months). When markets don't behave as they have historically, we can surmise that something is different. The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) looks like it might be tracing out a bullish cup-with-handle formation and a bullish continuous inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. A break over $30 would complete these. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with a wide array of subsidiaries engaged in diverse activities. The firm's core business segment is insurance, run primarily through Geico, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group. Berkshire has used the excess cash thrown off from these and its other operations over the years to acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe (railroad), Berkshire Hathaway Energy (utilities and energy distributors), and the companies that make up its manufacturing, service, and retailing operations (which include five of Berkshire's largest noninsurance pretax earnings generators: Precision Castparts, Lubrizol, Clayton Homes, Marmon, and IMC/ISCAR). The conglomerate is unique in that it is run on a completely decentralized basis.

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with a wide array of subsidiaries engaged in diverse activities. The firm's core business segment is insurance, run primarily through Geico, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group. Berkshire has used the excess cash thrown off from these and its other operations over the years to acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe (railroad), Berkshire Hathaway Energy (utilities and energy distributors), and the companies that make up its manufacturing, service, and retailing operations (which include five of Berkshire's largest noninsurance pretax earnings generators: Precision Castparts, Lubrizol, Clayton Homes, Marmon, and IMC/ISCAR). The conglomerate is unique in that it is run on a completely decentralized basis.