Two good news stories in the financial sector caught our eye this week: Hefty stock purchases by company officers and directors is growing evidence that insiders believe their companies have the worst of the recession behind them and their stocks should rise this year, analysts said last week.

"Insiders across the market are growing bullish," said Ben Silverman, director of research at Insiderscore.com. "The ratio of buying to selling in recent days has been 3-to-1 for insiders, and that's a high ratio." (From the Minn. Star-Tribune)

Thanks to GraemeThickins on Twitter for the news tip!

Believe it or not, some well-performing financial stocks even continue to prosper, according to Business Week:

There are 376 financial or investment firms listed on major U.S. exchanges of a significant size—i.e., market capitalizations of more than $500 million. Ten of them have not lost value since the start of the credit crisis, in mid-July 2007. (Mashget.com)