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The WSJ’s „Inside Track” section reports that recent stock purchases by co insiders and a hedge fund are broadcasting a pretty clear signal about Gray Television (GTN). Chmn and CEO J. Mack Robinson and his wife, regular buyers of the stock over the years, have stepped up their purchasing pace by buying, since the beginning of Nov, almost $1m of stock in the co. Highland Capital Mgmt spent $1.29m on the shares in Dec, raising its stake to 10.5%. The positive signal sent by these purchases is reinforced by the fact they took place during a period when the co's common and Class A shares each rose more than 25%, said Jonathan Moreland, of InsiderInsights.com. "Buying into strength is a positive," he said.

Barron’s Online “Inside Scoop” section reports that on Dec. 28 Tudor Investment disclosed a 5.9% stake in Priceline (PCLN), or 2.15m shares. Tudor had not owned the stock since selling out of a previous holding at the end of ‘05. Priceline's largest shareholder, Fidelity Mgmt Research, also purchased shares in the 4Q, moving up from the 6.6% stake, or 2.4m shares, to a 12.3% stake, or 4.5m shares, on Dec. 11. Ben Silverman, of InsiderScore.com, says that the buys by Tudor and Fidelity outweighed the impact of a sale by Hutchison Whampoa, which sold its entire 10% stake, or 3.9m shares. "The fact that the [Hutchison] sale went on, and then the stock went higher shows that there is certainly a mkt for the stock," says Silverman, adding that "it looks like some of the institutions used that sale as an opportunity to beef up their own holdings" of Priceline stock.

NY Times reports that the S-Korean antitrust agency has formed a task force to investigate the licensing and business practices of the Qualcomm (QCOM). In Japan, Europe and the US, Qualcomm faces accusations by rivals that it has abused its mkt dominance in wireless technology to demand excessive royalties and block fair competition.