Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
>>FCX $70 Puts +0.0% ($1.75), EOD:
These were alerted 3 minutes into the open (http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46484876&txt2 ), then ran 89% before pulling back...FCX is great for daily swings. Same with VALE and X, fwiw
>>SRS $9 Calls +0.0% ($.21c), EOD:
SRS saw .34c today, no doubts it will see it again before end of expiration JMHO. Alerted at .21c this AM
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46485538&txt2
Ah, that was fun, like old days when calls ran 500% much more often than now
Would love to see a few more like this, I am tightening my watch list criteria to notice these more quickly...let's see
>>HIG $22 Calls +57.61% ($1.45), EOD:
Posted by: Stock Lobster Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 11:17:12 AM
In reply to: Stock Lobster who wrote msg# 306123 Post # of 306242
>>>HIG $22 Calls +18.48%, this could be hot
ask hovering around $1.10
buyout rumors...let's see
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46493568&txt2
>>TBT $50 Calls +92.86% ($.27c)
Closing .03c below the .30c HOD,
Triple digit gains on vol well over 2x 10DAV
Posted by: Stock Lobster Date: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 3:25:27 PM
In reply to: stuffit who wrote msg# 305740 Post # of 306242
>>TBT $50 Calls +9.09% .11 x .13c now, lotto tickets
you know me, I have a few of these at .10c, not pushing them, as they are RISKY, but just have a feeling TBT is gonna go again. Did great on the last batch I bought at .11c, wash rinse repeat?
JMHO!
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46463164&txt
>>AIG $30 Calls +650% ($.60c), EOD:
Posted by: Stock Lobster Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 1:32:06 PM
In reply to: Stock Lobster who wrote msg# 306190 Post # of 306242
>>AIG $30 Calls +87.50: (.15c) Lotto tickets
up on nearly 5x 10DAV
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46503249&txt2
>>AIG $25 Calls +486.05% ($2.52), EOD:
Posted by: Stock Lobster Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 1:26:13 PM
In reply to: Stock Lobster who wrote msg# 306188 Post # of 306242
>>AIG $25 Calls +120.93%: Congrats to all who are in this
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46502859&txt
>>DJIA 10,035 -0.23%, OIL 74.50 +1.02%, GOLD $1,072, EURO $1.374, NASD: 1,749.69 -0.24%, PLATINUM $1,498.60, SILVER $15.25, S&P 1,067 -0.28%
>>AIG $30 Calls +775% ($.70c!), alerted at .15c:
Posted by: Stock Lobster Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 1:32:06 PM
In reply to: Stock Lobster who wrote msg# 306190 Post # of 306230
>>AIG $30 Calls +87.50: (.15c) Lotto tickets
up on nearly 5x 10DAV
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=46503249&txt2
>>ICE $95 Puts +37.65% bid/ask uptick here..may have more to fall
Nice selloff of ICE into the close, dare I hold overnight? Against my religion, this late into expiration...
I could be tempted to buy March puts...imho ICE may be headed lower with new regulations, talk of taxes on commodities and options trading, and possible transaction tax, all of which affect volume
Exactly...that's why I grabbed those calls when I saw the volume. I've seen AIG do this rocket blastoff before, and it's always been a great ride
Same was true for puts on the way down as well, LOL
Thanks! I had wondered, but they finally started talking about the possible sale of the units on BL Radio...
glad I grabbed some calls, wow what a ride
You knew something had to be up when it started rocketing up the most active charts
BL: New York City May Get 3 Inches of Snow an Hour as Blizzard Warnings Issued
By Brian K. Sullivan
Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Blizzard warnings for as much as 20 inches of snow were posted from Washington to Long Island as a storm settled in for a daylong siege, closing government offices, grounding thousands of flights and threatening 3 inches an hour for New York.
The storm is also stirring up tropical storm-strength winds from North Carolina to Massachusetts, where gusts of nearly 60 mph (96 kph) are expected, according to the National Weather Service. The gusts may knock down trees and power lines, causing widespread power disruptions, the agency said.
“With the storm intensifying rapidly this morning, the worst-case scenario in terms of a truly paralyzing blow to the Washington-Philadelphia-New York urban corridor will be realized,” said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist at Planalytics Inc.
He said many cities in the region “are now very near or have exceeded their all-time snowfall for a winter season. It may take days for the infrastructure associated within this corridor to fully recover.”
The storm is the second in less than a week for Washington, which received as much as 20 inches over the weekend and had been struggling to dig out. Federal offices closed early on Friday and have not been open since.
Getting Stronger
The new system is intensifying along the U.S. East Coast, and Joe Bastardi, AccuWeather Inc. chief meteorologist, believes “the resemblance of an eye” may form later today, said Tom Kines, a senior expert meteorologist with AccuWeather. Eyes and low barometric pressure are usually associated with hurricanes.
“Because it is still intensifying, by this afternoon this will be a very, very powerful storm,” Kines said by telephone from State College, Pennsylvania. “If you have a barometer at home, from Jersey on up to southern New England it is going to be reading very low today.”
The storm’s barometric pressure is expected to fall to 970 to 969 millibars, said Glenn Field, a weather service warning coordinator meteorologist in Taunton, Massachusetts. “That is an extremely intense storm,” Field said by telephone.
The storm’s barometric pressure is the kind usually found in a Category 1 hurricane, Jeff Masters of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan, wrote in his blog. Hurricane-strength winds and seas of as high as 30 feet (9 meters) are expected to develop off the U.S. East Coast, according to weather service bulletins.
Heavy Snowfall
Snow was falling on Long Island at a rate of 2 inches per hour, Field said at mid-morning. The weather service office in Upton, New York, received 5 inches in just two hours, he said.
New York-based Consolidated Edison Inc. is adding extra crews to help avert snow- and ice-related blackouts, according to a company statement. Washington’s electric supplier, Pepco, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings Inc., pulled its crews off the streets because of unsafe conditions, according to the company’s Web site.
Governors in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Delaware have either declared emergencies or closed some or all state offices, according to official statements. New York, Washington and Philadelphia have closed schools and some or all city offices, and Baltimore shut the city streets to all but emergency vehicles.
Pennsylvania Interstates Shut
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell ordered Interstates 83 and 78 and parts of 81 to close. Additional road closures are expected. “For your safety, do not drive,” Rendell, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell asked employers in Hartford to stagger closing times to cut down on highway traffic as the storm approaches.
A blizzard warning issued early today for the New York City area is in effect until 6 a.m. tomorrow, the National Weather Service said. Washington’s blizzard warning is in effect until tonight, while Boston may receive 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow and as much as 12 inches may fall south of the city, said Paul Walker, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
New Jersey Transit said it would curtail its schedules after 2:30 p.m. Amtrak, the national passenger railroad, hasn’t run a full schedule since last week’s storm and more trains were canceled yesterday, a spokesman, Cliff Cole, said.
More than 4,000 flights were grounded nationwide, and Washington’s Dulles and Reagan National airports were closed.
Flights Grounded
Delta Air Lines Inc., the world’s largest carrier, scrubbed 900 flights today and expects operations in Washington and Philadelphia to be almost entirely halted through mid-day Thursday, said Betsy Talton, a spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based company.
AMR Corp.’s American Airlines planned to shut down its operations at New York’s LaGuardia airport at noon, said Tim Wagner, a company spokesman.
The U.S. Senate won’t meet today because of the storm, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid announced on the floor. The House has canceled votes for the rest of the week.
Cattle futures fell in Chicago on speculation that the blizzard will keep consumers from going out to grocery stores and restaurants. Shoppers may stock up on essential food items, while avoiding high-end cuts of meat, like beef rib and loin cuts, said Paul Beere, a market adviser with Prime Agricultural Consultants Inc. in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 10, 2010 13:29 EST
(NBG) Greece Strikes Paralyze Athens as Papandreou's Deficit Drive Is Challenged
By Natalie Weeks and Maria Petrakis
Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister George Papandreou’s drive to get Greece’s ballooning budget under control is being challenged in the streets today as striking labor unions shut down schools, hospitals and flights.
Air-traffic controllers and civil-aviation workers are effectively closing down Greek airspace as part of the 24-hour work stoppage by ADEDY, the umbrella group representing about 600,000 civil servants. Some 483 international and domestic flights have been cancelled, a spokeswoman for Athens International Airport, Greece’s biggest, said by telephone.
Protests against Papandreou’s plans to freeze wages and reduce benefits come after European Union leaders, set to meet at a summit in Brussels tomorrow, signaled they may aid the country if progress in cutting the deficit is made. Bonds have slumped in Greece and in the euro area’s southern edge as investors examine budget shortfalls across the 16-nation bloc.
“The concern is whether the strike will be a one-off or the first of a long series of street demonstrations involving other parts of the economy,” said Giada Giani, an economist at Citigroup Global Markets in London. “We need to see a prolonged period of strikes before we know whether the government’s willingness will be affected.”
ADEDY opposes Papandreou’s program and plans to call out its workers again on Feb. 24, when the biggest private-sector group, GSEE, holds its own 24-hour strike. Today’s walkout, with rallies in Athens and other cities and towns, is organized labor’s first major challenge since the Oct. 4 election of Papandreou, a socialist whom unions backed in the vote.
Union Threats
“People are out expressing their rage,” said Yiannis Kelekis, 68, who said he gets a 470-euro ($646) monthly pension. “They are absolutely right. The people that caused this crisis are now asking for others to make sacrifices.”
Protesters marched through the center of rainy Athens carrying signs that read “No to the speculators” and “Overturn the Growth and Stability Pact.”
“Cutting public-sector salaries is an easy political choice,” Spyros Papaspyros, chairman of the ADEDY civil servants union, said this week. “Attacks that start on the public sector will lead to attacks on all.”
The unions are contesting measures demanded by the EU and investors to reduce a deficit of 12.7 percent of gross domestic product last year to within the EU’s 3 percent limit in 2012. Greece’s fiscal woes have stoked concerns that it may need a bailout and helped spark a rout in global stocks.
Market Selloff
Spain and Portugal, also suffering from gaping deficits after the worst recession since World War II, have been sucked into a market selloff that has seen the euro fall to a nine- month low against the dollar on concern that swelling shortfalls will stifle Europe’s recovery.
Moody’s Investors Service said today that Greece shouldn’t be grouped with Spain and Portugal and that Greece faces “material challenges.”
“The Greek government’s plans are very ambitious, although if implemented exactly as promised, the rating could stabilize at A2,” according to the Moody’s report. “If the implementation falls just short of the execution promised by the Greek authorities, then we may adjust the rating to A3 in the coming months.”
“However, if only partial implementation is achieved, then we may downgrade Greece’s rating to Baa1,” Moody’s said.
Bonds Jump
Greek, Spanish and Portuguese bonds jumped yesterday after the EU signaled it may aid Greece. The euro rose the most in more than five months and the Greek 10-year bond yield dropped the most since at least 1998.
The premium investors demand to buy Greek debt over comparable German bonds ballooned on Jan. 28 to the highest since 1998 amid concern that Papandreou’s deficit plan relied too much on one-off measures for revenue and not enough on spending cuts.
Greek 10-year yields fell 33 basis points to 6.06 percent. The Greek-German 10-year yield spread narrowed 36 basis points to 288 basis points. The benchmark Athens stock index rose 3.2 percent to 1,956.44 at 3:50 p.m. in Athens, spurred by a 5.8 percent gain in National Bank of Greece SA, the country’s largest lender.
Olli Rehn, who today takes over as European economic affairs commissioner, said the EU may offer Greece “support in the broad sense of the word.” In Paris, after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Papandreou said Greece was ready to take any measures to meet its deficit goals.
Hiring Freeze
Hours before the strike, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou reiterated a hiring freeze for civil servants. He also said the government will offer a tax amnesty on funds held abroad in a bid to boost revenue.
While forbidden by law to take part, police, fireman and coast guard workers said they will also join the rallies.
“This game of speculation is being played out at the expense of the worker,” said Yiannis Grivas, the head of the union of tax collectors, which held a 48-hour strike last week and will rally again on Feb. 17.
Still, not all public workers are striking.
More than 64 percent of 2,299 people polled in the two days after Papandreou announced additional deficit-cutting measures believe his government is moving in the right direction and the measures are necessary, according to a Kappa Research poll for To Vima newspaper on Feb. 7.
“Why should I strike and lose 50 euros?” said Effie Strati, a childcare worker at a state-run nursery. She said all her colleagues will be at work.
To contact the reporters on this story: Maria Petrakis in Athens at mpetrakis@bloomberg.net; Natalie Weeks in Athens nweeks2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 10, 2010 09:25 EST
(TBT/TLT) Treasuries Tumble After Record-Tying $25 Billion Auction of 10-Year Notes
By Susanne Walker and Cordell Eddings
Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries tumbled after the U.S. sold a record-tying $25 billion of 10-year securities, the second of three note and bond auctions this week totaling $81 billion, and as investors weighed the prospects of European aid for Greece.
The notes drew a yield of 3.692 percent, compared with the average forecast of 3.680 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of nine of the Federal Reserve’s 18 primary dealers. The bid-to- cover ratio, which gauges demand by comparing total bids with the amount of securities offered, was 2.67, compared with a 10- sale average of 2.76. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said policy makers may raise the discount rate “before long.”
“The auction was weaker than others,” said Richard Bryant, senior vice president in fixed income at MF Global Inc. in New York, a broker of exchange-traded futures. “Treasuries were well bid as market participants tried to make sense of what was going on in Europe. Some of the fears didn’t come to fruition and as a result, there was room for yields to rise.”
The yield on the current 10-year note climbed six basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, to 3.71 percent at 1:30 p.m. in New York, according to BGCantor Market Data. It increased as much as nine basis points yesterday, the most this year. The 30- year bond yield rose six basis points to 4.65 percent.
Indirect bidders, an investor class that includes foreign central banks, bought 33.2 percent of the notes. They purchased 29 percent at the last sale of the securities on Jan. 13. The average for the past 10 auctions is 39.3 percent.
Direct bidders, non-primary dealers that bid on their own accounts, bought 17.3 percent of the securities at the January sale, the most since May 2005. They purchased 13 percent at today’s sale.
‘Not Really Excited’
“It wasn’t a bad auction, but it doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence either,” said Carl Lantz, an interest-rate strategist in New York at Credit Suisse AG. As a primary dealer, the firm is required to bid at Treasury auctions. “The market is not really excited about these yield levels. The recent flight-to-quality rally has discouraged some of the players from getting involved.”
At the last 10-year sale, a $21 billion offering, investors bid for 3 times the amount of securities offered. The securities drew a yield of 3.754 percent.
Today’s offering followed a record-tying $40 billion sale of three-year notes yesterday. At that auction, investors bid for 2.83 times the available debt, compared with an average of 2.85 for the past 10 sales. The U.S. will sell $16 billion in 30-year bonds tomorrow.
Bernanke Testimony
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in prepared testimony today the central bank may raise the discount rate charged on direct loans to commercial banks “before long” as part of the “normalization” of Fed lending, a move he said wouldn’t signal any change in outlook for monetary policy.
Bernanke repeated the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement that low interest rates are warranted “for an extended period.”
The Fed may also temporarily replace the federal funds rate as a policy guide with interest it pays on banks’ deposits should fed funds become a “less reliable indicator than usual,” Bernanke said. His remarks were prepared for the House Financial Services Committee hearing that was postponed because of snow.
EU Meeting
European Union leaders meeting in Brussels tomorrow will probably press Greece to present more detailed budget cuts and stop short of announcing an aid package for the debt-stricken nation, a German government official said.
As officials in Berlin, Paris and Brussels thrashed out potential aid plans to add to political pressure, Greece faced street protests and strikes that shut down schools, hospitals and flights in response to government plans to freeze wages and cut benefits.
Greece Prime Minister George Papandreou’s struggle to contain the EU’s largest budget deficit sent the yield premium for the country’s debt over German bunds last month to the highest since 1998.
Retail sales rose 0.3 percent in January, after a 0.3 percent decline in December, a separate Bloomberg survey showed. The Commerce Department tentatively postponed the release of the retail sales report until Feb. 12.
Confidence in the world economy dropped in February on concern worsening government finances in some European nations will derail the global recovery, according to a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents.
The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index dropped to 54.9 from 66.6 in January, when the reading was at the highest level since the series began two years ago. The index exceeded 50 for a seventh month, which means there were more optimists than pessimists. The survey was conducted last week, before Germany and other EU nations signaled they may help support Greece’s government finances.
To contact the reporters on this story: Susanne Walker in New York at swalker33@bloomberg.net; Cordell Eddings in New York at ceddings@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: February 10, 2010 13:32 EST