Monday Madness – G20 FinMins Set Two Week Deadline
by phil - October 17th, 2011 8:01 am
Two weeks!
European leaders have two weeks to settle differences and flesh out a strategy to terminate their sovereign debt crisis as global finance chiefs warn failure to do so would endanger the world economy. “The risk of a recession would be increased dramatically were the Europeans to fail to accomplish goals that they’ve set for themselves,” Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said after the G-20 meeting on Saturday.
The Brussels meeting “has the potential to turn into a positive historic moment,” Joachim Fels, London-based chief economist at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a note to clients yesterday. “But it could also easily turn into a negative catalyst.”
Europe’s plan, which has still to be made public, includes writing down Greek bonds by as much as 50 percent, establishing a backstop for banks and magnifying the strength of the 440 billion-euro ($611 billion) temporary rescue fund known as the European Financial Stability Facility. “The plan has the right elements,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said in Paris. “They clearly have more work to do on the strategy and the details.”
The G-20 officials — who met to prepare for a Nov. 3-4 gathering of leaders in Cannes, France (and we're fondly remembering London's 2009 meeting with the graphic on the right) — said in a statement that the world economy faces “heightened tensions and significant downside risks.” European authorities must “decisively address the current challenges through a comprehensive plan.”
The policy makers held out the possibility of rewarding European action with more aid from the International Monetary Fund, while splitting over whether the Washington-based lender’s $390 billion war chest needs topping up. Europe’s latest strategy hinges on putting Greece, whose government forecasts its debt to reach 172 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, on a sustainable path. Austerity has plunged the country deeper into recession and provoked civil unrest that threatens political stability.
My reaction to this in Member Chat this Morning was to call for shorting the jacked up Dow Futures (/YM) at 11,600, saying:
Speaking of the illusion of power – yet another G20 meeting ends with yet another plan to have a plan but this time, for some insane reason, they only gave
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Traders Pile Into Office Depot Calls As Shares Climb
by Option Review - September 13th, 2011 2:46 pm
Today’s tickers: ODP, JPM, GWW & BUD
ODP - Office Depot, Inc. – Call options are flying off the shelves at office supplies retailer Office Depot today, with shares in the Boca Raton, Florida-based company surging 9.5% to $2.53 just before 1:45 pm ET. It looks like investors have exchanged 18,677 options on Office Depot thus far today, where all but 716 of the contracts are calls. The now in-the-money September $2.5 strike call is by far the most active this afternoon. More than 14,000 calls have changed hands at that strike, and it appears the majority of the contracts were purchased for an average premium of $0.15 apiece. Demand for the Sept. $2.5 strike calls was evident straight out of the gate this morning, as some 3,000 contracts were picked up at a premium of $0.10 each within the first 10 minutes of the opening bell. Call volume jumped in afternoon trade, where it now appears that at least 12,500 contracts were purchased at the $2.5 strike price. September contract calls have a few days remaining before they expire at the end of the week. Perhaps buyers of the calls are expecting Office Depot’s shares to extend gains through Friday. Call buying spread to the October $2.5 strike where some 2,000 contracts were purchased for a premium of $0.30 a-pop. Another 1,000 calls appear to have been purchased up at the October $3.0 strike at a premium of $0.15 apiece. Investors holding the longer-dated October contract call options profit in the event that ODP’s shares exceed the effective breakeven prices of $2.80 and $3.15 at expiration, respectively. The options expire well in advance of Office Depot’s third-quarter earnings report ahead of the opening bell on October 26.
JPM - JPMorgan Chase & Co. – Shares in JPMorgan may be on…
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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW.