22thoroughbred's Comments

How E*Trade Is Trying to Survive in the TARP Era

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:18:04 -0400

I bought (so far) 100 of the Jan $2.50 calls for Jan 2011..I will also buy some $5 strikes once the bond deal is done, for about .30, than I have just over 18 months for the company and the sector to resolve their issues, than if it is a 5 bagger, and does go to $7 my $2.50 calls will go from .50 to $5.00...good luck

Analysts Will Soon Upgrade E-Trade

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:54:02 -0400

I bought 1000 Jan 2011 calls strike price $5 and paid .25 may buy some $2.50 if I can get em for less than .50

7 Small Cap Stock Briefs

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:02:34 -0400

Elle, here is how it works, say you are given stock options to buy stock at $1....10,000 shares, if the stock did a reverse split of say 1-20 than you would have stock options with a strike price 20x the original or $20 and the number of shares would be 1/20th or 500 you can still buy $10,000 worth of stock, just different denominations. The same thing is done with normal options that anyone can buy as well...hope this clarifies.

7 Small Cap Stock Briefs

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:17:58 -0400

Elle-7...if the stock does a reverse split than any outstanding options have strike price adjusted for split as well....

Shorting E*Trade Just to Keep the Price from Going Up?

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:48:25 -0400

Last week I bought 250 of the ETFC Jan 2011 calls strike $5 (OYNAA) for .40 each, cost $10k plus comm. If the stock goes to $7.50 anytime in the next 18 months there worth $3-$4 each or $75k-$100k I did the same with GE and BAC in Jan. The Jan 2011 $10's for BAC and the $10's and $12.50 for GE...have already made 2-4 times the investment and I have 18 months left....think longer term with stocks like this. BTW, did ODP as well, and all these trades are posted here when I did them, so not past posting.

Are Oil ETFs Showing Us How Natural Gas ETFs Will Trade?

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:26:22 -0400

What symbol is used for the canadian nat gas ETF, I am unable to find, OR exact name?

thanks

Shorting E*Trade Just to Keep the Price from Going Up?

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:12:08 -0400

Advill, what you say is not probable, majority shareholders must file 144 paperwork whenever they buy or sell, and the volume is too high to be avg. shareholders, so it can only be hedge funds who own less than 4.9% and want to hedge or minimize risk when convertible bond deal is done.

Shorting E*Trade Just to Keep the Price from Going Up?

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:17:06 -0400

I think Hirendu makes a good point, while the market was strong there were big short posns. taken, what probably happened was hedge funds sold short and used the shares they get from the secondary to cover, if the secondary is done below market price (as many have been) you have free profit. With the secondary done the pressure of the shorts dissipates and the stock can go up.

Shouldn't the Natural Gas Commodity ETF Catch Up to Its Company Cousin?

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:58:04 -0400

While I appreciate your theory, what is your conclusion and why?

11 Low PE Stocks with High Earnings Growth Rates

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:39:46 -0400

Paul, obscure is good, unless you want to just buy the top 20 in the S&P 500 and be a sheep...what advantage is there in buying a stock that everyone already owns and all mutual funds already own, there's no upside there, I have been investing since I was around 15, I am now 48 and have made the most money buying "obscure" companies than selling them when everyone else discovers them, I would rather have a 10 bagger than make 7-10%, but that's just me.

California's Economy: Disaster Developing

Sun, 17 May 2009 15:25:00 -0400

what all politicians of both parties do today is appalling and bordering on illegal. They all lie, take what they can get for themselves and move on to a new career taking money from the replacements, all at the expense of the citizens who live here and can't do anything about it. We can thank in large part all the unions who are being "paid" for their support, it will be financially disaster very soon, and each party will blame the other and claim to have a solution, I am 48 years old and have been watching in horror for 20 years, both here and in national politics. But it won't stop.

GM Reverse Split Creates Problems for Dow Jones

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:19:31 -0400

Cyber Squalker, WTF are you whining about, who cares if the stock is $10 or $100, if you have $1000 to invest you can buy 10 shares instead of 100, you still invest $1000, nobody cares if the "common investor" can buy a round lot or an odd lot that's the stupidest comment I think I have ever read.

What Shorts Were Doing Ahead of GE's Announcement

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:01:37 -0400

They didn't fire Dylan Ratigan, his contract expired and he decided to go, will be at ABC in 6 months when the non-compete expires. About 3-4 months ago I bought some Jan 2010 $10 calls and some Jan 2011 $12.50 calls, so far a triple in the Jan 2010 and a double in the Jan 2011...IF (big IF) the stock goes back to $20 in 9-20 months huge gain with minimal downside

Office Depot's Significant Gains: More to Come

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:51:20 -0400

BTW....Look at SWHC for the same strategy....the call premium on short term calls is way too high

Office Depot's Significant Gains: More to Come

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:50:05 -0400

I appreciate what you say as far as fines, bait & switch, etc. BUT it would take 9-12 months before any "investigation" yields anything, by then, i'm out, as i'm sure the author is as well....not a 3-5 year hold by any means

On Apr 19 02:47 PM brantII wrote:

> As an industry veteran in office products, I could not disagree more
> with the writer's assessment of Depot. If he had done his homework
> he would have realized that OD is currently under investigation for
> "bait and switch" practices and has already agreed to pay a few hundred
> thousand dollars to the City of Berkeley in California for over-charges.
> Many states including California (Refund of 2.4M) Florida, Missouri,
> and North Carolina have investigated Depot and a few including N.C.
> and Georgia have either not allowed them to bid again or have stated
> publicly that they will no longer buy from them. After the City of
> Berkeley was promised payment school districts and municipalities
> across the U.S. have initiated their own investigations with the
> hope of recovering significant amounts of cash. Most of these folks
> use the same or similar contract to the "US Communities L.A. County
> Agreement" based in California. The size of this contract in yearly
> spend is somewhere between 500M and 700M dollars. If "errors" have
> been occurring for years within this contract (which they have) I
> would not bet a dime on Depot's future and Jared Schneider's recommendation
> like so many from the analyst community could end up costing investors
> millions.

Office Depot's Significant Gains: More to Come

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:48:03 -0400

I started buying about 4-6 weeks ago at $1.25 and sold some Oct. $2.50 calls and some Jan $2.50 calls against 1/2 my posn. the premium at the time was about .40 on the Oct and .70 on the Jan. so my cost basis is .85 and .55, and now it looks like I may be stuck with a triple and a 5 bagger (approx) on 1/2 the posn. which means the rest are less than free....if you bought Monday and sold the July $2.50 calls you could get .40 and have a cost basis of $1.72 or a double if called...in this market, not bad at all

For CNBC, The Tea Party May Be Over

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:01:04 -0400

I would like some to realize that the people bitching about high taxes are not bitching about their taxes being too high today (eventhough they are) it's a statement about how high they will go with all the gov't handouts. I hear the far left saying the Republicans are so dumb they are complaining with taxes at a multi-year low, but they won't be there for long....glad I retired in 2002 at the age of 42, personally high tax rates won't directly effect me, my income is almost all tax-free, but it will ruin the economy and the country....You got what you wanted, now you can live with it

Financial Advisors: A Cautionary Tale

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:10:31 -0400

Those actions are illegal? It's getting harder and harder for a broker to increase production, his / her other option is to sell stocks that their "research"dept. has written research reports on and issued a "buy" rating, and that's OK???

An Options Trade on GM's Volatility

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:58:40 -0400

Very nice analysis, an approx. 22% net gain for 3 weeks, these are they types of trades I like to put on, very hard to find, thank you

2009 Depression Will Be Nothing Like 1929

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:14:57 -0500

I still want to know what a "depression" looks like when people have some assets, during '29 our grandparents lived check to check, waited in soup and bread lines, etc. because they had no savings, today a reasonable percentage of people have a 401K with $100k or more, have some money saved, so what will an '09 depression look like, because honestly I believe as an economy we are there and it will get worse before it gets better. Thoughtful replies please

The Curious Success of APAC Customer Services

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:52:49 -0500

Not written with the quality that is expected on SA, and to write a sales piece (PR piece) ending with no posn, but may buy this week, is just weak. And you gotta love the support level that is mentioned, as if a stock with a $1 support is a screaming buy. Piece is written on the level of Motley Fool, very amaturish.

How GE Compares to Other Banks

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:00:07 -0500

I am naked 150 GE Sept. $17 calls and it is one posn. I am most comfortable holding, i received $9000 ( 60 cents a contract) to wait for 9/10/09 for GE to stay below $17 and the contracts to expire worthless. I have about $60,000 in margin requirement held for 8 months, so if this plays out I make just under 14% on my money for 8 months or 21% annualized, who here believed GE will go to $17 by then, almost a 60% gain...show of hands.

Capital Crossing Preferred Corp: Too Cheap?

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:31:57 -0500

I read both filings several times this past week-end and I agree, IF Lehman Bank decides to take in the preferred as an asset than holders of CCPCN would become creditors of Lehman Bank and probably get nothing and Lehman Bank would have all the assets of Cap Crossing as well as the small amount of liabilities which would help their tier 1 capital and do nothing for CCPCN holders, that's worst case scenerio.

Capital Crossing Preferred Corp: Too Cheap?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:10:59 -0500

Mr Research man, you say :
"how a sale to another company while under distress or receivership won't translate into the transfer of preferred into a less valuable parent company preferred" So you believe the FDIC or OTS would sell a troubled asset to a bank that is in worse shape< does that make sense to you on any level? Sale to another institution, sure, but a weaker one, why?

Capital Crossing Preferred Corp: Too Cheap?

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:51:16 -0500

WideMoat, I think that language is standard and really pretty obvious, if the financials of the bank are bad and they have no cash the dividend wouldn't be paid and they would default, however as BDH so eloquently states, that is now more perceived risk rather than actual financial risk...

Capital Crossing Preferred Corp: Too Cheap?

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:52:25 -0500

WOW, what a find. I think if the name weren't associated with Lehman, if it was any other name it would be trading in the mid - high teens, I just wish I had a financial advisor that pointed out opportunities like this, i'm sure if I called my broker he would tell me all the reasons not to buy and than we would watch it rise to $20 by late this year. I agree, this looks like an excellent buy and if they are allowed to sell it than it should price at comparable paying preferreds around $18-$20. Thanks for the heads-up.

The Obama Stimulus Plan: Why I'm Concerned

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:53:46 -0500

One stupid but effective option would be to give every single person with a social security number a debit card with, say $10,000 on it tied to a large checking account and the provision that after 6 months the card expires worthless, if u don't spent it you lose it, and it is tax free, that would than need to be spent, it would be fair and it would be quick, and it would be one time, and it would only go to US citizens, any cogent thoughts??

The Obama Stimulus Plan: Why I'm Concerned

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:14:35 -0500

I had been in the financial services business (as a broker) since 1987, my first real job, until I became disabled and unable to work in late 2002, and I have never been so disappointed with our political leaders as I am today. I have also never been so scared. I think most adults know how politics works, you get elected because you have wonderful ideas as to how to help your city / state/ country and than you realize how much money is to be made helping yourself, working toward either a permanent gov’t. job or setting yourself up for a high paying job in the private sector later. With our countries financial system being as terrible as it is today you HOPE that the adults we elected will put country above self this one time, wow, how wrong we are. I see the administration getting one real shot to fix this problem or we enter another depression (why is it called great?). You want and expect them to do everything they can to do the right thing, allocate lots of money for each state to do public works projects that have needed doing but had no money to do, i.e. fix New Orleans, fix the nations power grid so there are no more black-outs, fix all the bridges that were in danger of falling after the bridge in Minn. fell, etc. all one time fixes, but instead we get all the frivolous pork we get with every budget. If they do what has been discussed knowing, yes, knowing it is wrong for the country but right for themselves, it will be one sad event in this countries history. One of those events that we will look back on in 5 years and 25 years with absolute disappointment in our elected leaders from both parties. Senators, congressmen and women from both parties, please look again at the situation as it stands today and know you can fix it, you get one chance, and please put the countries needs above your own, in the long run we will all win.

Banks: The Final Countdown?

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:28:08 -0500

The pre announcements have nothing to do with the inauguration, options expiration, or Obama making an announcement, the pre-announcement is being done so the companies can answer questions, make comments, and basically put a pretty face on an ugly picture, they cannot do that in a quiet period and to not be able to comment just hurts the share prices as it is interpreted as "something bad" But I do agree that the new Fed / Treasury officials want to start doing something, even if it will not work or will make the problem worse they want to be perceived as jumping in with both feet on day 1...be scared be really scared

ETF Ideas

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:47:14 -0500

So how do we play this theme then?

Well, traditionally, most investors can’t sell Treasuries short

1ST. shorting treasuries is extremely easy and not expensive, just call your broker and ask to short a note or bond for whatever timeframe you want, the margin int. rate is cheap and the interest you must PAY the seller of the note or bond is low as well, and with traesuries the leverage can be as high as 10-1, so with $25,000 you can SHORT up to $250,000 of treasuries. So that is not quite accurate. Another issue I have is this, a classic "bubble" is when you buy high expecting to sell to someone else higher, i.e. real estate, tech stocks, etc. I don't see the absure rate on treasuries as a bubble, yes the yield is low, but there are not many people buying treasuries to flip them at a higher price, they are buying because they perceive as safe, not as a trade, so while the yield is low it isn't a classic "bubble" scenerio, so the price can stay high until the perception of other investments being safer begins to come back, so I don't think I would short treasuries to take advantage of a bubble unwind anytime soon. Cogent thoughts?