American and I have half-dozen examples of the stock being taken even when the math didn't make sense; stock price + call premium - dividend = loss on trade for the person taking my stock away. I assume it's machines following preset instructions but it's strange nonetheless.
It would be nice to see an explanation on how converting calls into stock positions works for ownership/ex-div (timing wise). Have had a lot of covered calls taken from me on ex-div dates but I'm not sure of the mechanics on that side of the trade.
Who Won't Be Giving You A Special Dividend [View article]
Dynasty - I'll take a stab at playing devil's advocate. I'm going to assume you make less than $250M adjusted gross (otherwise the arguement would be very easy to make "known knowns" and all that) so you can take the tax implication out of the equation. What you would be left with is a velocity of money situation. The more often you can redeploy capital like these dividends the larger your lifetime return will be.
The weakness in the oil market is a warning, says Josh Brown. He sees the weakness as a leading indicator, and as oil prices hit their lowest levels in over a year and a half, it's a sign that global growth is facing some serious headwinds. With the fiscal cliff looming and persistent European troubles that never seem to go away, the energy markets seem to be confirming an inevitable downturn, and Josh, along with a host of other traders, are warning investors to prepare, now. [View news story]
It's funny, oil rising in price and the headlines scream it's bad for business. When it's declining in price and it's recessionary and bad for business. Any scenarios where oil is good for business?
Don't look now, but MarketWatch's Rex Nutting says the U.S. debt load is getting better, not worse. It was excessive debt - both private and public - that caused the 2008 financial meltdown. Years later we're still de-leveraging, but it's not as bad as it seems. In the 11 quarters since the recession officially ended, total domestic debt rose by $702B - just 1.4%. By contrast, in the 11 quarters before the recession began, those bubble years of 2005 - 2007, total debt increased by $10.7T - or 28%. [View news story]
It's really not a big deal, we grow enough trees to cover it. Seriously it's depressing when the huge change jar I've been saving for my son for the past 5 years can't buy a tenth of a single gold coin (troy ounce). It's just the start, a lot more purchasing power decay to come . . .
General Motors (GM -2.7%) sees a breakthrough coming in the use of magnesium in automobiles after its engineers find a way to expand the use of the metal to new parts of vehicles. The company notes magnesium is 75% lighter than steel and has a 33% advantage over aluminum which could help the automaker improve gas mileage. Licensing options for GM's patented process to prepare the metal for automobile production could bring in extra revenue down the line. [View news story]
I'm not sure it's fair for a branch of the government, like GM, to be allowed to apply for patents. As a tax payer I would like them to share that tech innovation with the other US car makers. Or maybe patent it but be forced, by law, to license other US manufacturers for free?
Bernanke: "We're looking for something that brings unemployment down in a sustained way." Asked about further tools if QE3 doesn't work, he doesn't go beyond what's already been used: Communications, Treasury purchases, MBS purchases. [View news story]
anonymous, you can't honestly believe that this round of QE is going to get UE below 8%? What it will do is raise commodity prices (pump prices) and give Romney a talking point to seniors other than Ryan's voucher deal. . .
Beware the steepening yield curve in U.S. Treasurys, warns Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian. Despite their staunch credentials, El-Erian notes the spread between the two and 10-year Treasurys is the widest it's been since May. “What we would caution is rather than the level of the rates, the shape of the curve.” he says. “The long end is exposed to a lot more risk.” [View news story]
Yeah that's very true, I also remember the break down of the VXX vs. VIX!
According to an economic barometer called the Money Market Index, the recent rally in the Dow over the past three trading sessions has been "totally irrational," says the index's chief researcher Dan Geller. The rally, mostly due to the release of Friday's monthly jobs report, shows that the enthusiasm has been mispaced due to the simple fact that a large portion of the 163K new jobs reported are only temporary, and likely to vanish soon. The move "has no economic merit," Geller insists. [View news story]
wow, when I see comments like "no economic merit" I really want to get long. Everybody is on one side of the boat (look at the volumes on up days and the prices of treasuries), the market has an uncanny way of punishing the majority.
Michael Harkins offers a quick lesson in duration, saying a buyer of the 10-year Treasury at 1.5% will get crushed with just a move back in yields to 2.5%. The bond market is a fabulous bubble, he says, growing in size as those who went short at the then impossibly low rate of 2.5% a year ago lack the conviction to do the same at 1.5%. [View news story]
And to your point, what happens to the cash that gets trapped in the 10 yr when values collapse? Some folks will book a loss to get their capital out but I have to believe that a lot of them will be forced to wait for maturity. Another lost decade for savers . . . on and on it goes!
The EPA issues a statement saying it's completed tests on drinking water in the Pennsylvania village of Dimock showing the water is safe to drink. Residents and anti-drilling groups had claimed that Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) had polluted the local aquifer through its gas drilling using highly controversial fracking methods. COGissues a reply, saying it's pleased with the decision, which mirrors similar findings from tests of its own, as well as those conducted by Pennsylvania state agencies. [View news story]
Mach - there aren't any GMO wheat varieties. It has 5X more genetic data than we human's have. But I'm with you completely on the part of your statement about the GMO corn though.
Thoughts From The Front Line: The 'Bang' Moment Is Here [View article]
Here's what I don't understand, every time someone says the US is the next Greece somebody else chimes in and says we're not because we can print our own currency until we run out of ink. What confuses me is that this is the second article to say that the Greek CB can print all the Euros it wants during an "emergency", which this obviously qualifies as. Then logically the Greek CB takes all the bad sovereign paper onto its balance sheets in return for freshly printed Euros and announces an Operation Twist (wish I knew how to say that in Greek) and viola, problem solved. Next these new Euros flow out of Greek accounts to German banks for safe keeping and through the power of modern banking the balances are leveraged up 10-1 and Germany roars back to life. What am I missing here?
3 Oversold Industrials Raising Guidance And Raising Dividends [View article]
I love ETN, it's dividend and volatility lend itself to a c. call strategy nicely - doesn't hur that the fundamentals of the business are solid and that it's moving its corporate HQ to Ireland to save $160MM/year in US corporate taxes. Got to love management like that!
How Ex-Dividend Dates Work [View article]
How Ex-Dividend Dates Work [View article]
Who Won't Be Giving You A Special Dividend [View article]
Covered Calls For Income Can Cost Dearly In Long-Term Gains [View article]
The weakness in the oil market is a warning, says Josh Brown. He sees the weakness as a leading indicator, and as oil prices hit their lowest levels in over a year and a half, it's a sign that global growth is facing some serious headwinds. With the fiscal cliff looming and persistent European troubles that never seem to go away, the energy markets seem to be confirming an inevitable downturn, and Josh, along with a host of other traders, are warning investors to prepare, now. [View news story]
Don't look now, but MarketWatch's Rex Nutting says the U.S. debt load is getting better, not worse. It was excessive debt - both private and public - that caused the 2008 financial meltdown. Years later we're still de-leveraging, but it's not as bad as it seems. In the 11 quarters since the recession officially ended, total domestic debt rose by $702B - just 1.4%. By contrast, in the 11 quarters before the recession began, those bubble years of 2005 - 2007, total debt increased by $10.7T - or 28%. [View news story]
General Motors (GM -2.7%) sees a breakthrough coming in the use of magnesium in automobiles after its engineers find a way to expand the use of the metal to new parts of vehicles. The company notes magnesium is 75% lighter than steel and has a 33% advantage over aluminum which could help the automaker improve gas mileage. Licensing options for GM's patented process to prepare the metal for automobile production could bring in extra revenue down the line. [View news story]
Bernanke: "We're looking for something that brings unemployment down in a sustained way." Asked about further tools if QE3 doesn't work, he doesn't go beyond what's already been used: Communications, Treasury purchases, MBS purchases. [View news story]
Beware the steepening yield curve in U.S. Treasurys, warns Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian. Despite their staunch credentials, El-Erian notes the spread between the two and 10-year Treasurys is the widest it's been since May. “What we would caution is rather than the level of the rates, the shape of the curve.” he says. “The long end is exposed to a lot more risk.” [View news story]
According to an economic barometer called the Money Market Index, the recent rally in the Dow over the past three trading sessions has been "totally irrational," says the index's chief researcher Dan Geller. The rally, mostly due to the release of Friday's monthly jobs report, shows that the enthusiasm has been mispaced due to the simple fact that a large portion of the 163K new jobs reported are only temporary, and likely to vanish soon. The move "has no economic merit," Geller insists. [View news story]
Michael Harkins offers a quick lesson in duration, saying a buyer of the 10-year Treasury at 1.5% will get crushed with just a move back in yields to 2.5%. The bond market is a fabulous bubble, he says, growing in size as those who went short at the then impossibly low rate of 2.5% a year ago lack the conviction to do the same at 1.5%. [View news story]
The EPA issues a statement saying it's completed tests on drinking water in the Pennsylvania village of Dimock showing the water is safe to drink. Residents and anti-drilling groups had claimed that Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) had polluted the local aquifer through its gas drilling using highly controversial fracking methods. COG issues a reply, saying it's pleased with the decision, which mirrors similar findings from tests of its own, as well as those conducted by Pennsylvania state agencies. [View news story]
Thoughts From The Front Line: The 'Bang' Moment Is Here [View article]
3 Oversold Industrials Raising Guidance And Raising Dividends [View article]
Guess? (GES): Q4 EPS of $0.95 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $815.1M beats by $29.53M. Shares -7.5% AH. (PR) [View news story]