STOCKS NEWS US-U.S. economic diary for June 25

Wed Jun 24, 2009 10:53pm BST
 
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 Real-time Equity news [U][E]  [RESF/US]
 For U.S. stock market report double-click [.N]
1740 ET 24June2009- U.S. economic diary for June 25
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 The day's economic agenda includes data on weekly initial jobless claims
and real GDP.
 For more please double click [ECI/US]
 Reuters Messaging rm://caroline.valetkevitch.reuters.com@reuters.net
1638 ET 24June2009 WellPoint call spread reflects bullish view
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 Health insurer WellPoint Inc (WLP.N) option volume spiked up after one
investor appeared to have established a ratio call spread in the August
contract, said Andrew Wilkinson, market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in
a note. Its shares rose 1.09 percent to $49.36. Hoping for continued bullish
movement, the trader bought 5,000 calls at the just out-of-the-money August $50
strike price for a premium of $3.50 each and simultaneously sold 10,000 calls
at the higher August $55 strike for $1.54 per contract. The net cost of the
transaction amounted to 42 cents and yields maximum potential profits of $4.58
if shares can rally up to $55 by expiration, he said. The investor would begin
to amass profits if shares increase just 71 cents from a reference share price
of $49.71 to surpass the break even point at $50.42 by expiration in a couple
of months. In all, about 22,000 calls traded vs. only 884 puts, double the
norm, according to Trade Alert.
 Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1519 ET 24June2009 Wary Eastman Kodak option trader seeks protection
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 One wary investor in Eastman Kodak (EK.N) scoop up downside protection on
the stock, said Andrew Wilkinson, market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group
in a note. Its shares fell 1.89 percent to $2.60 in late trade. The stock's
option volume rose after the bearish trader purchased 10,000 puts at the
October $1 strike for 9 cents per contract. The already bruised and battered
stock would need to crash through the 52-week low of $2.01 and erode about 62
percent from the current share price  before profits are realized on the long
put position. "We note that the trader responsible for the transaction could
also see profits by selling to close the position in the event that options
premium on the puts increases by expiration," he added. "That could conceivably
happen if implied volatility on the stock increases." The stock's option
implied volatility has climbed from an opening reading of 90 percent to nearly
100 percent during the session, Interactive Brokers data show.
 Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1514 ET 24Jun2009-Some key sectors losing ground after the Fed statement
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 - KBW Bank Index .BKX now up 1.2 pct (pre-Fed +2.1 pct)
 - S&P Retail Index .RLX now up 0.9 pct (pre-Fed +1.4 pct)
 - S&P Energy Index .GSPE now up 0.3 pct (pre-Fed +1.1 PCT)
 Reuters Messaging: ellis.mnyandu.reuters.com@reuters.net
1459 ET 24June2009 Confident Paccar investor enacts buy-write strategy-analyst
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 Paccar Inc (PCAR.O), which makes trucks under the Peterbilt, Kenworth and
DAF nameplates, attracted one bullish investor to initiate a buy-write strategy
on the stock amid a share price gain of 1.92 percent to $31.25.
 The trader is hoping for upward movement in Paccar through January 2010
expiration as he was seen purchasing shares of the underlying stock at about
$31.57 each in addition to writing (selling) 4,000 puts at the January $30
strike price for a rich premium of $4.43 per contract, said Andrew Wilkinson,
senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a note. Writing the puts
effectively reduces the investor's cost of getting long the shares to $27.14,
he added.
 Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1446 ET 24June2009 Take-Two calls draw investor interest
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 Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Inc (TTWO.O) call options are
attracting more action than usual as its shares rose 3.93 percent to $9.25 in
afternoon trading. In all, 3,881 calls and 663 puts traded, double the norm,
according to Trade Alert.
 The September $10 calls are leading the flow, with 2,600 contracts traded
earlier and 89 pecent hitting ask-side of the bid-ask spread. A lot of the
volume was traded on the International Securities Exchange, where sentiment
data indicated that 82 percent of the calls (1,097 contracts) were opening
customer call buys, according to WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic
Ruffy.
 There was no apparent news on the stock. Its earnings are due in early
September. The stock's option implied volatility was steady at 68 percent,
Ruffy said.
   Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1214 ET 24Jun2009-Wall St barely reacts to Buffett's equities view
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U.S. stock indexes barely budged on Wednesday when billionaire investor
Warren Buffett told CNBC that equities were "attractive over the next 10 years"
compared with alternatives.
 Indexes kept their strong gains heading into the U.S. Federal Reserve's
policy statement, expected at 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT).
 For more details, see [ID:nWEN0954]
 Reuters Messaging: ellis.mnyandu.reuters.com@reuters.net
1152 ET 24June2009-World's rich lost 20 pct of value in 2008: survey
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 The world's rich lost nearly 20 percent of their total wealth in 2008, as
volatile markets wiped out two years of growth, a Merrill Lynch study showed on
Wednesday.
 The total value of the wealth of people with net assets of more than $1
million, excluding their main home and consumables, dropped to $32.8 trillion
-- below 2005 levels, the 13th annual Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report
showed.
 For details, see [ID:nN24175116]
 Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1134 ET 24June2009-H.B. Fuller climbs after earnings
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 H.B. Fuller Co (FUL.N) shares rose on Wednesday after the chemical maker
reported second-quarter profit that topped Wall Street's estimates, citing
improved margins from lower raw material costs and lower expenses.
 The company posted quarterly earnings of 36 cents per share, above the
average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters of 25 cents per
share.
 While the company also maintained its previous full-year guidance of a
revenue decline ranging from 10 percent to 12 percent, it said it expects to
further reduce its debt in the second half of 2009.
 H.B. Fuller's stock rose almost 11 percent to a session high at $18.53,
while the Dow Jones U.S. Chemical index .DJUSCH shot up 2.3 percent.
 Reuters Messaging: rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net

 

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