Latest Posts by ronbowlens - Page 4
UPDATE: The earlier rumors have been confirmed: People’s Bank of China told more than 10 third-party payment service providers yesterday not to give clearing services to online Bitcoin exchanges, China Business News reports, citing a central bank meeting with the companies. This news is pressuring Bitcoin to $678 (on Mt.Gox) but more notably, BTC China rates imply a $588 equivalent price - down 57% from its highs. From a $100-plus premium, BTC China now trades $130 cheap to Mt.Gox as the ‘arb’ flips.
Continued
It finally happened: a federal judge ruled that the NSA’s ravenous “metadata” collection of telephone calls made in, to, or from the US in order to prevent terrorist attacks violated the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.
Continued
Madiba family member warns against injustices and corruption
Featured video on injustices:
A family member of former president Nelson Mandela, Chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima says as South Africans reflect on Madiba’s legacy, they should guard against… Video Rating: 0 / 5
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Yield Boosts Lazard
By: StockoptionChannel.com
Shareholders of Lazard (LAZ) looking to boost their income beyond the stock's 2.3% annualized dividend yield can sell the June 2014 covered call at the $45 strike and collect the premium based on the $1.80 bid, which annualizes to an additional 7.9% rate of return against the current stock price (at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost), for a total of 10.2% annualized rate in the scenario where the stock is not called away. Any upside above $45 would be lost if the stock rises there and is called away, but LAZ shares would have to climb 4.4% from current levels for that to occur, meaning that in the scenario where the stock is called, the shareholder has earned a 8.6% return from this trading level, in addition to any dividends collected before the stock was called.
In general, dividend amounts are not always predictable and tend to follow the ups and downs of profitability at each company. In the case of Lazard, looking at the dividend history chart for LAZ below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue, and in turn whether it is a reasonable expectation to expect a 2.3% annualized dividend yield.
Below is a chart showing LAZ's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $45 strike highlighted in red:
The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the June 2014 covered call at the $45 strike gives good reward for the risk of having given away the upside beyond $45. (Do most options expire worthless? This and six other common options myths debunked). We calculate the trailing twelve month volatility for Lazard (considering the last 252 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $43.24) to be 26%. For other call options contract ideas at the various different available expirations, visit the LAZ Stock Options page of StockOptionsChannel.com.
In mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday, the put volume among S&P 500 components was 642,577 contracts, with call volume at 1.08M, for a put:call ratio of 0.60 so far for the day. Compared to the long-term median put:call ratio of .65, that represents high call volume relative to puts; in other words, buyers are showing a preference for calls in options trading so far today. Find out which 15 call and put options traders are talking about today.
How advertisers became the NSA’s best friend
This week, new documents from NSA leaker Edward Snowden arrived with some troubling revelations: the NSA has been piggybacking on Google’s network, using the company’s “preferences” cookie to follow users from site to site, proving their identity before targeting them with malware. It means the agency has tapped into one of the most popular features on the web and the core of Google’s multibillion-dollar ad-targeting empire. Instead of just targeting ads and saving preferences, the infrastructure is being used to find people the NSA is interested in and silently infect their devices with malware.
Congratulations to American Airlines and US Airways on their merger and welcome to the NASDAQ family!
Radio Interview:Setups on Stocks, Commodities and Futures
Cellphone data spying: It’s not just the NSA
USA Today December 9, 2013
Local police are increasingly able to scoop up large amounts of…
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Lazard Declares Special Dividend
NEW YORK, Dec 10, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Lazard Ltd LAZ +0.56% today announced that its Board of Directors has voted to declare a special dividend of $0.25 per share on its outstanding Class A common stock. The special dividend is payable on December 27, 2013, to stockholders of record on December 20, 2013.
About-Lazard
After offending much of his market base, Lululemon chairman and founder Chip Wilson will step down, according to a press release from the company.
Wilson has been at the center of a firestorm of bad press after he said some women’s bodies just “don’t work” in the brand’s pants. This fall, Wilson responded to criticisms of low quality by saying that women’s thighs that rub together were eroding the pricey brand’s athletic clothing.
(Photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
So true.
#quote #sky #limit #limitless #moon #achieve #strive #goals #inspiration
http://player.theplatform.com/p/2E2eJC/embeddedoffsite_prod?guid=n_lw_5gay_131209
Lawrence O’Donnell talks with Michael Griffin, a teacher fired after planning to marry his partner. That partner, Vincent Giannetto, also joins them.
Gold has become the most hated commodity lately. What happened to the days when everyone had to own the precious metal? After all, more and more centr…
Gold has become the most hated commodity lately. What happened to the days when everyone had to own the precious metal? After all, more and more central banks around the world are printing money faster than ever. The Federal Reserve (U.S. central bank) is still creating $85 billion a month out of thin air. Other central banks in England, Japan, Asia, and Europe continue to do the same thing. So why has gold struggled so much? It seems that gold is now trading inversely to the USD/JPY (U.S. Dollar vs the Japanese Yen). Today, the USD/JPY is falling sharply and this is causing gold futures to rally. Currently, the USD/JPY chart remains in an up-trend on the daily chart. Up-trending markets are very tough to fight since that is where the momentum is. Should the USD/JPY chart start to fall gold should start to trade higher. Traders and investors might need to take a wait and see approach, but I would say that you shouldn’t get too bearish on gold at this stage of the game. Gold could be setting up to make a sharp move higher very soon if that up-trend in the USD/JPY chart starts to reverse. Nicholas Santiago InTheMoneyStocks.com
City announces plans to install 175 new Divvy bike stations next year and wants to know where you would like to see ‘em.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is coming under some selling pressure this morning. The stock is trading lower by 0.60 cents to $38.10 a share. Day trade…
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is coming under some selling pressure this morning. The stock is trading lower by 0.60 cents to $38.10 a share. Day traders should watch for intra-day support around the $37.90 level. This is an area where the stock could stage a minor intra-day bounce.
Nicholas Santiago
www.InTheMoneyStocks.com
Lazard has $100 million more for investments
By Brett Cole
Lazard Australia Private Equity Ltd has made only one investment from its 2011, $120 million fund but that investment in sportswear company 2XU has been spectacular. It may however be hard to repeat as Lazard looks to make as many as five more investments with the $100 million left in the fund.
Gareth Young, director of Lazard Australia Private Equity, told DataRoom the fund’s realised return from its 2XU investment is in excess of two times money multiple, or a 50 per cent internal rate of return, per annum.
Lazard has sold some of its shareholding in 2XU to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, enabling it to monetise an investment that is just two years old.
Lazard Australia has until 2021 to invest and liquidate investments from its second fund that will take stakes of up to 49 per cent in companies headquartered in Australia. The firm’s 2006, $330 million fund is fully invested and Lazard has five investments to sell from the fund in the next couple of years.
The firm’s $120 million fund usually takes minority stakes in companies using a minimal of leverage. Six people, mostly in Melbourne, work on investments.
Young says the Lazard fund is not a leveraged buyout or venture capital investor but a “corporate opportunities fund” that has no sector specialty and invests along “macro thematic” lines.
Weather wars: who should be allowed to engineer our climate?
Geoengineering could be the silver bullet in fighting climate change — or the start of something even worse
VIDEO: Traders Weigh Jobs Data: Eyes Turn to the Fed
Brendan Conway takes a look at the markets, including three stocks to watch today. Photo: Getty…
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VIDEO: What Does the Jobs Report Mean for the Economy?
Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income, offers additional analysis…
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Financial Advice - We need to reform the European economy
The global economic crisis that began in 2007 has posed huge challenges for European citizens and…
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Holiday message from the Merchandise Mart, 1951, Chicago.
General Petraeus Returns
By Mike Vilensky
Is David Petraeus KKR's Global Institute Chair stepping back into public life?
The former U.S. military general has kept a low profile since stepping down as director of the Central Intelligence Agency a year ago, but he turned up at a New York City gala in his honor Monday evening. "I am convinced that [Gen. Petraeus] has not served his last day in public service," said Jack Keane, another retired general. "He will be back, to be sure."
The New-York Historical Society bestowed Gen. Petraeus and businessman Roger Hertog with awards during a swanky affair at the Pierre. The organization's president and chief executive, Louise Mirrer, praised Gen. Petraeus's "groundbreaking work in Iraq" and Mr. Hertog's "dedication to the power of ideas."
Henry Kissinger and General David Petraeus Don Pollard
Pam Schafler, Roger Hertog and Louise Mirrer Don Pollard. Don Pollard. Don Pollard
The Historical Society maintains a Manhattan museum and library, founded in 1804, devoted to work involving New York's city and state history. Attendees at the event included former New York Gov.George Pataki, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, writer Niall Ferguson and a handful of hedge-fund managers.
Gen. Petraeus said the attendees included "masters of the universe, my goodness." The gala raised more than $3 million for the society.
Since his resignation from the CIA, after admitting to having an extramarital affair with his biographer, Gen. Petraeus has been lecturing at the City University of New York and working at a private-equity firm. Antiwar activists protested Gen. Petraeus's award on social media and outside the Pierre.
In wide-ranging remarks, he joked about "a midlevel executive working at a financial firm, frustrated at getting passed over for promotion" who visits a brain-transplant center where "an ounce of a television reporter's brains" goes for cheap, and an ounce of a four-star general's brain is expensive.
"Do you have any idea how many generals it takes to get an ounce of brains?" goes the punch line.
"That's just a joke, I think," Gen. Petraeus said afterward. "When you reach this point in life, you're only as good as the material they give you."
Gonna be awesome,
His greatest battle begins. Watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer NOW!