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Wall Street Strategies submits:Admittedly, while I wanted more honesty from Ben Bernanke, there is always a price to pay for the things we ask for. Although the Federal Reserve Chairman made what are obvious comments, the fact he had to take the shine off his previously glossy assessments of the economy was unnerving. In other words, we like it when Big Ben lies to us; we are human, after all. There seems to be a suggestion the economic rally baton can be handed off to household and business spending as fiscal policy and inventory restocking will not provide the same oomph. The big problem, or "drag" as the Fed chief put it in his opening statement, emanates from a lack of jobs. Judging the average of 100,000 jobs gained per month in private payroll (no word on those saved and created jobs) as "insufficient" to reduce the unemployment rate materially only told us what we knew. But we were able to suspend the thought from time to time even as our unemployed brother-in-law keeps blowing up our cell phone. Hey, he was bumming money even when he had a job. In a week with heavy debate over extending unemployment benefits with paying for them, Bernanke underscored the harsh reality that those chronically unemployed (about half of total unemployed) face erosion of skills which makes future employment opportunities more difficult. That stuff didn't send the market lower; however, it was the tone of the testimony which makes it seem as if the Fed is confused, and maybe even frustrated. There were comments on Europe and its economic crisis being something of a wildcard, but it's clear those early victory laps were premature. Complete Story »

Thomas Smicklas submits:Recently, the New-York based Americas Society, in conjunction with the Council of the Americas, issued an assessment of the climate for U.S. investment in Cuba. "Cuba has persistently ranked as one of the worst business environments in the world", stated Maria Werlau, a consultant specializing in Cuban affairs."The economy is in shambles, suffers from a high external debt and has investment rules that stifle international investments in and about the country."Complete Story »

Andrew Wilkinson submits: Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) – The producer of online, console and hand-held games received a vote of confidence by one large options player anticipating bullish movement in the price of its shares through expiration in January 2011. Activision’s shares rallied 2.12% to $12.05 in the first half of the trading session. The optimistic investor established a massive bullish risk reversal on the stock by selling put options to finance the purchase of calls. The trader shed 25,858 puts at the January 2011 $10 strike for a premium of $0.62 apiece in order to purchase the same number of call options at the higher January 2011 $15 strike for a premium of $0.50 each. The investor pockets a net credit of $0.12 per contract – a total of $310,296.00 – on the reversal play, which he keeps as long as Activision’s shares trade above $10.00 through expiration day. Additional profits amass should ATVI-shares surge 24.50% from the current price to surpass the $15.00-level by January expiration. The 51,170 contracts utilized by this investor represent a whopping 32.28% of total existing open interest on the stock of 158,517 lots. Dendreon Corp. (DNDN) – A bear with butterfly wings feasted on the biotechnology company’s put options today as shares of the underlying stock edged 1.15% lower to $35.99. The investor unfurled the wings of a bear-put butterfly spread in the April contract to brace for potentially significant share price erosion ahead of expiration day next month. The trader initiated the spread by purchasing 5,000 puts at the April $30 strike for a premium of $0.82 apiece [wing 1], and by picking up another 5,000 puts at the lower April $20 strike for $0.28 each [wing 2]. The central April $25 strike housed the body of the butterfly, which involved the sale of 10,000 put options for a premium of $0.40 a pop. Net premium paid for the butterfly spread amounts to just $0.30 per contract, but yields maximum potential profits of $4.70 per contract should Dendreon’s shares plummet 30.50% from the current price to $25.00 by expiration day. The most the investor can ever lose is $0.30 per contract – the premium paid for the spread – but he stands to gain more than 15 times that amount if Dendreon’s shares collapse. Options implied volatility on the stock is up 7% to 65.16% thus far in the trading session. Complete Story »

Frederic Ruffy submits: SentimentThe stock market averages opened higher and are holding gains late Friday on better-than-expected jobs data. Stock index futures moved higher before the opening bell after the Labor Department said the US economy lost 36,000 jobs in February, which was significantly better than the 68,000 drop that economists had predicted. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent and average hourly earnings rose .1 percent. Economists were looking for an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent and a .2 percent increase in hourly earnings.Complete Story »

Brooks McFeely submits:4:06 PM, Jul 29, 2009 --

• NYSE down 48 (0.8%) to 6,280.51.
• DJIA down 24 (0.3%) to 9,072.
• S&P 500 down 4.5 (0.5%) to 975.13.
• Nasdaq down 7.75 (0.4%) to 1,968.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT Complete Story »

Brooks McFeely submits:4:06 PM, Jul 29, 2009 --

• NYSE down 48 (0.8%) to 6,280.51.
• DJIA down 24 (0.3%) to 9,072.
• S&P 500 down 4.5 (0.5%) to 975.13.
• Nasdaq down 7.75 (0.4%) to 1,968.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT Complete Story »