Eric Savitz(Barron's) submits: According to comScore, total U.S. search queries in the U.S. were up11.8% from October, and 26% year over year. The details provide furtherevidence that Google (GOOG) is strengthening its hold on the domestic search market:Complete Story »
Eric Savitz(Barron's) submits: As both the Rocky Mountian Newsand the WSJ?s Deal Journalare reporting, there has been a wave of options-related selling by insiders at EchoStar (DISH). That raises an obvious question: would they be selling if the company was about to be acquired by AT&T (T)?There have been a flurry of Form 4 filings over the last two weeks. Here?s what they show:Complete Story »
Todd Kenyonsubmits: Let me start right off by saying I am long one of the ratings agencies. That is a very unpopular position right now as judged by recent stock performance and commentary from all quarters. At least I am putting my money where my mouth is about to be. Complete Story »
Gap, the U.S.'s largest retailer, reported a 26% increase in third-quarter profits Wednesday, but the stock was down after the company's full-year forecast disappointed.Complete Story »
(AIG) ?Shares in American International Group,the world?s largest insurer by market value, hit their lowest level inmore than two years after the company announced late yesterday that it haspre-empted the theme of an early December investor conference in order todiscuss its exposure to the ailing U.S. home mortgage market in greaterdetail.Concern about the capacity for further writedowns was reflectedimmediately in a near 47% jump in AIG?s implied volatility to 63%, levelsnot seen since 2002, as option traders put some 56,000 options in play beforenoon. The option action here is characterized by buying in the December puts atstrikes of 45 and 50, with additional call volume at the December 50 strike ata level twice the open interest. Most of these calls are trading to the middleof the market, making it hard to discern the order flow, but a buyer of thiscall might be doing so in conjunction with puts at the same strike in avolatility-based straddle combination, or may be anticipating AIG shares tobounce back from the $50 level in December if the investor conference succeedsin allaying investor concerns about its mortgage exposure. Complete Story »
