Be in the know. 23 key reads for Thursday…

  1. Xi Has Realized He Needs Chinese Tech Giants (bloomberg)
  2. Ford Says the F-150 Lightning Was No. 1 Electric Truck in December (Barrons)
  3. Foreign Investors Raise China Allocations Overnight (chinalastnight)
  4. Stock market got a ‘Santa Claus rally’ after all (marketwatch)
  5. Why Xi Jinping Reversed His Zero-Covid Policy in China (wsj)
  6. Amazon Layoffs to Hit Over 18,000 Workers, the Most in Recent Tech Wave (wsj)
  7. Fed Minutes Show Officials Feared Markets’ Rallies Could Hinder Inflation Fight (wsj)
  8. Fox Corp., News Corp will stay at Midtown HQ for another 20 years (nypost)
  9. Several car executives said they were encouraged by relatively strong sales in the fourth quarter as factory work accelerated in the midst of improved parts supply. Many car makers reported an improvement in their sales near the end of the year as computer-chip supplies began to improve. (wsj)
  10. Stocks Secure Santa Claus Rally With Last-Day Spurt (wsj)
  11. Japan’s Business Owners Can’t Find Successors. This Man Is Giving His Away. (nytimes)
  12. Fed Officials Fretted That Markets Would Misread Rate Slowdown (nytimes)
  13. A global semiconductor shortage is easing, which could allow carmakers to lift production this year. (nytimes)
  14. All Those Real-Economy Pandemic Price Surges Are Going in Reverse (bloomberg)
  15. Ford More Than Doubles Electric Vehicle Sales as It Chases Tesla (bloomberg)
  16. Tencent’s Return to Top 10 Club Shows China Rebound Bets Soaring (bloomberg)
  17. Economist Says His Indicator That Predicted Eight US Recessions Is Wrong This Year (bloomberg)
  18. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Revenue, Streaming Platforms, Appeal, Big Four (bloomberg)
  19. Why China’s Reopening Isn’t Boosting Global Oil Markets Yet (bloomberg)
  20. Private payroll growth surged by 235,000 in December, well above estimate, ADP reports (cnbc)
  21. The Fed wants a recession and is desperate to convince markets it’s serious about bringing inflation down, Bank of America chief economist says (businessinsider)
  22. China Extends Easing of Mortgage Rates on First Home Purchases (bloomberg)
  23. US Services PMI In Contraction For 6th Straight Month In December (zerohedge)

Funny How? Stock Market (and Sentiment Results)…

Santa managed to kick the Grinch out of the sleigh and deliver positive returns for the SCR period (last 5 trading days of 2022 + first 2 trading days 2023).  As you can see above, we needed to close Wednesday above 3822 on the S&P.  It closed at 3852.  The period (from Dec. 23 thru Jan. 4) closed with a gain of +0.80%.  What are the implications?
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Unusual Option Activity – Seritage Growth Properties (SRG)

Data Source: Barchart

On Wednesday some institution/fund purchased 1,090 contracts of Jan. 2025 $12 strike calls (or the right to buy 109,000 shares of Seritage Growth Properties (SRG) at $12). The open interest was just 115 prior to this purchase.

Continue reading “Unusual Option Activity – Seritage Growth Properties (SRG)”