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1417 ET 26June2009 Bond bears stand up, players sell TLT calls
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Shares of iShares Barclays Capital 20+ Year (TLT.P) Treasury bond fund rose
32 cents to $94.71. Following a week of successful note auctions by the U.S.
government in which overseas central banks stepped up the pace, yields fell
dramatically across the curve, said Andrew Wilkinson, market analyst at
Interactive Brokers Group in a note. Bond prices are quiet today, yet one
sizable option trade occurred on the call side involving 20,000 contracts in
the TLT, an exchange-traded fund which tracks bonds with longer maturities. The
fact that these calls were sold implies these investors are either buying TLT
shares and taking in premium, or more likely taking the view that it will be
hard for yields to decline much further during the next three weeks, he said.
Investors stepped in to sell around 20,000 calls at the July $96 call strike
for average premiums of 90 cents, implying a break-even at $96.90.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1406 ET 26June2009-BofA's Lewis retains backing of key executive
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Kenneth Lewis, the chief executive officer of Bank of America (BAC.N),
retained the backing of a top lieutenant on Friday, when investment bank and
wealth management chief Brian Moynihan called him the "right person" to lead
the nation's largest bank. Moynihan has been widely discussed as a possible
candidate to replace Lewis eventually. For details, see [ID:nN26332238]
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1203 ET 26June2009-Ista wins FDA panel support for eye itch drug
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Shares of Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc (ISTA.O) rose on Friday after the
company's eye drop Bepreve won unanimous support from a U.S. advisory panel as
a treatment for itchiness caused by allergies.
The committee of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted 7-0 that Ista
had adequately demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of the Bepreve eye
drops, which would be sold by prescription if the agency granted final
approval.
For details, see [ID:nN26328014]
Shares gained 7.6 percent to $4.56.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1153 ET 26June2009-Ross Stores gets bearish option trade
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Shares of U.S. retailer Ross Stores (ROST.O) fell 37 cents to $38.45 near
midday on Friday and its option volume was eight times the norm with 9,114 puts
and 1,093 calls traded, according to Trade Alert. The put turnover increased
after a combination strategy, which appeared to be part of a so-called "tree,"
was implemented. It looked like an investor bought 3,000 August $37.50 puts for
a premium of $1.80 apiece, and sold 3,000 August $35 puts for 95 cents and
3,000 August $32.50 puts for 40 cents, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist
Frederic Ruffy. If so, the strategy fetched 45 cents and stands to make $2.05
if shares fall to $35 or 9 percent by August expiration, he added.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1145 ET 26June2009-FBR upgrades Webster Financial to market perform
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Shares of Webster Financial (WBS.N) rallied on Friday, after FBR Capital
Markets upgraded the stock to "market perform" from "underperform," citing
improvement in the bank's capital after a successful exchange offer.
"The tender attracted significantly more investor interest than we
expected," the firm wrote, lifting its price target on the stock to $8 from
$6.
For details, see [ID:nBNG492616]
Shares rose 9.2 percent to $7.95.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1137 ET 26June2009-Lear to file for Ch 11 soon, sources tell RLPC
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Auto parts maker Lear Corp (LEA.N) is expected to file for bankruptcy by
June 30, sources close to the deal told RLPC, a Thomson Reuters company.
Lear has been in talks with lenders and potential investors on
restructuring its debt-laden balance sheet for months and warned in March it
might have to file for bankruptcy. It has a June 30 deadline for a waiver from
lenders on its existing defaults on its main credit facility.
For details, see [ID:nN2685594]
Shares of Lear sank 30 percent to 38 cents. Among other auto suppliers,
BorgWarner slid 1.4 percent to $32.77 while Johnson Controls (JCI.N) was off
0.9 percent to $21.09.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
