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July 15 CNBC Daily Bonus Bucks Trivia Questions and Answers
Squawk Box
Question: In the Stock Blog post, “Five-Star Picks: Fuel and Fertilizer”, which stock supposedly has “at least 50 percent upside”?
Answer: Potash
Squawk on the Street
Question: In Jim Goldman’s preview, “This Week’s Tech Earnings Bonanza”, what is the FIRST stock mentioned?
Answer: Alcoa
The Call
Question: Web Video Hunt: In Monday’s CNBC.com video, “Commodities Explosion”, which precious-metals play was John Roque’s pick?
Answer: GoldCorp.
Power Lunch
Question: On Monday, Goldman Sachs’ Abby Joseph Cohen told CNBC that the fair value of the S&P 500 is:
Answer: 1,400
Street Signs
Question: Picks & Pans: In “Options Bubble on Financial Trouble,” whose “implied volatility” shot up 101% Monday?
Answer: WaMu
Closing Bell
Question: In Monday’s video roundup “Best Trades Now: Financials, Medical Suppliers & More” which one is a 10-day earnings reactor?
Answer: Harley-Davidson
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e-mail alerts to ensure that you receive answers to the daily Bonus Bucks trivia questions and for tips about the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge.Dow Jones Industrial Average Holds Above 11,000
Despite financial sector woes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to hold above a key psychological and technical level of 11,000. It came within the just 3.65 points of that level this afternoon after having dipped below 11,000 for a while on Friday. That support should be watched closely because on a breach, the Dow is vulnerable to testing its summer 2006 low around 10,700. As for the other benchmarks, the S&P 50 is right at its June 2006 low of 1,220 with next support at its fall 2005 low of 1,170 and the NASDAQ is notably the last prominently followed index to remain above its March 2008 low in the 2160’s.
Subscribe to our RSS feed to ensure that you receive the latest word on the street.Tracking the VIX: Second Straight Session Just Shy of 30
It was déjà vu all over again. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose just shy of 30 for the second straight trading session. The fear gauge hit a high of about 29.30 mid-day before pulling back to finish at 28.48. On Friday, the index hit a high of 29.44 before ending the day at 27.49. Remember, the volatility index shouldn’t be viewed in a vacuum, but it has historically been a pretty decent indicator, so it’s worthy of tracking for a potential buy signal. And judging by the VIX, the market is getting ever so close to a bottom but just hasn’t had that day of capitulation yet.
Subscribe to our RSS feed to ensure that you receive the latest word on the street.Fannie, Freddie Heaviest Trading Volume Since WorldCom
Here is some interesting data. In the market sessions following news of the accounting scandal that rocked WorldCom, the telecom services stock saw 3.3 billion shares trade. According to MarketWatch, “more than 1.5 billion shares of WorldCom were traded on Monday, when the stock reopened after the June 25, 2002 fraud disclosure. Turnover exceeded 820 million shares on Tuesday, and then 1 billion more than that on Wednesday.” If memory serves correct, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac individually would be the stocks with the heaviest volume on a major exchange over a three day span since that time, though the turnover combined is only about half as much of the WorldCom volume (remember it was just a penny stock). Fannie Mae traded 134 million Thursday, 409 million Friday and is on pace for 225 million shares today and Freddie Mac with 200 million traded on Thursday, 397 million Friday and on pace for 250 million shares today would represent a joint total of 1.62 billion shares.
Subscribe to our RSS feed to ensure that you receive the latest word on the street.Monday Equity Ideas: AAPL, IFX, PFWD, FNM
Apple Inc. (AAPL) – trading up $2.12, or 1.2% higher to $174.70, but notably well off its morning gap up high of $179.30. The company announced that it sold its one millionth iPhone 3G on Sunday, just three days after its launch on Friday, July 11. The new iPhone retails in the U.S. for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model and is also available in 20 other countries. Holding up in a weak market, shares could turn around pretty quickly and head back up toward intra-day highs if the major averages reverse course.
Infineon Tech (IFX) – mentioned as an iPhone beneficiary and got a brief pop of 4% earlier on a Stifel Nicolaus analyst note. Has fallen dramatically recently along with a host of other semiconductor and chip stocks and short interest has more than tripled from 2.2 million shares back at the end of May (dav stands at 2.8 mil) as it has drifted closer to its 52-week low of $6.26. This should be seeing much more of a bounce on the news.
Phase Forward (PFWD) – more of a technical play here. Has developed a tight trading range from $16 to $19, butting its head against the top of the channel in the past few days. On a close above $19, this has some legs to run.
Fannie Mae (FNM) – there is a reason why the 30% gap was sold this morning on Fannie Mae and why this name hasn’t seen its low. Ditto for Freddie Mac. As the WSJ reported, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson asked Congress for the authority to buy stakes in and lend to the companies, essentially putting a very clear government guarantee behind the debt. But as for stockholders, it’s tough luck. Paulson is insisting that a government rescue does not benefit the company’s shareholders for fears of creating a moral hazard.
Subscribe to our RSS feed to ensure that you receive the latest word on the street.July 14 CNBC Daily Bonus Bucks Trivia Questions and Answers
Weekly Bonus Quiz Question
Question: Forcing trades is sometimes referred to as ____-trading.
Answer: over
Squawk Box
Question: In a July 8 Stock Blog, commodities king Dennis Gartman said corn could come off its highs by how much?
Answer: $1
Squawk on the Street
Question: In the slideshow “Stock Picks for 20-Somethings”, what color is the Nokia handset case (and accompanying pencil)?
Answer: fuchsia
The Call
Question: According to Jane Wells, the world’s most expensive house has been owned by:
Answer: Oil tycoon Roman Abramovich
Power Lunch
Question: In a July 11 “Two-Way Street” Reader Mail post, correspondent “Rob” uses what device as a critique of the blog?
Answer: a Freudian reference
Street Signs
Question: In Jim Cramer’s blog post “A Bottom For Fannie and Freddie” what term does he use to describe Bush market policies?
Answer: Laissez-faire
Closing Bell
Question: In Friday’s article, “Oil Rises Sharply, Closes Near $145 on Iran Fears”, which nation’s Defense Ministry is mentioned?
Answer: Iraq
Subscribe to our RSS feed or get e-mail alerts to ensure that you receive answers to the daily Bonus Bucks trivia questions and for tips about the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge.The Casino Coattail Trade: WYNN, LVS, MGM
>After hours yesterday, Wynn Resorts was over $80, Las Vegas Sands close to $39 and MGM traded well above $25 a share on the back of preliminary earnings results from Wynn that were better than people thought – both numbers for Vegas and Macau. But with the market selloff, the gap higher quickly faded. In mid-morning trading, WYNN hit a low of $72.17, LVS hit a low of $31.32 and MGM hit a low of $21.91. However, when the leading U.S. indices stormed back later in the day, those casino operators came back; WYNN roared in the afternoon to close at $78.14, LVS made it back above the flat line, and MGM finished up by 6%. But the bounce could be only the beginning, particularly for LVS and MGM as these names have gotten killed and a major short squeeze looms, just as long as the market cooperates. Here’s the data according to Edgar Online; Wynn - more than 12.33 mil short or 14.4% of float, dav = 2.3 mil, LVS 28.74 million or 17.4% of float when the dav is just 4.1 mil and MGM at 12.82 million when dav = 3.2 mil.
Afternoon Reading: Learning About Fannie and Freddie
Here is some good information and a brief synopsis of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac situation from the NY Times;
The first link is a nice pictorial way of making sense of the problems those companies are facing and the second link explains the history and background, albeit somewhat elementary, of both Fannie and Freddie;
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, aka “Uncle Ben” as Jim Cramer would say, came to be the savior here late in the day for the broader market averages, capping off a wild rollercoaster-like week. The WSJ is reporting that Bernanke offered use of the central bank’s discount window to troubled mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Dow Jones briefly went into positive territory along with the other indices after being down more than 250 points, though who knows if it will last. A quick look at a chart of the Dow will show its tremendous volatility over the past five trading sessions that includes daily ulcer inducing swings in excess of triple digits in the final hour or so of trading; Monday - 160 points, Tuesday, - 180, Wednesday - 150, Thursday - 120 and today - 200.
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An abbreviated version. Just the cold, hard numbers.
Wal-Mart (WMT) – some noticeably decent blocks going off in the out of the money Sept. $52.5 put where volume stands at about 10,243, nearly the same as open interest of 11,799. The retailer is down more than a buck and trading under $56 today, but hasn’t been as low as $52.50 since March.
Morgan Stanley (MS) – investment bank seeing ominous activity in the August $30 put. Volume of 12,821 contracts is 1.5x the open interest with small blocks comprising most of the trading.
iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treas Bond (TLT) – good size activity in the Sept. puts with a $90 strike - significantly more than the open interest of 12,350. For those not familiar, this exchange traded fund corresponds generally to the price and yield performance of the long-term sector of the United States Treasury market as defined by the Lehman Brothers 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index which includes all publicly issued, the United States Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity greater than 20 years.
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