PNM Resources Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Colony Financial Tops Bearish Skews

Wade Hansen — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:20:00 EST

Filed under: Stocks to Buy, Stocks to Sell

Option traders are pushing up call option prices in the Diversified Utilities industry and are pushing up put option prices in the REIT - Diversified industry today.

Any time the volatility skews above 1.00, it is an indication that calls are more expensive than puts. Typically, when calls are more expensive than puts, it means the demand for calls is greater than the demand for puts because investors believe the stock is going to rise in the future, and they want to take advantage of that movement by buying calls.

The opposite is also true. Any time a volatility skews below 1.00, it is an indication that puts are more expensive than calls.

Continue reading PNM Resources Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Colony Financial Tops Bearish Skews

PNM Resources Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Colony Financial Tops Bearish Skews originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bill Gates invests in boring stocks! Utilities and hotels?

Vince Chan — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Insiders, Rants and Raves, Microsoft (MSFT), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Private Equity

I've known for a while that Bill Gates makes his personal investments through Cascade Investments LLC., but his trading activities still remained elusive. No, you're not reading the writings of a stalker. I'm just nursing a healthy voyeuristic interest in how the extremely affluent will invest their assets. And they simply don't come along with more wealth than the Microsoft founder.

It's very true that you will become like the people you choose to surround yourself with. Having Warren Buffett as a friend must have influenced Bill's latest investment direction. Buffett has been investing in utilities for the past 5 years. The Washington Post reports that Cascade Investments LLC., Gate's personal investment vehicle, has been steadily buying up shares of PNM resources - a New Mexico utility company. They've formed a joint venture with hopes to accelerate the growth of operations while taking advantage of the deregulation of the utility industry.

Another Bill Gates investment also mentioned in the article has also seen some recent spotlight, Bill Gates is part of an ownership group that's looking to privatize the Four Seasons Hotel Inc. Bill Gates owns a substantial portion and the bidding party boasts notable partners such as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Take a look at some of these names involved with Bill Gates: PNM Resources (NYSE:PNM), Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ:PEIX), Canadian National Railway Co., Republic Services Inc. (NYSE:RSG), Grupo Televisa SA, Fisher Communications, Four Seasons Hotel Inc. (NYSE:FS), Otter Tail Corp.(NASDAQ:OTTR), Six Flags Inc. (NYSE:SIX). These are names that you simply don't hear on the lips of ordinary investors.

Besides, I'm sick of listening to news about XM Satellite (NASDAQ:XMSR) and Sirius (NASDAQ:SIRI) or Jim Cramer's lightning round picks. I'd rather stay away from those so called "hot" stocks and take a closer look at Bill's holdings. What's most interesting is his willingness to take a long-term stance with his ventures. It's making more and more sense why Buffett chose to give Bill his money.

Bill Gates invests in boring stocks! Utilities and hotels? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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