No doubt, Barack Obama is an amazing speaker. Even his opponents grudgingly agree.

Yet he has misspoken on several occasions. His comment that mentioned "bitter" Americans took a toll on his campaign. And he is being lampooned in the blogosphere and on talk shows for his slip that he had visited all "57 states."

Entrepreneurs can learn from his talents -- and his slip-ups. In other words, when making a pitch -- or a speech -- you need to be very careful what you say. You need to think like a politician.

Of course, even top business leaders can make big-time blunders. Just look at Steve Schwarzman, the CEO of The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX). At a private investor conference, he said the following about his aborted $1.7 billion buyout of PHH Corp. (from a piece in the NY Post):

Trying to buy a mortgage bank in the midst of the subprime crisis was the equivalent of being a noodle salesman in Nagasaki when the atomic bomb went off. Not a lot of noodles left or even a person -- and that's what happened to us on this deal.

It was certainly a puzzling and unsympathetic comment.

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Speech lessons from Obama

Entrepreneur's Journal: Speech lessons from Obama originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 18 May 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This Daily Option Update is provided by Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Today the Volatility Index S&P 500 Options (VIX) was up .03 to 10.80.

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) puts bid higher than calls on difficult to borrow into earnings per share and speech. SunPower designs, develops, manufacturers, and sells electric power products, systems, and services. SunPower will report EPS on 1/25. President Bush's State of Union Speech is expected to emphasize renewable and alternative fuels as a source to decrease reliance on foreign oil. SunPower February call option implied volatility was at 48, puts at 59 because SunPower is difficult to borrow. SunPower 26-week average option implied volatility was 50 according to Track Data.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX) implied volatility was flat as PEIX rallied into the State of Union Speech. Pacific Ethanol is engaged in the business of marketing ethanol. PEIX was up $1.45 to $18.30. Crude oil was up 1.86% to $53.55. President Bush's State of Union Speech is expected to emphasize renewable and alternative fuels as a source to decrease reliance on foreign oil. Freidman Billings says "we are raising our price target for Pacific Ethanol from $16 to $20 and moving from a Market Perform to an Outperform investment rating based on expectations for positive momentum in the stock resulting from an increasingly favorable regulatory environment." Pacific Ethanol February call option implied volatility was at 55, puts at 64 on Pacific Ethanol being difficult to borrow and expected downward Pacific Ethanol price pressure. Pacific Ethanol 26-week average option implied volatility was at 61 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price risks.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is recently down .22 to $54.45. Goldman Sachs increased its 2007 EPS estimates to $4.60 from $4.56. Citicorp over all option implied volatility was flat at 15 according to Track Data.

Option volume leaders today were: Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Apple, Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Pfizer Inc.(NYSE: PFE), Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN), and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY).

Daily Option Update - January 23, 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Jan 2007 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.