STOCKS NEWS US-Capital One draws bearish put option spread

Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS]

Real-time Equity news [U][E] [RESF/US]

For U.S. stock market report double-click [.N]
1355 ET 19June2009-Option bears emerge in Capital One
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N: Quote, Profile, Research), an issuer of MasterCard and
Visa credit cards, fell 37 cents to $21.92 in afternoon trade, one day after
the sale of $1.5 billion of 10-year subordinated notes. The stock's option
volume jumped after one investor initiated a large-volume put spread in the
September contract. "The trader could be looking to protect a long position in
the underlying or may just be bearish on COF in the medium-term," said
Interactive Brokers Group market analyst Andrew Wilkinson in a note. The spread
involved the purchase of 40,000 puts at the September $20 strike for an average
premium of $2.32 apiece against the sale of 40,000 puts at the September $15
strike for 75 cents each. The net cost of the trade amounted to $1.57 to the
investor, who stands to collect maximum potential profits of $3.43, or
$13,720,000, if shares fall to $15 by expiration, he said. Option implied
volatility on the stock has come off throughout the past few days from 78
percent on Wednesday to 71 percent, he added.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1332 ET 19June2009-Traders flock to Intel upside call options
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1 cent to $15.86 in afternoon trade, and
the shares have been trapped in a range between $15 and $16.50 since mid-March,
said Chris McKhann, an analyst at optionMonster.com.

In the options market, traders were drawn to the October $18 call strike
Friday. Someone is bullish, "as we see 15,000 of the October $18 calls snatched
up in a matter of seconds, all for 60 cents," McKhann said in comments on the
website.

It was not immediately clear what was behind the call action. The implied
volatility of the calls earlier stood at 37 percent, ticking up from
eight-month lows of three weeks ago. Historical volatility, on the other hand,
is down at 30 percent, its lowest level since last September, he said. The
calls now fetch 58 cents per contract, Reuters data show.

In all, about 38,000 calls traded, more than double the amount of puts,
with sentiment based on order flow that is 61 percent bullish, according to
Trade Alert.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1324 ET 19June2009-Ambac postpones municipal launch, shares sink
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of Ambac Financial Group Inc (ABK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) tumbled on Friday, after the
bond insurer again postponed the launch of its municipal bond arm Everspan
after struggling to raise money from outside investors to fund the unit.

Ambac and other bond insurers had been pinning hopes for a revival of their
business on launching municipal-focused units, after rating agencies stripped
the insurers of their "triple A" ratings following heavy credit losses from a
foray into guaranteeing repackaged debt.

For details, see [ID:nN19447607]

The stock dropped 18 cents to $1.07.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1149 ET 19June2009-Option traders pounce on BofA calls
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Option traders appear to be optimistic on Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and
a number of them anticipate more gains this summer, as BofA shares rose 10
cents to $13. The shares fell 6.2 percent for the week, but some options market
players expect strength over the next two months, according to WhatsTrading.com
option strategist Frederic Ruffy. The BAC August $14 call option has become one
of the top favorites, with 59,512 contracts traded so far, against an open
interest of 49,818 lots, Reuters data showed. Friday's trades included a
"reverse diagonal spread," where a strategist bought 15,000 August $14 calls
and sold 15,000 January 2010 calls at the $20 strike. The trade cost 45 cents
on the likely view that shares would move beyond $14.45 by the August
expiration, but not above $20 by mid-January, he said. In all, 225,000 calls
traded in BofA, compared with 62,000 puts, according to Trade Alert.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1132 ET 19June2009-LUKOIL to buy stake in Total, blocking Valero
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lukoil (LKOH.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) will buy a stake in a Dutch refinery from France's Total
SA (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), gaining a foothold in northwest Europe and blocking a bid by
Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to enter the region.

The move was a blow to Valero's efforts to gain a position in Europe, where
it wants to buy refineries and take advantage of cross-Atlantic trading
opportunities with its U.S. plants.

For details, see [ID:nLJ579651]

Shares of Valero rose 1 percent to $17.59 on the NYSE.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1113 ET 19June2009-Citigroup: Anecdotal evidence suggests market buoyancy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citigroup wrote on Friday that anecdotal evidence suggested a more buoyant
Wall Street, noting that in several instances, "the very same investors who
perceived our bullishness several months ago as bordering on lunacy now
consider our market outlook (S&P 500 .SPX at 1,000 by year-end) to be too
conservative."

The brokerage firm added that to some degree, "we have been surprised by
the speed of this turn of events, but the equity market's powerful move since
early March most likely explains this shift."

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net