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When you buy a put option, you're placing a bet that the value of the underlying stock will decrease in value over the course of the contract.
When you sell a put option, you're placing a bet that the value of the underlying stock will increase or stay the same value over the course of the contract.
Notice he has sold a put option so he’s betting price is going to be higher than his strike price, either that or his got a plan to buy the shares and trying to keep price low
LONDON (Reuters) - British supermarket Asda on Thursday followed rivals Ocado (LON:OCDO) Retail and Sainsbury's in announcing a fresh round of price cuts, adding to the downward trajectory in UK food inflation.
Grocery prices remain in the spotlight as Britons grapple with a cost-of-living crisis stretching into its second year.
Asda, Britain's third largest grocer, said it had lowered the prices of 425 branded and own-label products, such as nappies, bread, cereals and sausages, by an average of 11%.
It said the move was costing it 23 million pounds ($29 million).
Ocado Retail and Sainsbury's announced price cuts on Wednesday.
UK food price inflation reached its highest since 1977 in March at over 19%. This official measure slowed to 14.9% in July and, while industry data showed it at 12.7% in August, rising food prices remain a major strain on the finances of many households.
maybe it’s just the usual summer lull. regulators are enjoying their holidays like everyone. but let’s hope any day now the fca is ready to pounce!
the us authorities fiercely protect their markets. a tough stance is essential in maintaining confidence in the world’s largest market. each year there are stories of hedge funds and bankers being arrested while on their holidays, and shipped to the us to face the music.
if the lse is to ever pull out of its death spiral, then the uk needs to follow suit. a lack of action only feeds global sentiment that london is a backwater, a soft touch, where rogue investment bankers and hedge funds go unchecked in plundering the market for personal gain.
in feb this year, a us hedge fund called *****essential launched a stinging short attack against uk listed darktrace. *****essential published a 70-page report, filled with wild allegations of corruption against darktrace, it’s management team and investors. ahead of launching the attack, the hedge fund made a c£25m bet that darktrace shares would fall. hmm…
and so, *****essential sold c£25m of shares in darktrace it didn’t own, a bizarre but legal transaction which is banned in some countries. the cost of making a £25m bet like this is likely just c£2k a day until the bet is closed.
because it’s so cheap, the returns are spectacular when shares fall. for pennies, you can make hundreds of millions by wreaking havoc against a company and its share price. hence, rogue bankers and hedge funds show no limits, often with the help of some friendly media.
through wild claims they create fear, panic and a stampede, making shares plummet. the ill-gotten gains are usually funnelled offshore to tax havens without a trace. billions are fleeced from the uk market this way each year.
six months after *****essential’s attack, an independent review by ey confirmed the wild allegations had no basis and that darktrace is a uk tech darling after all.
despite millions lost by uk investors everyone is eerily quiet on the whole saga. where is the media crying foul, calling on the fca, sfo or even mps to act? nada.
maybe the lse itself will act? nope. i spoke with the ceo of the lse 18 months ago, and asked why it doesn’t act against the well-known rogue hedge funds and bankers. the answer was astonishing: “the fca can see everything we see, and so it’s for them to take action, not us”. after all, the lse is just a website portal, like rightmove or autotrader. right?
the stampede of companies exiting the lse is matched by investors. the only real ipo so far in 2023 is cab payments - it’s already lost c30% in 4 weeks! companies and investors simply aren’t safe anymore. this is a common view across global investors. what do you expect? their pockets are picked daily and their expected to ignore it?
like the regulators, i’ve been enjoying family time in the sun (see pics). i’m more than ready to build on thg's great
July retail sales miss estimates
Shoppers switching to online shopping because of poor weather and increased promotions led to 27.4% of retail sales taking place online in July 2023, up from 26.0% in June 2023; this is the highest proportion since February 2022 (28.0%)
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/july2023#online-retail
The UK’s annual inflation rate fell sharply to 6.8% in July, down from 7.9% in June, as the drop in energy prices over the past year led to the smallest increase in the cost of living since early 2022.
Nice to see
Good to see grocery inflation fall for 5th straight month and 2nd biggest monthly drop since recording in 2008
https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/uk-grocery-inflation-continues-to-cool-rain-dampens-demand--kantar-3123700