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To: M. Frank Greiffenstein who wrote (21599)	10/14/1998 8:49:00 PM
From: IceShark	Respond to of 164684

Doc, I am somewhat confused by Jan's posting, I guess it means there were two big trades in Nov 75 calls? And they were opens since OI was only 22. Maybe she can be a bit more clear. But, yes the writers are making a bearish bet as you suggested. And writers are supposed to be smart money. Pros will write calls like that then just buy the stock long, but there doesn't seem to be enough premium in it to be worthwhile (although who knows when they wrote 'em). So it could be a hedge by a nervous long or a cute way to basically sell stock at current levels without having to report it (to fit into one of WrongWay's theories. -g- Regards, IS

To: M. Frank Greiffenstein who wrote (21599)	10/14/1998 9:52:00 PM
From: umbro	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

open interest can be increased by (ratail) buying or selling. If I "buy 10 calls to open", then I've increased the open interest. Just because a market maker might be on the ohter side, selling me the calls, doesn't change the fact that the open interest increased. When I "sell 10 calls to close", I'm decreasing the open interest. Open interest can't tell us if the retail client bought or sold.

To: M. Frank Greiffenstein who wrote (21599)	10/15/1998 12:26:00 AM
From: Jan Crawley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Hi Doc, the way I see it, 500 Nov 75 call contracts at an average of $24 premium = $1.2million. Process of elimination: 1. Current OI is only 22, therefore, this is an "open", not closing. 2. Why paid $1.2M to "buy" Nov. 75 calls. Much higher strike prices are used for call speculation. 3. If Amzn drops $20 in the next few weeks, the calls can be closed for more than $500K profit easily. Conclusion, someone sold the 500 uncovered calls for $1.2M today. Hmmmmm.....I am thinking about following the smart money myself.:))) Pending order to write 2 or 3 Nov 75 calls tomorrow and ask $25 too!