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Strategies & Market Trends : MDA - Market Direction Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Pitera who wrote (3645)	1/11/1999 2:47:00 PM
From: Les H	Respond to of 99985

Euro's Launch Triggers Flow Of Speculative Money Into Yen nni.nikkei.co.jp TOKYO (Nikkei)--The birth of the euro appears to have touched off an inflow of speculative money into the yen, market participants say. Amid uncertainty over the direction of the U.S. dollar and the euro, foreign traders, in particular, are shifting their focus toward the yen. The emerging consensus in the foreign exchange market is that the yen will continue its volatile movements for now, caught in currents between two powerful currencies. A comparison of the volatility of yen-dollar, yen-euro and euro-dollar trading since the start of the year shows strikingly sharp price swings in trading centered on the Japanese currency. When measured against the reference rate issued by European Union officials on Dec. 31, the euro-dollar exchange rate showed a volatility of 1.81 in trading this week from Monday through Friday. But yen-dollar volatility over the same period came in at 2.56, while yen-euro volatility registered at an even higher 4.37. Tellingly, yen-dollar volatility was smaller before the euro was launched Jan. 1. "European banks that speculated among European currencies are now trading in the yen, a currency they almost never touched," says Makoto Kojima, a director at Barclays Bank Plc in Tokyo. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Saturday morning edition)

To: John Pitera who wrote (3645)	1/11/1999 4:26:00 PM
From: John Pitera	Respond to of 99985

Cramer has a small pearl of insight about the high cost of The street.Com Internet Index options DOT PUTS --NO THANKS By James J. Cramer 1/11/99 12:09 PM ET You want to know how hard it is to hedge your Net positions? Friday, options expire. I have been watching this DOT index, as it correlates perfectly with the wild stuff I am seeing on my screen. With five days left, I always have an appetite for cheap puts, and one thing I pride myself in is knowing where puts should be given the risk, reward and time elements. So, I figured, with the DOT at 535, I might be able to sock in some DOT 500 puts for a cheap shot and a selloff and some protection to the downside. Hoo-hah! Not only is there no 500 put, but the January 495 puts are at $50. That's ludicrous. That is just nuts. That's insane. The February 500s are at $87! That would be the biggest single overpay I have ever been involved in-after 20 years of trading options. What can you get for 3 bucks? Try the January 450 puts, 84 points out of the money. That doesn't protect anything. Or, to put it in a way everybody can understand, you have a $535,000 house. For $30,000, you can insure it for a week, but there is an $85,000 deductible! No thanks.