I love urban myths that never get checked against reality. The apparently large AMR & UAL put options were noted because they were: - on AMR and UAL, the two airlines involved - they were not claimed - were disproportionate to the opposite call options by a 'abnormal' margin. BUT: - AMR and UAL are the largest airlines in the world, if you are going to 'invest' in the industry, AMR and UAL is where one would go. - Put's are rarely done as a specific investment in a company, they are usually done against an industry. (Options are only available only the largest traded companies) - 2.5M is a puny amount of money in comparison to other methods used by terrorist networks to raise money - Many options are never called, and the cease of trading for an unprecedented 4 days probably didn't help Matthew > -----Original Message----- > From: The Airline List [mailto:AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On > Behalf Of cicadajet > Sent: March 8, 2002 9:22 PM > To: AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU > Subject: fuzzy math? > > > Too bad nothing more came of this. > > << September 6-7, 2001 - 4,744 put options (a speculation > that the stock will go down) are purchased on United Air > Lines stock as opposed to only 396 call options (speculation > that the stock will go up). This is a dramatic and abnormal > increase in sales of put options. >>.... <<[Source: The > Herzliyya International Policy Institute for > Counterterrorism, <A > HREF="http://www.ict.org.il/,";>http://www.ict.org.il/,</A> > September 21; The New York Times; The Wall Street Journal.] > > September 10, 2001 - 4,516 put options are purchased on > American Airlines as compared to 748 call options. [Source: > ICT - above] September 6-11, 2001 - No other airlines show > any similar trading patterns to those experienced by UAL and > American. The put option purchases on both airlines were 600% > above normal. This at a time when Reuters (September 10) > issues a business report stating, "Airline stocks may be > poised to take off."> > > > > << September 29, 2001 - The San Francisco Chronicle reports > that $2.5 million in put options on American Airlines and > United Airlines are unclaimed. This is likely the result of > the suspension in trading on the NYSE after the attacks which > gave the Securities and Exchange Commission time to be > waiting when the owners showed up to redeem their put options. >> >