Security Founder John McAfee: "Obamacare Is A Hacker’s Wet Dream"

“It was a solid quarter on both sides of the business,”  - 

Kenneth Jacobs, CEO of Lazard Ltd

Fiat to buy the rest of Chrysler

Fiat is again moving in on Chrysler. In 2009 they took over a large percentage of the company and are now trying to take over the remaining 41.5%. This remainder is currently held by UAW health. The two companies have been in conversation over the sale but have been unable to agree on a price, they have a discrepancy of around $2 million.

The recently hired Lazard Ldt (NYSE: LAZ) vice chairman Ron Bloom to help with the buyout. Other notable leadership at Lazard include chairman and CEO Kenneth Jacobs. Ron Bloom is also currently representing the retirees in their case against Detroit's filing for bankruptcy.

HP Chromebook 11 review

Google’s on a mission to connect the world to the internet, by hook or by crook. (Or by balloon.) The Chromebook 11 is our end of the wire.

UPDATE: The earlier rumors have been confirmed: People’s Bank of China told more than 10 third-party payment service providers yesterday not to give clearing services to online Bitcoin exchanges, China Business News reports, citing a central bank meeting with the companies. This news is pressuring Bitcoin to $678 (on Mt.Gox) but more notably, BTC China rates imply a $588 equivalent price - down 57% from its highs. From a $100-plus premium, BTC China now trades $130 cheap to Mt.Gox as the ‘arb’ flips.

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VIDEO: Time Cover Calls Christie ‘Elephant in the Room’ 

Time’s latest cover features NJ Gov. Chris Christie with the words “the elephant in the room.”

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Lazard Declares Special Dividend

NEW YORK, Dec 10, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Lazard Ltd LAZ +0.56% today announced that its Board of Directors has voted to declare a special dividend of $0.25 per share on its outstanding Class A common stock. The special dividend is payable on December 27, 2013, to stockholders of record on December 20, 2013.

About-Lazard

All over America, formerly prosperous communities are being transformed into crime-infested wastelands of poverty and despair. Of course the most famous example of this is Detroit. At one time, Detroit was the greatest manufacturing city that the world had ever seen and it had the highest per capita income in the entire country. But now it has become a rotting, decaying hellhole that the rest of the planet laughs at. And of course Detroit is far from alone. There are hundreds of other U.S. cities that are suffering a similar fate. In this article, the focus is going to be on Camden, New Jersey, but the truth is that there are lots of other “Detroits” and “Camdens” all over the nation. Jobs and businesses are leaving our cities at a staggering rate, and what is being left behind is poverty, crime and extreme desperation.

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Yield Boosts Lazard

By: StockoptionChannel.com

Shareholders of Lazard (LAZ) looking to boost their income beyond the stock's 2.3% annualized dividend yield can sell the June 2014 covered call at the $45 strike and collect the premium based on the $1.80 bid, which annualizes to an additional 7.9% rate of return against the current stock price (at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost), for a total of 10.2% annualized rate in the scenario where the stock is not called away. Any upside above $45 would be lost if the stock rises there and is called away, but LAZ shares would have to climb 4.4% from current levels for that to occur, meaning that in the scenario where the stock is called, the shareholder has earned a 8.6% return from this trading level, in addition to any dividends collected before the stock was called.

In general, dividend amounts are not always predictable and tend to follow the ups and downs of profitability at each company. In the case of Lazard, looking at the dividend history chart for LAZ below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue, and in turn whether it is a reasonable expectation to expect a 2.3% annualized dividend yield.

Below is a chart showing LAZ's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $45 strike highlighted in red:

The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the June 2014 covered call at the $45 strike gives good reward for the risk of having given away the upside beyond $45. (Do most options expire worthless? This and six other common options myths debunked). We calculate the trailing twelve month volatility for Lazard (considering the last 252 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $43.24) to be 26%. For other call options contract ideas at the various different available expirations, visit the LAZ Stock Options page of StockOptionsChannel.com.

In mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday, the put volume among S&P 500 components was 642,577 contracts, with call volume at 1.08M, for a put:call ratio of 0.60 so far for the day. Compared to the long-term median put:call ratio of .65, that represents high call volume relative to puts; in other words, buyers are showing a preference for calls in options trading so far today. Find out which 15 call and put options traders are talking about today.