This tease is itself an echo of a past teaser, though the echo got a bit garbled in the transmission — a bit over a year ago Justice Litle sent around a teaser for his Macro Trader newsletter telling us that a cabal of traders were about to “crash the euro,” and that he had a way for you to profit from that crash.
You can see that older article of mine on that “crash the euro” prediction here if you like — I decided that he must be recommending a particular put option on an ETF to profit from the euro’s fall, and while the euro did fall during that period it’s uncertain whether the trade would have been profitable, the option didn’t end up “in the money” but the price certainly fluctuated enough that some traders could easily have sold higher than they bought.
In the teaser Roseman takes credit for giving subscribers potential returns of 233% on this idea as the euro crashed further into May with the Greek crisis … though his original teaser letter on this that I covered was far earlier than that, back in September, and he was at the time promising a euro crash by October of 2009 — so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and surmised that he’d be more conservative and bet on a January options expiration to give more time for the “crash”. That’s obviously several months before the “real” crash this past Spring, which he says he pounded the table for, so perhaps he continued to make this bet until it was right (that’s the hard thing about options — being right on the fundamentals isn’t enough, you also have to be right at estimating when the market will reflect the fundamentals that you see).
But anyway, whether that trade turned out well for his subscribers or not (I’m just working from what he teases, I can’t know exactly what he says in the newsletter), he was right about the euro falling eventually … so what is it that he’s pushing this time?
The Pound. That’s right, the source of this “crash a currency” idea was George Soros’ very famous billion-dollar profit when he became “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England” during “Black Wednesday” (the culmination of the September, 1992 UK currency crisis), and now Litle thinks Soros and his ilk will be returning to the scene of that profit and causing the Pound to crash again … and you can go along for the ride.
Of course, he makes it seem very mysterious and time sensitive:
“URGENT: The First 1,000 People Who Respond to This Critical Briefing Will Receive a FREE 18-Key Authorization Code That Could Multiply in Value by 1,854% in the Next 60 Days…”
and
“The Black Wednesday Billionaires are setting up for another major score. I believe this will be their most profitable “job” to date… and I expect them to pull the trigger in the next eight weeks.
“The best part is that I’ve found a proven way for you to ride shotgun.
“But instead of making 1 dollar for every 10, I’ll show you how you could safely and easily multiply your winnings… and turn every $1,000 you invest into as much as $3,000… $5,000… even $19,540!
“If my target is reached, a $5,000 investment could turn into $97,700 virtually overnight!
“And remember, you don’t have to trade currencies or buy anything in the foreign market to take part. All you have to do is give your broker the free 18-Key Authorization Code I’m prepared to hand you.”
This time, though, Litle says that the government will be cooperating with the speculators to crush the value of their currency, all part of the global rush to currency devaluation:
“Is the British Government About to Push the Pound Over the Edge?
“In 1992, the Bank of England and the British government spent billions of their reserves trying to support the value of the pound. This time, they will be working with the speculators to drive the pound lower.
“Why would they want their currency to be LESS valuable?
“According to the Bank of England, the U.K. is right back on the verge of recession. And there’s a good chance we are heading into a new global slowdown.
“In this climate, one of the only ways to achieve economic growth is to be among the cheapest suppliers of goods. And the way to do that is to have a weak currency.”
So, plenty of assumptions and question marks in there — but still, we get the idea, Litle thinks that the UK’s currency is going down. How do we profit with that? Basically, we bet that the dollar will become more valuable against the Pound — here’s some of Litle’s rationale:
“I believe they plan to strike when a violent reversal hits the currency markets. You will know the raid is on when you see a surge in the U.S. dollar.
“And the timing is perfect for it to begin at any moment…
“According to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission investors are more bearish against the dollar than at any time in history! And when too many investors pile into one side of a trade, the rubber band is due to snap back.
“In fact, based on historical research performed by Credit Suisse, whenever investors have become this overwhelmingly bearish against the dollar, it has mounted a rally 100% of the time on a three-month basis….
“Let me be very clear: In the long run, the dollar is doomed. No question about it. But at the moment, the U.S. dollar is the most liquid market on the planet. Like it or not, it is still the world’s No. 1 safe haven.”
And he thinks that two possible catalysts in the next two months are a “downturn in U.S. markets” or “Act II” of the debt crisis in Europe causing more of that “flight to safety” that we saw in past years. Like many people, he clearly thinks that we’re going to have another economic downturn and/or recession, and that we’re definitely not out of the woods.
So what, then, is his “free 18-Key Authorization Code” to profit from the fall of the Pound over, if he’s right, the next 60 days or so?
Well, the last time I wrote about a tease like this from Litle, for that bet against the euro, it was a simple option trade — and back then he teased it as a 5-letter code, which is how options were denoted back then. That changed to simplify the options “ticker” system, and whaddya know: options now use 18 digit alphanumeric codes that incorporate the underlying ticker, the strike price, and the expiration date.
So yes, this is another options trade — and I’d bet my hat (it’s not that nice a hat, just to warn you) that this is a put option on the CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust ETF (FXB), which is the easiest way for stock market investors to get direct exposure to the Pound.
Buying a put option means that you have the right to sell a stock (or ETF, in this case) at a set price before the expiration date. If you’re speculating that a stock (or ETF) will fall substantially, you can buy an “out of the money” for relatively little money and hope that the underlying security falls past your strike price to put you “in the money” and allow you to reap a nice leveraged gain. Of course, if the underlying ETF, in this case, doesn’t fall the put option would expire worthless (unless you sold it at a loss before expiration), and since options have a set expiration date they also see their value decay as each day passes and there’s less time left for you to be “right” (all else being equal).
So with that as our basic backdrop, which put option would you buy against this CurrencyShares ETF in order to bet that the Pound will take a hit soon?
Well, the FXB ETF has options expirations available in November (meaning, next week), December (also not within 60 days), March, and June. So if we want to give Litle his 60 days to be right on this one but not go too far out in time so we have to pay more for the option, that would lead us to March.
Litle didn’t say much in the teaser about exactly how far he thought the Pound would crash — except to include this opinion from John Mauldin:
“John Mauldin, an advisor to hedge funds, is another expert who believes the British will try to solve their economic problems by weakening the currency. In fact, he stated that he believes the pound could fall by a third against the dollar!
“If that were to happen — and I believe there is a good chance of it — your Authorization Code could increase in value by as much as 1,854%… enough to turn every $5,000 into $97,700!
“If it falls by only half that much, you could still turn a $5,000 stake into $40,650.”
So, the FXB ETF roughly tracks what 100 pounds would be worth in dollars — and it takes roughly $1.60 to buy 1 GBP right now, so the ETF is right around $160. If it were to fall by a third, that would put it at about $107, an absolutely catastrophic collapse (particularly if it happens in just a few months), and far more than the Euro fell earlier this year.
So how does a move from $160 to $105 create a gain of 1,854%? Well, I can’t make the numbers work exactly for any of the current prices of the options, but here’s one example in that ballpark that seems the most likely to me:
These are all pretty low-volume options, so I’d guess that if there’s a newsletter recommending a specific option contract then that would be among the more active and higher “open interest” put contracts available. In the case of the March expiration, that would be the $150 strike price, which has the “key code” of FXB110319P00150000. It trades at $1.50 right now, so if it went up by 1854% that would put it at just under $30, which would imply that the price of the underlying ETF had fallen to somewhere near $120, a drop of about 25%. Getting to $105 would mean that your option should be worth about $45 at expiration, which would be a more impressive gain (though it could just be that Litle has some padding in there if he assumes that option goes up in the weeks after his copywriter writes the tease — if you had to pay $2 for the contract, for example, you’d be right around $40 with an 1854% gain.
So that relatively close match for the possible percentage gains in the teaser, and the fact that this put option has 10X the open interest of other put options at the March expiration, leads me to think that this is likely the trade being teased by Macro Trader right now. There are lots of ways to play currencies off one another, of course, but if you’re writing to an audience of folks who mostly invest in U.S. stocks it’s hard to find a clearer speculation than the options on the FXB ETF.
Will it be profitable? Well, the G-20 is clearly trying to put the kibosh on what is emerging as a global currency war, so if they do anything to stabilize exchange rates that might impact how these currencies move against one another, and, of course, Litle could be plain wrong about the continuing appeal of the dollar as a safe haven (at least in the short term), or about the collapse of the pound versus the dollar (remember, currency trading is always relative — for FXB to fall the Dollar has to rise against the Pound — if they’re both falling, the Pound has to fall further).
If you’ve got an opinion on where these competitive currency devaluations will end up over the next few months, and whether or not you think the Pound will collapse relative to the dollar, well, I’m sure we’d all be happy to hear it — you’ve got at least as much chance of being right as I do, which is why I’ll let you form that opinion on your own. And share it, of course, in the friendly little comment box below.
Given the Irish issue and the impact on the Euro along with Spain, Portugal and finally Italy to follow on there is every chance both the GBP and US$ will be beneficiaries and the UK will have to perform more QE to hold the GBP down imho. Good luck. Who will be on the other end of this trade?
Love your moniker there, Mr. "Plastic Brit". Nobody sounds quite so caustic as a disgruntled "British subject". =:-)
I have no opinion on this trade. It is likely, but punting on the option sounds like a gambling crazed mug's game compared to simply leveraging the move by purchasing (for example) some more silver bullion. If you are wrong on the timing, the silver will most assuredly still rise robustly against the GBP over the next 2-3 years, and as it's a much lower risk idea (investment vs. speculation, in today's environment), one can deploy a more significant percentage of one's money – after all this is merely taking out more insurance, while the put is more like a high stakes bet. Only the wealthy among us deploy $5000 on an options bet – that's huge money for an option.
Please help me to find out something about the "famos" John Thomas the Mad Hedge Fund Trader Manager who is ready for $700 ,to make you "MACRO MILLIONAIRE"with his new Coaching Program.He could be find at http://www.madhedgefundtrader.com.But hurry up because he has only 500-600 spots available.If you give me your e-mail I can forward his e-mail to you, for help.His selling speach is fantastic.I am interested but only if I can find some proof of his Performances.Thank you
I'd also be interested in finding out who the MHFT actually is..
Don't give this psychopath any of your money. He obviously is quite the huckster. Very convincing in his spiel and way way way too good to be genuine. He isn't worth $7 much less $700.
I thought a pit was the right to buy (not sell3 smnd a call is the right to sell?
You can PUT your shares in the market at the strike price, or CALL on someone else to sell you their shares.
I have a problem with the overall premise of your article but I still think its really informative. I really like your other posts. Keep up the great work. If you can add more video and pictures can be much better. Because they help much clear understanding. 🙂 thanks Tanikawa.
I believe that the Pound will crash and it will happen around or after Christmas, because the British Government would not spoil the Christmas and we are heading into a new catastrophe all indicators points towards it. It is very clear and this eletter which you have sent Me makes perfect sense. I don't know how to explain it, I apologize. Syed
Am more determined than ever to obtain accurate info on “legendary” John Thomas, aka Mad Hedge Fund Trader…1st discovered him on Seeking Alpha – engaging writing style, intriguing “bio” that can not be verified despite exhaustive research efforts into all aspects of his bio background, short of paying for a background search, adding to abundant skepticism (re:UNVERIFIABLE bio, assertions, global HIGH level connections & apparently legit interviews & lunches with everyone from Treasury secy tax cheat Tim & Hillary Clinton, as well as Wall Street connections including a Brother in law “employed” at Morgan Stanley, an almamater of Thomas, among many, wide ranging gigs from The Economist, Dai Nai securities in Japan, claim he established the 1st international hedge fund following his stint at a swiss bank where he set up the banks Japanese investments & “hedge fund desk” – altho. research into origins of 1st international hedge fund reveals other named individual credited, not John Thomas) He conceals his identity & corporate structure extremely well – does not disclose the extent of his “affiliation” with Conifer Group in San Fransisco, only reference to Conifer is in the disclosure statement. His website is licensed by Go daddy with any personal identification carefully hidden.
His “new” coaching offer from Wealth Alliance (another “consortium” peddling journalists stuff) is short on specifics and does not offer any demo or even samples of how his program works –
or means to determine whether it is suitable or geared strictly toward “traders” – his daily posts are highly readable & contain worthwhile macro analysis…but are short any specifics or reco’s other than in hind sight “As I told readers in my article on…”
The mystery is his “methodology” in determining what he will write about versus investments. How is one supposed to map out any investment strategy – in advance – by following his thoroughly enjoyable articles that focus on broad themes but offer little in terms of timing,entry points & levels or “allocations”
He is a “trader” seemingly writing for other day traders. It would be preferable if he refrained from his politically motivated “interpretations” – His bias is obvious: pro-liberal, democrats & unfortunately Keynesian (likes & agrees with Robert Reich) and expressed contempt for republicans in general and loathing of former President Bush & even Reagan when he was White House correspondent for a BRIEF time – his “calls” on the effect all govt & Fed actions have had on the markets have been accurate, like it of not.
Sharing aspects of his personal life & background add to his appeal & the “mystery.” Is he genuine, for real or just “name dropping” to lend credibility to his publication? For example, he casually mentions giving a speech at Mensa, but never states whether he is a member himself. Curious.
He claims he was called away from his hedge fund to fly in the Gulf War – & marched in the Memorial Day parade for his town, but doesn’t reveal much more, or what town…His father & uncle were marines & he has written extensively about them & WWII…leaving this reader wanting to communicate with him more about that generation…all of which makes him engaging, like-able & more intriguing.
Having been burned by the same TBTF outfits he worked for, skepticism & doubt abound.
Before forking over any sum on his premium newsletter – or the considerable costly “coaching” supposedly limited to 500, I want & need to know more about him, his expertise (other than his bio)
He is NOT a registered investment advisor, therefore is not required to disclose anything & is not responsible for anything. Some of his claims – including residences he previously owned & sold long before the real estate debacle unfolded in full, are impressive, IF valid. Begs the question: IF he was/is as successful & wealthy as he claims – why on earth is he operating a small newsletter instead of running the “wealth” advisory service catering to uber wealthy circle he claims to run in?
There are thousand of “John Thomas” is San Fransisco alone…
using his disclosed bio info of UCLA graduation etc does little to narrow it all down. His “company”
is registered in Nevada (duh) but credentials are non existent.
Can anyone VERIFY any portion of his “past” employment he references in his published bio?
He interviews many well known figures on his MadHedgeFundTrader Radio program…so the next step will be to contact THEM to get some verification about this mystery man.
Travis – IF you can shed any light on Mr. Thomas, the hedge fund he supposdly sold in the 1990’s & his latest venture, whether he still has clients or not – through Conifer Group? – or anything, it would be appreciated. He’s charging as much as the Weiss charletans do for his Wealth Alliance, Macro Millionaire “coaching” program…this has become frustrating & is bordering on obsessive. Should have gone to one of the luncheons he sponsors for about $300. for his “presentation” & latest views.
Just don’t know if any of it or HE is worth all he claims.
John Thomas' MacroMillionaire service, & his similar Newsletter (lower cost, but without specific trade alerts): "Mad HedgeFund Trader" appararently did very well in 2010. However with the FED- QE driven raging Bull market last year, you would have to be an incompetent investor NOT to make money! In 2011, so far, not doing very well – seems actually losing a bit? __Seems that risk on positions is high for my taste.__My question is: Is the less expensive Newsletter a better deal than the $2K per year MacroMillionaire service?
Addendum: If you go to the free portion of John Thomas' "Mad Hedge Fund Trader" website, look at the free 16 Feb 2011 posting: "The Collaspe of the Yen –".
Perhaps this Yen short might work someday, but past calls to short the Yen so far have lost money for many Hedge Funds. The Yen 'collaspe' fundamentals do seem overwhelming, but "markets can and do remain irrational longer that you can stay solvent". You can get a lot of interesting ideas searching this free website – but no timing trade entries like in his Macromillionaire service…
Thanks for all the John Thomas info. I was curious, but skeptical.
Not to make a huge deal of this, but here is a REALLY STRANGE and obviously false sentence from his bio on SeekingAlpha (link below), “With the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, Thomas was drafted by the US Marine Corp to serve as a pilot.”
SAY, WHAT? The “draft” or military conscription in the US ended in 1973, during the Nixon Administration. …and wouldn’t someone mysteriously “drafted” into it 17 years AFTER the draft ended, KNOW that it’s spelled US Marine Corps – with a silent “s”??? Note: They make you do extra push-ups if you spell it wrong and they STILL flog you if you pronounce the “s” and make it corpse.
I’m a combat veteran, US Army – Vietnam. If you’re tuned into it, you’ll see wannabes and people faking or exaggerating military service fairly frequently. However, this sentence is SO clumsy and OBVIOUSLY false (as written), I don’t know what to make of it. But I’m gonna skip that trial subscription.
(If it’s later removed, the exact sentence was COPIED today, 16Oct11.)
http://seekingalpha.com/author/mad-hedge-fund-trader