[Cicero]

If you buy 50 calls, all you stand to lose is your shirt. If you sell 50 puts, your risk of loss is virtually unlimited. Who knows what kind of derivative positions the thousands of traders at JPM may have gotten into?

[gcruse]

I enjoyed the strips (?) where a dividend yielding stock has its yield sold to one guy and the underlying stock to the other guy. Heavy exposure is then accomplished by large margin buying of yield strips. The guy with the stock got its market gain and a fee from the strip holder. He seldom lost, but didn't have that much gain, either. Stability for thee, risk for me. Interesting stuff. There were some stupendous gains. I never heard about the losses, but you know they were out there.