It so happens that markets already provide this information, in the form of the premium of a call option on the company's share-price.
Yet in an environment where option implied volatility is literally trading at a premium, the worth of the option has increased by more than six-fold in the space of three weeks.
Whereas if we were really close to expiration, there is a greater chance of all of the premium being lost on the option that is opposite of the stock price movement as the rate of time decay will increase exponentially.
Putting yourself in a situation where you can do so while at the same time being able to take advantage of option premium decay is an interesting concept.
Unlike with a futures investment, which is based on the current value of gold, the downside to options is that the investor must pay a premium to the underlying value of the gold to own the option.
This change could give customers the option of just buying one or two premium sports channels, rather than having to get them as part of a bundle of channels, as is currently the case with Sky and Virgin Media.
Your premium income for writing this risky put option takes the form of an enhanced yield on the bank note.
Given the intense interest this year from banks wanting to buy card companies, a potential sale of the unit for a premium could also have been an option.
Often during extended trading ranges, implied option volatility declines and the amount of time premium built into the price of the options of the security in question becomes very low.
But you are also getting a call option on the possibility that Viacom will sell a lot of premium services to its cable subscribers, using fiber-optic cable it has already laid in the ground.
Using options allows one to enjoy a greater level of volatility as the strikes being away from the market turn all option premium over to the time value.
In the case of the oil company, for instance, the cost of land corresponds to the premium (or down-payment) on a call option, and the extra investment needed to start production to its strike price (at which the option is exercised).
We have to say that offering additional programming above and beyond what is currently free is a pretty good strategy, but the other one we'd like to see is a premium option to view content commercial free -- no word on if any of the paid content will still have commercials.
ENGADGET: Hulu's subscription service might run $5 for access to select shows
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