Yesterday was a perfect day

Small personal aside before I talk shop: yesterday, I went to Pavillon de la Grand Cascade for lunch and had an amazing 8-course meal with my mom and grandparents. The meal was incredible, truly haute cuisine. Then I came home and had a very happy GDP day - all of my stocks were up, and my entire portfolio jumped 23%, again, mostly due to ABK.

Good time for selling covered calls. I sold some SLM October calls with a strike of 20 for $0.45. I am ready for a big upswing, but at the same time, I recognize that another 20% rise by then would be a huge move for SLM. I hope that they will report earnings after my calls expire, but I do not have a problem with buying back if earnings are earlier than I assume.

I also sold some BBX September calls with a strike of 2.5 for $0.1. Free money.

I cannot take credit for this idea, but it is a good one:
MetLife (MET), the insurance giant, is doing a voluntary exchange offer in which holders of MetLife stock can tender in their shares to receive shares in a publicly traded subsidiary called ReInsurance Group of America (RGA). MET is doing this to distribute its 52% interest in Reinsurance Group's B shares (which currently are not listed). You can find official details of this offer at the information agent's website. To encourage participation in the exchange offer, MetLife is going to give holders of MetLife stock the three day volume weighted average price of MetLife stock + 11% of value of the three day volume weighted average price in Reinsurance group class A shares. So just as an example if the VWAP price for both stocks were $50, you would receive 1.11 shares of RGA.B for each MetLife share tendered into the offer. Subject to a limit of 1.3071 shares of RGA.B for every one share of MET.

This offer has an unusual provision for odd-lot holders. If you own less than 100 shares of MET, you will not be prorated should the offer be oversubscribed. It is safe to assume that giving a free 11% premium to rational stockholders will result in oversubscription.