TD finally got back to me about exercising my 3/18s. Kinda get the impression they’re getting tired of the questions, and I’m also getting the impression that at this point, they’re firmly entrenched in this position.
edit: I did send a followup message basically asking him to confirm they’ll expire worthless like the 3/11 options did. I know the answer but I want him to say it.
Reposting this Tweet from TF:
https://twitter.com/jakecordell/status/1502681986007281664?s=21
So risk of last week repeating itself this week is slightly higher if that’s the case…
There’s significantly more OI for 3/18 so let’s hope there’s more favorable action this week.
Just a side note but dug into RSXJ the small cap Russia ETF that VanEck also has.
On 3/9 the valuation was already basically $0.01 per share but on 3/10 they decreased it even more. That ETF is also basically done. Cash value didn’t overall increase much 470k to 521k (because it really couldn’t since only seems like 1 active stock) but % is up to 92.86%.
EDIT: Found this on Bloomberg:
Bank of Russia announced it’s extending a halt on stock trading on the Moscow Exchange to March 18 from March 14.
At this point, I feel like I can only hope for the best, but prepare for the repeating of last week situation. Thanks Conqueror for the solid play, and thanks Phil for all the works and times that you put into this fight.
Basic calculation of what is at stake for this upcoming week. Nearly 9x of this week.
If we combine both weeks thats over $100mil. A pretty significant chunk of change…
pricing of contracts based on last sale price
Mind you this is just premium. If it were unhalted and dropped… The gains to be had would be SIGNIFICANTLY higher.
there will definitely be more sentiment behind the 3/18 puts compared to 3/11 since OI is basically 4x. Wonder how that will affect CBOE’s decision to unhalt or not
Followup from my followup lol. They are getting back to me much quicker than yesterday. Nothing new whatsoever, just another data point.
The message he is responding to is at the bottom of the screenshot.
@Gods maybe we could pull public sentiment into this. https://twitter.com/bobpisani/status/1498340493557518336?s=21
Don’t know if it’s going to do anything but maybe worth a shot. I mean this guy literally had van eco in the show talking about why RSX will keep trading. I understand CBOE is responsible for the halt but still.
Who knows, the SEC could’ve been the ones putting pressure on CBOE to halt the ticker.
Something else to consider is general sentiment. In these halts, I would say shorts and long put holders (without any underlying, that is, treating puts as shorts rather than downside protection) are the ones that get worked the hardest.
Very few people like short sellers or look out for their interests.
“Oh no, short sellers are losing money!”
“Good, fuck 'em.”
Hard to drum up support and get a body like the SEC to act on your behalf when popular sentiment is short sellers are destroying the market omg they’re making everything crash they must be stopped
This is kinda roundabout, but when those in charge have images to maintain and longs to appease, well.
But maybe I’m just a very jaded and cynical person. Maybe like a certain donkey, hah.
But, who knows. Maybe Van Eck has reasons for not announcing a liquidation beyond investor pressure. Maybe CBOE has a reason for keeping the halt in place that isn’t to protect the interests of a few. Maybe their hands really are tied, maybe it’s an edict passed down by the SEC they can’t refuse.
When it comes to brokers, though, the fact some like IBKR were allowing exercising shits on reasoning from TD that jee golly, none available to borrow. I’m wondering if it’s more in line with something akin to RH back during GME where they had to turn off the buy button because the position, as a whole, was simply too much for them. Maybe it’s the same for TD–so many of their accounts are short so many RSX shares already, it’s simply too much risk for them to take on to allow more shorts.
I don’t think we’ll ever get the full picture of what’s going on.
At any rate, here’s hoping there’s an unhalt or liquidation next week and folks with 3/18 positions can recover something. As usual, adding nothing of value~
Note that all brokers don’t share a common pool of shares available to short. It is possible that IB has shares to lend and TD does not - however I don’t find it likely given how many shares IBKR has avail (e.g. a lot)
I don’t know how quickly you can do an account transfer but anyone who has contracts with a broker that won’t allow you to exercise might want to consider opening up an IBKR margin account ASAP and initiating a transfer, if your situation allows.
I’m considering it, assuming a week is enough time. I’d also have to do a full account transfer owing to the margin requirements to exercise and be in a short position, which adds a little more time.
Already setup an IBKR account, going to contact TD to see if they’ll even initiate a transfer Monday for my options and then find out how long it’d take.
I’ve heard its better to initiate the transfer from the receiving firm (IBKR in this case) rather than the originating since they are more motivated, not sure if really matters though.
Ozon filed a 6k yesterday but looks to just be a change in one of the board of directors
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001822829/000119312522072554/d253840dex991.htm
Just recieved reply from TD after asking what the cost to borrow would be on Thursday (in a previous message they told me I could enter a short position)
The “market maker cut” comment is in response to me saying “so essentially market makers profit 100% of the premiums they sold and retail gets nothing”
My personal opinion they will try to keep it halted till 3/18 options go worthless as they did with 3/11. After which they will unhalt or delist or announce liquidation. MM wins fuck them
What he’s saying is true. They collect their premiums at the time the options are traded.
But what just happened saved their asses from getting assigned so fucking much at everyone else’s expense.
Right, but it doesnt mean they didnt gain anything from it being halted when they neither had to buy to close or get assigned considering where the stock was headed.
Just by way of an update, looks like they did exercise the 3/11 5P and initiate a short position for 400 shares. (Had 4 contracts.)
They did offset the premium of $1.16 against the short price though, so instead of being short at $5, it’s showing that I am short at $3.84.
At the end of the day, the net impact to P&L will be the same.
Will just have to ignore the “-47% unrealized loss” in red till the next trading day because they are currently marking it against the last traded price of $5.65 while NAV is $0.30. 
