UBS's $350M Facebook (FB) Trading Loss Doesn't Add Up...
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Traders are beginning to the question the validity of reports out of CNBC regarding UBS’s (NYSE: UBS) alleged $350 million trading loss. The question isn’t whether the firm has a loss of $350 million... the question is how is it possible?
Assuming UBS ended up with 6 million shares at a price of $42, tried to sell at $35, failed, and ended up selling at $33 per share – the loss would be $54 million. So, how many shares did the bank buy? 39 million shares?
Word on the street is either the UBS trader was a complete idiot-monkey pressing a button, or UBS took a proprietary position in the Facebook IPO. Another possibility is the firm ordered 1 million and ended up with 39 million shares. If that is the case, Nasdaq really has some explaining to do.
In any case, the $350M number is suspicious, to say the least.
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Assuming UBS ended up with 6 million shares at a price of $42, tried to sell at $35, failed, and ended up selling at $33 per share – the loss would be $54 million. So, how many shares did the bank buy? 39 million shares?
Word on the street is either the UBS trader was a complete idiot-monkey pressing a button, or UBS took a proprietary position in the Facebook IPO. Another possibility is the firm ordered 1 million and ended up with 39 million shares. If that is the case, Nasdaq really has some explaining to do.
In any case, the $350M number is suspicious, to say the least.
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