​Daily Bulletin: Tuesday Feb. 3

Both Staples and Office Depot saw above average trading today, as news broke the firms were potentially considering a merger. One investor opened a position on ODP, selling the April 9 – 10 strangle at USD1.20 9,472 times. ODP saw a 47 times increase in options trading, while the stock rallied 17.3%. SPLS also saw 13 times the usual flow, with 14,221 calls trading. March USD18 calls and March USD16 puts were the most active, while the largest trade was a 7,646 lot of March USD18 calls. We also talk to a Hawaiian pension fund today looking to diversify its covered call strategy with put writing. Covered calls are tipped to play a bigger role in pension fund portfolios in the coming year, according to the fund manager. In the people and firms section, Millennium Capital Management has hired an ex-volatility trader from Capula Investment Management, while a veteran chief portfolio manager has joined OMERS Capital Markets.