Daily Options Report

Did we really drop in the last hour because Meredith Whitney said something? This from the WSJ blog.

Analyst Meredith Whitney’s appearance on CNBC not long after 3 p.m. didn’t seem to cheer investors in the financial sector. The XLF, the ETF tracking the S&P financial sector, moved sharply lower while she spoke, though the drop mostly just pared back some of the gains the financial sector notched early on.

What exactly did she say? We have to admit, we had most of her interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo on mute. But over at CNBC.com, they’re publishing this headline: “Meredith Whitney: I Haven’t Been This Bearish in a Year; Look for Double-Dip Recession Next Year.” There’s no full story yet.

Dow Jones Newswires’ Brendan Conway reports that Whitney predicted bank shares will return back to tangible book value, implying a sizeable drop for a number of big financial stocks. (By way of background, Whitney first burnished her reputation by calling the big banks’ troubles before the worst of the financial crisis.)

As Oprah is to books, she has become to financial stocks. Actually, how cool would it be if Meredith got on TV and instead of answering another silly CNBC question, just gave cars out to the whole studio audience?

C'mon, admit it, this idea works even better than Cash for Clunkers. We stimulate auto sales, loans with usurous interest, and the bankrupcy lawyer business all in one fell swoop.

Update: OK, here's the link.