Photo by Anna Prokopová
In a much-publicized spat with the Chinese government, Google (GOOG) has threatened to leave the country because, according to the company, its infrastructure was hacked in an attempt to gain access to the contents of Gmail accounts belonging to human rights activists in China. Obviously, considering that China already has more than 300 million internet users, this is a big deal for GOOG.
What is interesting is that before the open, the reaction of GOOG stock is muted. It is down only about $9, which on a $600 stock is about 1.5%. The biggest reaction is in Baidu, Inc. (BIDU); that stock is up about 15% this morning. The thought is if GOOG leaves, then BIDU will own the Chinese search market.
Because this is expiration week, there are some very large increases in options value in BIDU. With the stock at $445 in premarket this morning, the Jan 400 calls will now be worth at least $45. They closed at about $1.5 last night.
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