Litany Of Woes Sparks Renewed Bearish Options Trades On Inverse ETF

  Today’s tickers: SH, CLX, NABI & HWD SH  - ProShares Short S&P 500 –  Bearish investors are scooping up calls on the ProShares Short S&P 500 ETF this morning with 95% of stocks in the U.S. benchmark Index trading in the red today. Shares in the SH, an exchange-traded fund designed to correspond to the inverse of the daily performance of the S&P 500 Index, are up 1.45% to arrive at $41.55 as of 12:00 pm on the East Coast. Investors exchanged more than 8,000 calls at the August $44 strike against previously existing open interest of 2,231 contracts. It looks like most of the calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.25 a-pop. Perhaps call buyers are hedging long exposure to the index, or snapping up the calls to take an outright bearish stance on the near-term performance of the Index. The ongoing debt crisis in Europe, mind-numbing squabbling amongst U.S. lawmakers tasked with raising the debt ceiling, and concerns the economic recovery continues to soften are weighing down equities today. Signs that any of these factors are worsening could send the S&P 500 Index lower to the delight of call buyers. Investors holding the August $44 strike calls profit if shares in the SH rise 6.5% to exceed the effective breakeven price of $44.25 by expiration next month. The SH last traded above $44.25 back in December 2010, when the S&P 500 Index was hovering around 1243. Meanwhile, traders casting doubt on the likelihood of a sharp correction in the Index through August expiration sold around 1,500 calls at the August $45 strike to pocket an average premium of $0.15 each. Call sellers keep the full amount of premium as long as the contracts expire worthless at expiration next month. CLX  - Clorox Co. –  A sizable ratio put spread on the maker of cleaning supplies and Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing indicates one strategist is positioning for limited bearish movement in the price of the underlying shares through August…