Brookfield Office Properties Inc T.BPO.PR.A

RE:RE:Ex-Dividend.... Let's see how many Pigeons Sell.

[SONOFFERGUS]

Ah yes Crazy, no one saw those surprise dividends coming!

I liked pierrelebel's assessment.  Ex-div is determined at a moment in time but the price action tells a story.  Stocks tend to move up into ex and down following, all else equal.  Ex for BPO is a huge test given their giant divs, and their illiquidity could have resulted in a serious selloff if big players were inclined to sell/short.  Pierrelebel's point is that they passed the test in the face of a shaky market and rising bond yields.

The usual decisions around ex are magnified in these shares.  In a liquid stock, the circumstances of buyers and sellers can be expected to net out so that the ex open price will be anchored to previous close less the dividend.

Big questions for BPO investors/traders/shorts:

How big is my position?  If big, how am I going to trade without moving the market?

If I were short and wanted to keep the position on, would I want to pay the big dividend or trade out and back in?  If so, would I ease out of the position or press buy on the day before ex?  

If I were long and wanted to keep going, would I take the big dividend or trade out and back in?  If so, would I wait until the day before ex?  If I wanted to get off this crazy train, would I sell before or after ex?  If after, do I sell on ex or wait for the dust to settle?

If I were running a NCIB with the intention of supporting the stock price, would I be buying before ex or letting the expectation of run-up before ex do the work and then start again on/after ex?  Do I take a breather after ex (no, pls and thx)?

Are my tax circumstances a big factor?  Do I get DTC, do I prefer cap gains over dividends, can I deduct dividend compensation payments if short?

It looks so far that we're through the possible inflection point safely.  Now if bonds can find a bid we'll be in good shape.