The Volkswagen squeeze

Equity Derivatives

Porsche was once described as a "hedge fund with a car showroom" by Max Warburton, an analyst at New York-based investment management firm Alliance Bernstein. Many market participants felt there was good reason. The Stuttgart-based car manufacturer has consistently made huge sums of money through its equity options portfolio - in some years, more than it generated by making cars.

In its most recent earnings release, on November 7, the company revealed it had made a EUR6.83 billion gain on cash