Steel Options
Mittal Steel is trying very hard to take over their rival Arcelor. It is said that Arcelor is worth $40 billion and it produces 10 percent of the worlds steel. Is Mittal Steel counting on the bullish steel prices to continue in the future.
Toyota has plans to put up their 8th plant in North America as their cars continue to be the best sellers in the USA.
Gas prices have dipped a bit since February and I imagine it will fall a few more cents since Memorial Day will be here soon, but after this holiday it will go up again.
Options
Stock options are options that use the stock to figure out the value. You are able to gain more leverage that allows you to purchase the stock at a lower cost. There are basic methods of a option to buy (call) or to put (sell) the future of a stock before their expiration date (strike price).
Take the ETF for example NASDAQ 100 Trust Shares (QQQQ) at 39.35 has a Jun 2006 40.0000 call (QQQFN.X) which costs 0.55 per option. By buying this option you are buying in hopes that the stock goes up to make profit, so every thing above 40 is pure profit for you. That means if the stock goes up to 43 you make $3 per option without the 39.35 price, but the 0.55 price. Now if the stock falls below 40 you will loose out on the 0.55 per share you invested. Like every other stock options you can go both ways by buying (if you expect the stock to rise) or putting (if you expect the stock to fall). Options are considered very risky by many since they have a certain expiration date and you are not actually owning the stock, but the option to buy or sell.
