There has been little time to write lately because I have been wheeling and dealing in my investment world. However, I thought I would share one of the trades I did this week that seems like free money to me, and although the opportunity has faded a little I might do it again and you might want to examine this trade, too.

At the market open on Tuesday March 9, a good-til-canceled order filled -- selling to open Citigroup Inc. (C) January 2012 'puts' at a strike price of $7.50 -- paying $4.05. This transaction is commonly called a "naked put". The return on investment is 59% over the remaining 22-month period.

This is nuts because my break even position is $3.45 -- 20 cents a share less than it was the time of the trade and 60 cents less than the $4.05 (ironic isn't it) Citigroup is trading at now, as I type away.

Kimberly-Clark (KMB), first discussed here on June 22, 2009 at a price of $51.06, remains a preferred consumer stable operation, despite a recent stock price dip. Here's why:

Look for revenue to increase 5-7% in 2010, aided by impressive growth in emerging markets, particularly in KMB's personal care and health care units. Kimberly has successfully positioned itself as a global consumer products/personal products company, with 50% of its sales outside the U.S., including about 30% from Asia/Latin America; Kimberly sells products in more than 150 countries. Streamlined manufacturing and cost reductions complements the growth story, and a $2.64 annual dividend is an eye-opener.

All in all, it's been a tough IPO market this year. Even top companies have had trouble pulling off their offerings.

But recently, there have been some signs that things are improving. Just look at today's public offering of Sensata Technologies (ST). The company issued 31.6 million shares at $18 (the price range was $18-$20). So far in today's trading, the stock is up 3.4%.

CSX (CSX - option chain) shares are rising today along with most other railroad stocks after RailAmerica (RA) reported that freight carloads on its North American railroads rose 1.4 percent in February compared to February of 2009. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on CSX.

CSX opened this morning at $49.63. So far today the stock has hit a low of $49.63 and a high of $50.98. As of 12:05, CSX is trading at $50.48 up 59 cents (1.2%). The chart for CSX looks bullish and S&P gives CSX a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Shares of utility The Southern Co. (SO), first discussed here on June 19, 2009, at a price of $30.61, have meandered after breaking through key resistance near $33, but the company's business model still looks attractive. Here's why:

The Southern Co. is likely to be a top utility sector performer, and the reason is its Atlanta-area operations.

On Wednesday afternoon, interim CEO Robert Druskin confessed that E*Trade Financial (ETFC) is headed back to the drawing board in its search for a permanent new leader. At an investor conference, Druskin explained that the online broker's preferred candidate for the position was no longer in the running. (He didn't identify the erstwhile candidate, but we can safely assume it was not Lindsay Lohan.)

Druskin's announcement yesterday confirmed a recent report in The Wall Street Journal's Deal Blog. In a post published March 2, a trio of reporters explained that "E*Trade directors were concerned that the [top candidate] might become distracted by a pending divorce, according to people with knowledge of the discussions."

Sentiment regarding the dollar is turning more bullish -- a foreign exchange attitude that, at first, appears at odds with conditions on the ground. But is it?

The dollar bears point to back-back-back $1 trillion U.S. budget deficits, and the Fed's accommodationist quantitative easing policy. More dollars borrowed, more dollars in circulation, equals dollar-lower, the bears says.

"It's an understatement to say that 2009 was a lousy year for dividends. According to Standard & Poor's, last year was the worst year ever for dividends; in fact, dividend cuts caused investors to lose $58 billion in income over the year," says Chuck Carlson.

The editor of The DRIP Investor -- and author of the just released The LIttle Book of Big Dividends -- explains, "For 2009 overall, more than 800 companies cut their dividend payments, according to S&P. That was nearly 200 more than in 2008 and more than seven times the number of cuts in 2007."

Do you trade gold options? Do you trade S&P options? Are you trading long term options (LEAPs?) If you do, you would be using the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE).

The CBOE may be following in the footsteps of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the International Stock Exchange (ISE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), which have all gone public, The Financial Times cites sources.

Thursday morning, it was announced that British petroleum firm BP (BP) will pay $7 billion for a group of Brazilian assets held by American firm Devon Energy (DVN). In exchange, Devon will receive half of BP's Kirby assets in Alberta, Canada for $500 million.

BP believes the its entry into Brazil will "add a major position in another attractive deep-water basin." BP will dish out $7 billion for interests in 10 exploration blocks in Brazil, 240 leases in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico deep water, and a nearly 6% stake in an Azerbaijan development. As a result of the deal, BP will have complete control of the Kaskida field in the Gulf of Mexico.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) to buy from neutral, citing strong fundamentals and buybacks. The firm raised its target to $42 from $31.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded ProAssurance (PRA) to overweight from neutral. The firm has a $76 price target on shares.
• Hershey (HSY) and Sunoco (SUN) were upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman.
• Level 3 Comm (LVLT) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Cathay Pacific (CPCAY) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

ArcelorMittal (MT) was downgraded to hold from buy at ING, which noted that "major price increases imminent for iron ore and coking coal, we believe the steel industry may suffer from cost increases on the order of 35%, as new contract prices are set."

ING believes steel prices will rise 10% to 20%, which would then put the industry under pressure. If this scenario were to come to fruition, MT's costs could increase by roughly 15%. Although these increases are less than MT's peers, ING prefers putting money in "diversified mining shares."

Gasoline futures closed at $2.2851 a gallon on Wednesday. That's a gain of 21% since February. The price of gasoline futures is the price at wholesale. Retailers can up the price to whatever the traffic will bear.

Right now gasoline at retail is about $3 per gallon. Retail gasoline, which closely follows crude oil prices, is up 5.5% over the past three weeks and 42% higher than a year ago.

In early 2008, online marketing firm Eyeblaster filed for an IPO. Of course, it was horrible timing as the financial system melted down and the U.S. economy plunged into a major recession.

True, the economic system has since stabilized. But is the market ready for an Eyeblaster IPO?

Well, the company has refiled for an offering, hoping to raise $115 million.

Children's Place (PLCE) closed up 5% on Wednesday. Volume? Not bad at all. An earnings report got the market interested in the stock. Should the rest of us be just as interested?

For the fourth quarter, income from continuing operations, on an adjusted basis, came in at $1.03 per diluted share. The growth was very strong; last year, the retailer only made 72 cents per diluted share from continuing operations, excluding items. According to our earnings preview, expectations were right on target.