Oil traded higher today. After falling for six straight session, U.S. crude was up 2.1% to $73.48. The catalyst was an expected drop in inventories. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will likely show a drop of 2.8 million barrels, according to Reuters analysts. Gasoline inventories were forecast down 300,000 barrels.

The rally was also fueled by the jump in U.S. stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1.17% powered by better than expected earnings from State Street Corporation (STT). Robert Yawger, commented that: "More than anything else, its the strength in equity markets that are supporting crude oil markets."

Twenty years ago, Nathan Most invented the exchange-traded fund (ETF) as a simple mutual fund that trades on exchanges like a stock. Then other creators like Blackrock Inc. (BLK) joined in, creating ETFs for commodities as well as exotic ones that double and triple returns. They are called 2x and 3x shares.

When first introduced, ETFs were shunned, mainly because investors knew little about the way they worked. Slowly, they gained momentum, and now there are some 260 such funds trading $40 billion globally. On some days, more than four out of ten trades on U.S. stock exchanges involve ETFs.

Here's a story about the psychological dynamic of stock market trading. When trading we work from preconceived assumptions, i.e. are we bullish or bearish. Usually we find traders on both sides of a market.

Byron Wien of the Blackstone Group (BX) is in the bullish camp. Here are some of his assumptions:

New circuit breakers will take effect next week on the NYSE aimed at preventing another "flash crash." Under this new system, halts are triggered based on where the price of the stock was trading during the previous five minute period. They will be in effect from 9:45 a.m. to 3:35 p.m.

During the crash of May 6, some stocks crashed to near zero. For example, Accenture (ACN) plunged from $40 to an incredible penny per share.

With institutional bulls and bears engaged in a battle over Dow 11,000 and with market's bull run showing signs of getting a little long in the tooth, investors are legitimately asking whether now is good time to exit certain stocks that have registered impressive gains, in anticipation of a correction.

The major unknown, of course, is whether a correction is up ahead. What's one act that will add ammunition to the bears' argument? The U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

The first quarter of 2010 is closed and the results are in. My picks surpassed the primary indices by a large margin. The original story, Chasing Value: 10 Stock Picks for 2010 , was the culmination of a process presented to our readers and finally narrowed down to the select group using final prices from Monday, December 28, 2009.

Manufacturing expanded in March at the fastest pace since 2004. The Supply Management's factory index rose to 59.6. This exceed forecasts by Bloomberg News survey of 77 economists. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.

"Manufacturing is on a tear" said Chris Rupkey of bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. "Manufacturing driven growth and export driven growth are getting us out of the recession and turning the recovery into a more sustainable one. As production increases, it means job gains are going to spread."