The second quarter is now behind us and for the most part it was a positive one in terms of the market pushing higher almost 40%. This is the second review of my 2009 stock picks through June 30 (see: Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more). There was a lot of talk about green shoots this past quarter as Wall Street was looking for any small bit of optimistic data to support the market.

The federal printing presses continued to run at full speed pushing the dollar lower and oil prices higher. While the feds were printing money to cover their deficits, the States do not have that same luxury and many of them are having trouble balancing their budgets to the tune of billions of dollars.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) has become a minority equity investor in International Derivatives Clearing Group (IDCG), the derivatives clearing unit that's a subsidiary of Nasdaq OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, nor was the size of the stake -- but it's definitely a symbiotic pact. IDCG will use securities servicing products provided by the bank, and Bank of New York Mellon's chief executive of broker-dealer services, Art Certosimo, will join IDCG's board.

"This strategic partnership with Nasdaq OMX provides our buy side and sell side clients with a flexible platform that meets their derivatives trading, clearing and servicing needs," stated Bank of New York Mellon President Gerald Hassell. Bob Greifeld, CEO of Nasdaq OMX, added that the partnership "lends support to President Obama's proposed reforms of the [over-the-counter] derivatives market."

The market spent the day as it has many a Friday in the summer: slowing going no where.

The University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment index showed a very modest increase in June up to 69, from 68.7 in May. The same survey showed that expectations for six months from now actually dropped.

Oil and gas prices still dominated the headlines. Oil still hovers around $72 and the average price of gas rose for the 45th consecutive day to $2.63. The has to rattle consumers who have precious little discretionary income as it is.

Internet search titan Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is apparently closing in on its goal to produce renewable energy at a price point cheaper than coal. In an interview with Reuters Tuesday, Google's green energy czar, Bill Weihl, said that the odds of success have improved during the past year, and predicted, "In three years, we could have multiple megawatts of plants out there."

After announcing in late 2007 its quest for "green" energy, the company's Google.org division began investing in solar thermal, geothermal, and wind technologies. The tech firm's keen interest in alternative energy sources was a contributing factor last year when President Obama named Google CEO Eric Schmidt as one of his advisers.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Steve Smith.

Shares of CardioNet (NASDAQ: BEAT) shares are off $0.20 to $18.60 and option volume is three times the daily average. The focus is buying in the June $17.50 put which has seen over 5,100 contracts trade, 90% of which occurred at the ask, and exceeds prior open interest of if 1,018 contracts. This new put buying is driving up implied volatility 14% to the 65% level this morning.

CREE Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) shares are up over 12% to $31.30 after the electronics parts manufacturer pre-announced and raised guidance. Options running 3X the daily average with 85% of trades on the call side. Active strikes are the include June $30 call and July $30 calls, with latter's volume exceeding strike's of 295 exceeding prior open interest. Notable is buying in longer dated series; the Sep $30 call, Dec $35 call and Jan 2010 $30 call have all traded over 200 contracts all of which exceed their strike's prior open interest.

Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) is up 19 cents to $9.15 and 2,500 Jun 10 calls traded. Nearly all the volume has been done at the asking price suggesting this speculative call buying.

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings results after the closing bell today. Analysts, on average, are expecting the company to report a profit of 8 cents per share, down sharply from ADSK's profit of 50 cents per share in the year-ago period. Sales for the period are expected to arrive at $419 million.

Thomson First Call reports that the software concern has exceeded Wall Street's consensus earnings estimates in each of the previous four reporting periods, but pessimism is nevertheless running high ahead of tonight's announcement. On Wednesday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 3,607 puts on ADSK, compared to just 84 calls. In other words, bearish bets were nearly 43 times more popular than their bullish counterparts.

The day's skeptically skewed option volume was simply the extension of a recent trend; ADSK boasts a hefty 10-day ISE put/call volume ratio of 9.56, indicating that traders have consistently preferred puts over calls during the two weeks preceding the earnings release. This ratio ranks in the 99th percentile, revealing that pessimistic options on the equity have rarely been in greater demand.

This post was written by Minyanville Contributor Smita Sadana.

A stock that I am keenly watching today is Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD), which is up in this down market. Minyans might remember that we had concluded a successful long trade in this stock. For more please see my note on April 24th.

Here are some thoughts on the new technical picture:

JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) closed at $34.82. JPM May option implied volatility is at 76; June is at 68; below its 26-week average of 84, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Financial Select Sector - XLF overall volatility at 61; 26-week average is 69.

NASDAQ 100 (NASDAQ: QQQQ) overall implied volatility at 32; 26-week average is 40.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Here are the unofficial closing numbers:

Dow 8,169.00 -16.73 (-0.20%)
S&P 500 872.42 -1.22 (-0.14%)
Nasdaq 1,715.10 +3.16 (0.18%)

Look for Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) to be smacked hard by selling pressure today. Late Wednesday, the company reported that improper handling of research and development test data and results by its employees has delayed the launch of its Down's Syndrome test. Sequenom said it's forming a special committee to investigate employee activity related to the tainted test data.

The company's SEQureDx tests the DNA of a fetus, via the mother's blood, in order to determine whether their blood groups are compatible. Although Sequenom can no longer rely on previously announced test data and results, Chief Executive Harry Stylli asserted, "We are not back at square one" on a conference call.

A Yahoo spokesman declined to comment, but reports indicate that the payroll cuts could be announced next Tuesday, April 21, when the Internet portal is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings results. Since she first joined the company in January, Ms. Bartz has made it clear that serious restructuring efforts would be necessary to repair Yahoo's struggling business.