In considering my 2011 picks I took a look at Boeing Co (BA), interested by the story. There are many ways for this company's future to play out in a very positive scenario.

The airline industry has been rejuvenated as of late -- and that is good news for aircraft manufacturers. The Republicans won the house majority and that usually improves the fortunes of defense contractors.

The 787 Dreamliner, now three years and counting behind schedule, is in test flight mode. The plane portrayed as a dream to travelers and airline companies has turned into a nightmare of sorts, or at least the dream has changed. Boeing is dreaming of the day they start manufacturing and selling and profiting from all their labor.

Stocks tried to open positive today but geopolitics and oil kept things from being a solid win throughout the trading day. Oil's gain is spiking gasoline higher in local markets and soft commodities took a breather. Weekly jobless claims went back under the 400,000 mark again despite dollar weakness, but new home sales were down by the double-digits again.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,068.50 -37.28 (-0.31%)
S&P 500 1,306.10 -1.30 (-0.10%)
Nasdaq 2,737.90 +14.91 (0.55%)
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Delta Air Lines (DAL - option chain) stock is trading lower today along with other airlines this morning, hurt by rising oil futures. Oil futures shot up over 7% this morning in response to growing political turmoil in Libya. Libya is the largest oil producer in North Africa, and is responsible for 2% of global daily output. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on DAL.

This morning, DAL opened at $10.99. So far today the stock has hit a high of $10.99 and a low of $10.59. As of 12:35, DAL is trading at $10.65, down $0.85 (-7.3%). The chart for DAL looks bullish and S&P gives DAL a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

The stage is set for a recovery in certain industries. They've been hit hard the last three years, pounded by a slow economy. But now things are starting to change, and if you believe the worst is over, then these sectors should see good advances in 2011.

Car Companies: They're hiring. Toyota Motors (TM) just announced the re-opening of its Mississippi plant after being dormant for two years. It needs 2,000 workers. GM (GM) is hiring 1,000 engineers and researchers in Michigan over the next two years focused on hybrid and electric cars. Chrysler is looking for 1,000 engineers and others to create small and midsize vehicles in its partnership with Italy's Fiat. Fiat controls Chrysler. Ford is the most healthy of the U.S. producers, having never touched government funds.

More Monday merger fun, this time from the airline sector. Reportedly, Southwest Airlines (LUV) announced that it will purchase AirTran Airlines for roughly $1.42 billion.

This move will be funded mainly with debt, and it will help Southwest establish a larger presence in cities like Boston and New York. What's more (as the article points out), Southwest will now be in "head-to-head competition with Delta Air Lines in Delta's home base of Atlanta."

Toll Brothers (TOL) closed down 50 cents to $16.60. TOL is expected to report Q3 EPS on August 25. September put option implied volatility is at 41, December is at 44; verses its 26-week average of 41, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional near term price movement.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) closed down 58 cents to $10.78. WTI Crude Futures are recently down 1.35% to $74.40 according to Bloomberg. DAL call option volume of 11K contracts compares to put volume of 11K contracts. September put option implied volatility is at 52, December is at 57; near its 26-week average of 53 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

News is surfacing that Google (GOOG) will purchase ITA Software. ITA is a technology company that owns specialized software that enables customers to find "sophisticated flight information." The acquisition will allow Google users to comparison shop for airline tickets.

Before we get all excited about how much money this is going to add to Google's bottom line, remember that it will not be earning money on tickets sold as the company is not entering the travel business. That said, this acquisition and the airline search service could drive more traffic to Google (if that is even possible), which leads to more page views, which leads to more money.

Protests and riots in Greece continued as the country's financial situation remained on the edge of the abyss. It seems that even a $144 billion aid package isn't going to be enough to calm the skeptics.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow 10,866.83 -59.94 (-0.55%)
S&P 500 1,165.87 -7.73 (-0.66%)
Nasdaq 2,402.29 -21.96 (-0.91%)

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Blame the Greeks... Why should today be any different? The fear is that the Greek debt crisis is ready to spread. You have heard it before, and you will continue to hear it again. Maybe this is just the excuse the bears needed to take control. Suddenly, the VIX was back above 25 for the first time since February.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow 10,926.77 -225.06 (-2.02%)
S&P 500 1,173.60 -28.66 (-2.38%)
Nasdaq 2,424.25 -74.49 (-2.98%)

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Early this morning, United Airlines (UAUA) and Continental Airlines (CAL) announced that they will join forces to create the world's largest airline in a $3 billion deal.

The new airline will be bigger than Delta Air Lines (DAL) and will send flights as far as Shanghai and South America. The companies believe that the span of destinations should attract more business travelers and their higher fares. The deal, which will need approval from shareholders and antitrust regulators, is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The new company will be known as United Continental Holdings and will be based in Chicago. The airline's largest hub will be located in Houston.

Air travel continues in a state of flux thanks to a "huge cloud of ash" emanating from an Iceland volcanic eruption. In fact, this cloud of ash has covered half of Europe and caused the "largest disruption of air travel since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks."

After 6,000 flights were grounded yesterday, 17,000 are expected to remain on the tarmac today. What is the problem? Volcanic ash can block engines and cause them to fail. The problem isn't only in Europe, it has forced the cancellation of half of all trans-Atlantic flights. With thousands of air travelers stranded across the globe and no end in sight, is this another black eye for air carriers?

Another day, another airline fee and this time it's for carry-on luggage! Is there no limit to these fees? Spirit Airlines, out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is going to start charging a fee on August 1, 2010. The only group that is not chagrined are probably the nudists that travel light when vacationing.

Given all the fees the airlines are tacking on they might as well evolve into banks. Actually I think this is another instance where business has learned a bad lesson from government agencies. The government may require legislative action to raise taxes but bureaucrats the world over seem to be able to add new fees at will.

On Wednesday evening, reports began to surface that UAL Corp (UAUA) and U.S. Airways (LCC) may be discussing a merger. The New York Times noted that the two airlines are "deep" in merger discussions, which would create the nation's second-biggest airline. According to the report, this is the third time in the past decade that the two have talked merger. Will this time be different?

I honestly believe that this time will be different, in large part because of the economy. As The Times points out, Southwest Airlines (LUV) was the only low-cost air carrier to turn a profit last year. A merger between UAUA and LCC could turn the companies a profit faster than as separate entities.

After the closing bell Monday, American Airlines (AMR) announced that its March load factor came in at 81.7% -- an increase of 2.6 points compared to the same period last year. AMR's traffic increased 2.5% and capacity contracted 0.7% on a year-over-year basis.

AMR announced that domestic traffic increased 1.8% on a year-over-year basis thanks to 0.8% more capacity. International traffic gained 3.9% compared to a year ago, with capacity decreasing 3.1%.

The fact that 769.6 million passengers stepped onto planes in the U.S. last year sounds pretty impressive, right? Well, it's 5.3% less impressive than the year before, when 812.3 million boarded flights ... not to mention the 838.2 million in 2007.

The airline industry has spent the past two years getting brutalized by the global recession, which finally pushed it below the 800 million passenger threshold for the first time since 2004, when 763.7 million passengers took to the skies.