Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) closed at $29.87. MT is in advanced discussions with its principle bankers to improve its financial leverage covenant banking facility. MT is expected to report Q2 EPS on July 29. MT August and December option implied volatility of 69 is below its 26-week average of 77, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Regis Corp (NYSE: RGS) closed at $12.23. RGS announced on July 8 a convertible note offering and a common stock offering of 11.5M RGS shares priced at $12.37, with net proceeds of $281M. RGS July option implied volatility is at 62, August and December is at 65; verses its 26-week average of 66, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

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

"The steel stocks tend to go through boom and bust cycles depending on global economic activity; they have been pummeled over the last year, as the global economy slowed," notes turnaround expert George Putnam.

In his The Turnaround Letter, he explains, "But the news about steel is not all bad." Indeed, he believes some steel companies are poised for a turnaround. Here's his review of 6 leading steel production companies.

"Weakness in two big steel consuming industries, autos and construction, has been particularly troublesome for the steelmakers.

"However, there is evidence that steel inventories are gradually being worked off to low levels. There are also signs that economic activity in China, which is a huge consumer of steel, will not fall off as far as some economists initially feared.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is recently up 17 cents to $15.38 in pre-open trading. INTC was fined $1.45 billion by the European Union for using rebates to impede competition. INTC said orders and billing so far in the June quarters have been better than INTC originally expected. INTC May 15 straddle is priced at 63 cents, June 15 is priced at $1.65. INTC option implied volatility of 44 is below its 26-week average of 52, according to Track Data suggesting decreasing price movement.

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) closed at $26.23. MT has recently announced it would make layoffs and idle iron-producing operations. MT June option implied volatility of 80 is below its 26-week average of 93, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

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

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT), a global steel producer, is recently trading at $26.90 in pre-open trading, below its close of $31.70. MT reported Q3 EPS of $2.79 verses consensus of $4.01. MT December option implied volatility of 94 is above its 26-week average of 54 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) closed at $9.01 Tuesday. MTL is a Russian mining, steel and power company. MTL December option implied volatility of 177 is above its 26-week average of 88 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

US Steel (NYSE: X) is recently trading at $38.75 in pre-open trading, below its close of $41.17. X November option implied volatility of 97 is above its 26-week average of 71 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

Eoin Treacy of Fullermoney says that as commodities prices weaken, you need to look carefully before investing.

Q. Eoin, I've read that China's annual consumption of copper has declined from a 28.66% growth rate to 2.4%. What does that mean for continued growth in China and also for the global copper market?

A. China and indeed much of Asia and the Middle East are in a generational-long period where they have to build infrastructure from the ground up. The push for educating, housing, transporting and employing large young populations requires massive investment, fueling demand for commodities across the boards.

The supply side was completely taken unawares by this demand following the 20-year crushing bear market that cut exploration budgets to the bone. That is now changing, as major mining groups compete for the best resources, particularly in politically stable parts of the world.

China continues to lead the world in terms of GDP growth, although it has recently manufactured a slowdown to combat rising inflation, generally positive for the economy.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) net income rose on membership growth and a hike in premium rates.
• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) beat Q2 estimates, excluding charges related to its international cigarette unit.
• Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Q2 profit doubled on higher prices and it offered upbeat guidance.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Q2 net income rose on higher rates but missed expectations.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) earnings were in line with expectations, but revenue fell short.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) posted another record quarterly profit but Wall Street was looking for more.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) missed Q2 revenue estimates as fuel prices depressed growth.
• IAC/InterActive Corp. (NASDAQ: IACI) swung to a Q2 loss on a one time charge, but revenue rose.
• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) beat Q2 earnings expectations on price hikes, and raised its guidance.
• McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) reported healthy Q2 results and announced an acquisition.
• MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) missed earnings expectations and lowered its full-year guidance.
• Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) reported record Q2 results and forecast a strong next quarter.
• Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY) said Q1 profit tumbled on rising fuel prices and recession fears.
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) said it expects a narrower Q2 loss ahead of the merger.
• Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) swung to a Q3 loss on charges related to store closings.
• Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) Q2 earnings fell 67% but still beat Wall Street estimates.
• Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) posted better-than-expected earnings driven by Iron Man and Indiana Jones.

For more highlights from this week, see: General Motors, Motorola, Disney, Sony, Visa, CBS and others

Upcoming quarterly reports include Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Jack-in-the-Box (NYSE: JBX), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), and Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Procter & Gamble, Human Genome and Arcelor Mittal were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to Hold from Buy on valuation and their expectation for slowing short-term industry growth, especially in beauty.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Human Genome (NASDAQ:HGSI) to Hold from Buy as they believe giving up Syncria's royalties removes an important value driver for the stock.
  
• HSBC downgraded shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE:MT) to Neutral from Overweight on valuation and believes the company needs to raise prices more than costs have risen for iron ore, coking coal and steel scrap.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• BAE Systems (NASDAQ:BAESY) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Merrill downgraded Zoltek (NASDAQ:ZOLT) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) and International Paper (NYSE:IP) to Neutral from Outperform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: AstraZeneca, Massey Energy and Freeport McMoRan were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Dresdner Kleinwort upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Buy from Hold following the company's settlement with Ranbaxy on the Nexium patent.
  
• Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Massey Energy citing the company's leverage to metallurgical coal prices in 2009.
  
• Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was upgraded at HSBC to Overweight from Neutral on valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  
• Merrill upgraded Bernis (NYSE: BMS) to Neutral from Sell.

"I've never been a big fan of deep cyclical industries, such as autos, chemicals, and steel; the companies tend to have violent swings in their results as a result of economic cycles," observes Chuck Carlson.

However, says the editor of The DRIP Investor, "Every so often I'm willing to make an exception for a well-run cyclical company. Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) is such a company." Here is his review.

"Arcelor Mittal is the world's number one steel company, with 310,000 employees in more than 60 countries. It has demonstrated the ability to navigate the often-difficult waters of the steel industry.

"For investors who are looking for stocks that should hold up in an inflationary environment, Mittal should be of interest. The company has pricing power -- for example, the company just announced a $100-per-ton price increase on its carbon and high-strength low-alloy plate steel products for all North American orders, effective May 4.

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) shares are trading higher this morning on news that the company is raising prices of flat-carbon-steel products in Europe by 40 euros a ton, citing higher raw-material costs. If you think that the company 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 MT.

After hitting a one-year low of $48.07 last February, the stock hit a one-year high of $83.88 in October. MT opened this morning at $75.95. So far today the stock has hit a low of $75.72 and a high of $76.63. As of 11:05, MT is trading at $76.21, up $1.34 (1.8%). The chart for MT looks neutral and improving.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a June bull-put credit spread below the $55 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 9.9% return in just four months as long as MT is above $55 at June expiration. Arcelor Mittal would have to fall by more than 27% before we would start to lose money.

MT hasn't been below $55 since August and has shown support around $71 recently. This position could be risky if the worldwide demand for steel slows, but even if this happens, our trade might be protected by the strong support the stock might find around $60, where it bounced last month

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in MT.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: WellCare Health, Beacon Power, Tuesday Morning, West Pharmaceutical Services and Vectren were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of WellCare Health (NYSE: WCG) to Buy from Hold, as they believe the investigation could most likely result in fines as opposed to the loss of contracts with the company's government customers.
  
• Merriman raised its rating on Beacon Power (NASDAQ: BCON) to Buy from Neutral, as they believe the company is well-positioned for significant penetration of the growing frequency regulation markets.
  
• Piper upgraded shares of Tuesday Morning (NASDAQ: TUES) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company's sales and margins trends are stabilizing.
  
• UBS upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE: WST) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Vectren (NYSE: VVC) to Buy from Hold, as they believe 2008 will be an inflection point with the share issuance and rate relief aiding earnings.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman added Roche (OTC: RHHBY) to its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at McAdams, Wright.
  
• Thomas Weisel upgraded MasterCard (NYSE: MA) to Market Weight from Underweight.
  
• UBS upgraded Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Hold.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Monster Worldwide, Business Objects, Arcelor Mittal, Walgreen and Sealy Corp were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Wachovia downgraded shares of Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) to Market Perform from Outperform citing increased risk of an economic slowdown and execution issues in its N.A. Careers segment.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Business Objects (NASDAQ: BOBJ) to Neutral from Outperform on valuation with shares above their $46 target.
  
• Banc of America downgraded Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Neutral from Buy on valuation. The firm also downgraded Walgreen (WAG) to Sell from Buy, as they see further downside following the Q4 miss and believes the problems in Q4 are company-specific and not industry-wide.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Sealy Corporation (NYSE: ZZ) to Sell from Hold following the Q3 results, as they believe Sealy faces increased competitive pressures at the high end of the market where the best margins are derived.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs removed Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Merrill Lynch added Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) to its Least Preferred List.
  
• ABN Amro downgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Soleil downgraded Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) to Hold from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Genentech, HSBC Holdings, Suntech Power, SunPower and Force Protection were today's noteworthy initiations:

• UBS is positive on Genentech Inc's (NYSE: DNA) leading industry franchises and potential upside from development projects and started shares with a Buy rating and $101 target.
  
• HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) was assumed with a Reduce rating at WestLB, as the firm believes subprime concerns may hold back shares in the near-term.
  
• Jefferies initiated shares of SunTech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) with a Buy rating and $45 target. The firm believes the company is positioned to beat 2007 and 2008 expectations by ramping manufacturing capacity and production faster than expected.
  
• Jefferies also resumed coverage of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) with a Hold rating and $90 target, citing valuation, but believes the stock's higher multiple is justified given the company's superior growth potential.
  
• Force Protection Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and Friedman Billings, as they believe near-term production expectations are too high given emerging DOD funding issues.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Lehman started shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) with an Overweight rating.
  
• UBS started shares of RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Cowen resumed coverage of Savient Pharmaeuticals Inc (NASDAQ: SVNT) with an Outperform rating.
  
• Morgan Keegan started shares of Heartland Payment Systems Inc (NYSE: HPY) with a Market Perform rating.

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) implied volatility of 39 above 26-week average of 34.

MT, a global steel producer, with a market cap of $82 billion, closed at $59.60. Bank of America said on 8/23 that the company is "well positioned for Long Term value creation; initiate with a Buy." MT overall option implied volatility of 39 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) implied volatility of 39 above 26-week average of 34.

NUE is engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. NUE closed at $51.53. Merrill Lynch upgraded NUE to Buy from Neutral reports DJ. NUE over all option implied volatility of 39 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

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

Cleveland Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) July implied volatility at 45 on report of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) interest. CLF, a producer of iron ore pellets, is recently up $2.83 to $79.28. CLF has a market cap of $3.2 billion. AMM.com reported MT is pursuing a deal for CLF. CLF July option implied volatility of 43 is above its 26-week average of 35 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) option volatility is flat on renewed Speculation. CRM, an on demand customer relationship management applications company, is recently up .73 to $46.28 on renewed takeover speculation. Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)has been frequently mentioned as interested in CRM. The Cowen Group reiterated is Neutral rating on CRM. CRM July option implied volatility of 39 is near its 26-week average of 42 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

Option volume leaders today are: Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and EMC (NYSE: EMC).

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