MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that Federal Hole Loan Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: FRE) --Freddie Mac -- is considering raising capital by selling up to $10B in new shares to investors. The sources believe this effort may have the potential to avoid a full-blown government rescue.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that, amid U.S. investigations into allegations it helped American clients evade taxes, UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) said some Swiss-based private bankers will stop offering American clients Swiss bank accounts and other services.
• Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) will close store in 44 states plus the District of Columbia, including 88 closures in California, 59 in Florida and 57 in Texas, the Wall Street Journal reported.

WEB SITES:

• After Cleveland Cliffs Inc (NYSE: CLF) bought Alpha Natural Resources Inc (NYSE: ANR), there may be many more acquisitions in the coal industry, Bloomberg said.
• Reuters noted that, according to a person with knowledge of the plans, Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) could renew talks over News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) Web properties if Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) gets in the way of discussions with Time Warner Inc's (NYSE: TWX) AOL. Yahoo! is in contact with News Corp. about the assets, but the search engine's talks with Time Warner about AOL are more advanced, the source added.
  

Alpha Natural (NYSE: ANR) will be acquired by Cleveland Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) in a cash and stock transaction valued at $10 billion.

ANR stockholders will receive 0.95 CLF common shares and $22.23 in cash. Based on CLF closing price on July 15, ANR shares would receive $128.12 per share.

ANR August option implied volatility of 86 is above its 26-week average of 64 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

"As steel prices continue to climb, one company that is set to profit handsomely is Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF)," says Bill Martin.

Adding to the stock's appeal, the editor of BullMarket.com explains, "Event-driven hedge fund Harbinger Capital has been an aggressive buyer of the stock." Here's his review of the situation.

"Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs have been on fire, up over 150% year over year and they have more than doubled year to date. The Cleveland, Ohio-based company is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steel-making industry.

"Cleveland-Cliffs benchmarks iron ore prices to the price of steel, so when steel prices rise, so do iron ore prices. The company said all of its North American iron ore mines are producing at or near capacity.

"Cleveland-Cliffs ended the first quarter of 2008 with $186.5 million of cash and cash equivalents and $600 million in borrowings outstanding under an $800 million credit facility. The company expects to generate approximately $700 million in cash from operations in FY08 as it sells through its inventory.

"Event-driven hedge fund Harbinger Capital was an aggressive buyer of the stock in May, paying between $76.96 to $104.75 a share to add to its position in the name. For the month, the firm spent approximately $338.5 million to acquire nearly 3.7 million shares.

Cleveland Cliffs (NYSE: CLF), a producer of iron ore pellets, is at $116.55 in pre-open trading, above its close of $111.32.

Deutsche Bank says "Upping PT to US $150 on strong bulks." CLF over all option implied volatility of 61 is above its 26-week average of 54 according to Track Data, indicating larger share price movement.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nvidia, Entropic Comm and Cleveland Cliffs were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Piper initiated Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) with a Neutral rating and $23 target and believes the rate at which the company gained market share over the past two years is unsustainable. The firm expects EPS deceleration over the next few years.
  
• Piper believes Entropic Comm (NASDAQ: ENTR) is a key benefactor from the general adoption of high definition video consumer goods, as well as from growth in multi-room DVRs. The firm assumed shares with a Buy rating and $10 target.
  
• Cleveland Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) was started with a Buy rating and $135 target at Deutsche Bank. The firm believes CLF is a leveraged play on bulk commodities' momentum.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Merrill initiated Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Stifel initiated Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) with a Buy rating and $54 target, and initiated Bank of Florida (NASDAQ: BOFL) with a Buy rating.

Readers of this space know that the investment bias is toward large-cap companies with demonstrated business models and who have a competitive advantage in established markets, preferably with a favorable global trend as a support. And with the above in mind, Cleveland-Cliffs is worth an evaluation.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, and is also a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry.

Analysts like CLF's solid fundamentals, pricing power, and high customer retention rate.

It may be Independence Day week, but it appears that there are a number of companies willing to sell their independence to the highest bidder.

• XM SATELLITE RADIO HOLDINGS INC (NASDAQ: XMSR)

Word is that there's more than one bid out for the satellite radio company. We know about the merger agreement with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc's (NASDAQ: SIRI), so who's the other party? Or, is there another party? Some are convinced it's just talk. No names are even floating around. But for XM to walk away from Sirius would cost them a $175M break-up fee. They'd have to really be serious about another offer to do that.


• BUILDING MATERIALS HOLDING CORPORATION (NYSE: BLG)

In May, Robert L .Chapman of Chapman Capital, the "activist investor", said Building Materials Holding Corp. should consider selling all or parts of itself. Then he upped his stake to 8.1% in the residential construction services provider. Now comes word that the company may have hired, or be in the process of hiring, a strategic advisor.

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.

Cleveland Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) -- volatility suggests Risk on renewed Speculation; CLF at record. CLF, a producer of iron ore pellets, is recently up $2.38 to $80.26. CLF has been frequently mentioned as an M&A target. CLF has a market cap of $3.3 billion. CLF call option volume of 2,960 contracts compares to put volume of 783 contracts. CLF June option implied volatility of 49 is above its 26-week average of 37 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Pennsylvania REIT (NYSE: PEI) -- elevated implied volatility confirms buyout Speculation. PEI, with an investment focus on retail shopping malls and power and strip centers located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., is recently up $1.79 to $45.82. Take-over speculation is circulating on PEI this morning. PEI has a market cap of $1.66 billion with long term debt of $1.9 billion. PEI June option implied volatility of 39 is above its 22-week average of 20 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Option volume leaders today are: Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB).

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

Maybe this week's theme should be industry consolidation. At least that's where the rumors, and signs, seem to be pointing.

CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INC (NYSE: CLF)

Think iron pellets. If you do, you won't be alone. Lots of options folk think they've caught a takeover candidate, and have been picking up bullish options all over. Is it steel industry consolidation fever? Most probably. Rio Tinto plc ADS (NYSE: RTP) and Brazil's CVRD have been named as predators. Speculation about the company's future actually began late last summer for a company with a market cap of just $3B, which happens to be the largest producer of iron ore pellets in all of North America, and a key part of producing steel. The stock has been heading up for about seven months now. Makes sense.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORPORATION (NYSE: NSC)

Higher and higher goes the stock for a few reasons: Railroad stocks look to be buyout candidates, and some analysts are focused on the Southern, the fourth largest railroad in the U.S. The other reason? Mr. Warren Buffett also owns 6.4M shares worth over $300M. Good enough?

EQUITY INNS INC (NYSE: ENN)

There's speculation that the Inns are in buyout mode. The stock recently hit a 52-week high, and has been going up for about six weeks. Some who follow the company think it's definitely worth more than the $20 a share range.

And two that won't go away: Monster Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: MNST) and Sherman-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) are absolutely considered to be prime takeover targets.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) -- calls bid up aggressively on heavy volume on buyout chatter. CLF, a producer of iron ore pellets, is recently up $1.75 to $75.30 on unconfirmed take over chatter. CLF has a market cap of $3 billion. CLF is expected to file its 1st quarter 2007 form 10-Q in early June. CLF May 75 calls have traded 105 times on transaction volume of 1,712 contracts above its open interest of 935 contracts. CLF May 75 calls are bid $1.70 above its theoretical value of $1.05. CLF May 80 calls have traded 69 times on transaction volume of 1,818 contracts above its theoretical value of 626 contracts according to Track Data. CLF May 80 calls are bid 45 cents above its theoretical value of 04 cents, suggesting hedging for upside risks.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) -- volatility & volume Spikes on buyout Speculation. MOS, a producer & marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients, was spun out of Cargill in 2004. MOS is recently up $1.16 to $30.63. MOS is frequently mentioned as a take out target of Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT). MOS call option volume of 4,791 contracts compares to put volume of 643 contracts. MOS June option implied volatility of 48 is above its 26-week average of 36 according to Track Data, suggesting larger for upside price risks.

Option volume leaders today are: Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Apple Inc. (NADSAQ: APPL) and Mylan Labs (NYSE: MYL).

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