Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) closed at $32.30. Crude oil futures are recently down 1.86% to $50.65 a barrel according to Bloomberg. April option implied volatility is at 69; July is at 66; below its 26-week average of 80, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Harmony Gold (NYSE: HMY), the fifth largest gold producer globally, closed at $12.15. Gold is recently down .47% to $954.30 according to Bloomberg. HMY April option implied volatility of 67 is below its 26-week average of 89, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing movement.

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

This article is part of a 20 article special report on "Metals, miners and money".

"The Fed's bailout of the mortgage markets has reignited fears of inflation and of a slow-motion meltdown of the dollar," says Mark Skousen, editor of Forecasts & Strategies.

"That makes now a good time to own mining stocks, particularly Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX), which made a very smart move in March when it bought Phelps Dodge for $26 billion. The purchase made Freeport the world's largest publicly-traded copper company.

"It now has a huge, long-lived, geographically diverse portfolio of mining assets. And the acquisition of Phelps is producing tens of millions of dollars in unexpected savings. The buy will result in an immediate 30% spike in Freeport's annual sales.

"With Freeport opening a new copper mine in Arizona ahead of schedule this year -- one that will produce at least 240 million pounds of copper per annum -- and the new company enjoying huge new economies of scale, expect this stock to continue its rapid run."

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Semiconductor sector was the most notable upgrade today, made by the Stephens Group; the firm believes the risk of a severe downturn is moderating and that 2007 will likely be an up year rather than a down year.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Safeway Stores Inc. (NYSE:SWY) to Neutral from Underperform, a move that comes after yesterday's analyst meeting provided new information that shows Blackhawk is a meaningful initiative and 2007 guidance exceeded expectations. Additionally, Safeway's target was raised to $35 from $25.
• JP Morgan upgraded Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd. (NYSE:HMY) to Overweight from Neutral, increasing L-T gold price forecasts to $575/0z from $525/oz , expecting shares to outperform the sector.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Palm Inc. (PALM) and SiRF Technology (SIRF) topped today's list of upgrades.

• ThinkEquity upgraded Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) to Buy from Accumulate and said that the delay in 750 certification, Palm's shortfall, should be resolved by the early part of the third quarter.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRF) to Equal-Weight from Underweight; they now believe consensus estimates are in-line with their own.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• The Bombay Co. (NYSE:BBA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Friedman Billings Ramsey; they believe management has worked hard to turn the company around and that Bombay has the ability to make money over time.
• Pacific Crest upgraded BEA Systems (NASDAQ:BEAS) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $16 target and said BEA System's sell-off is overdone.
• Harmony Gold (HMY) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight and Newmont Mining (NEM) to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.
• Lehman Bros. upgraded Electronic Data Systems (EDS) to Overweight from Equal-Weight with a $32 target; following discussions with management, Lehman's confidence in the company's ability to cut costs and increase margins have improved.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).