When the market started to crap the bed last year, hundreds of public companies were faced with the prospect of delisting due to their low share prices and market caps.

Because of the unusual nature of the circumstances -- and the fact that they had much bigger problems to devote resources to -- the NYSE and Nasdaq elected not to enforce minimum share price requirements temporarily. But now that the market has rallied, what about companies that haven't been able to get their share prices back up a bit?

The market was able to stage a late day rally which erased some of its earlier losses, but still ended the day in the red, with all 3 major indexes closing down on the day.

September is typically not a good month for the market, but even with today's losses this September was positive, as more and more investors have started to believe the economy is coming out of its recession.

Late Thursday Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI) disclosed it had received a notice from the Nasdaq stock exchange on Tuesday that its share price has closed below $1 for 30 consecutive days, and is therefore not in compliance with the exchange rules. This means it could possibly be delisted.

Sirius has until March 15, 2010, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price rule, meaning its stock has to close at or above $1 for 10 consecutive business days.

A new day is dawning for regulation of interest rate swaps. Fifteen banks have agreed to clear 90% of new credit derivatives by December. Banks will also submit 60% of existing interest rate swaps to a central counter party.

What does this mean? It means that trades will clear through an independent counter party called a clearinghouse. What then is a clearinghouse? A clearinghouse is a central counter party that serves as buyer to every seller and seller to every buyer. Commodity futures trades pass through a clearinghouse.

What kind of numbers are we looking at? The interest rate swaps market is a $403 trillion market.

U.S. stock markets are poised to rise today as more and more positive data convinces Wall Street that the economic recovery is for real.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500 Index were all indicated higher following a rally in overseas markets. Germany's Dax, France's CAC-40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 all posted strong gains. Japan's Nikkei 25 also rose while China's Hang Seng declined.

For those looking for silver linings, there are plenty to choose.

The stock market seems like it needs a rest today.

After posting strong performances earlier this week following growing optimism about the economy and the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the main indexes appear headed toward a muted opening. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq Composite Index were trading down in pre-market action.

Whether this rally will hold depends on a few things. The U.S. Commerce Department is due to issue its durable goods report for July later this morning. As the Associated Press notes, "Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predict orders to U.S. factories for items expected to last at least three years increased 3 percent in July, due in part to increased auto sales from the government's Cash for Clunkers program." They fell in June.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the tech industry benefits because the Obama administration pays it little attention.

When you get a streak like technology's had here -- and I am including the Nasdaq as a barometer of tech, with its 11th consecutive positive close -- you have to ask yourself: Is there something going on that's even bigger than the visible themes? I'm talking something beyond low inventories for semis, new product cycles based on Internet mobile, and valuations that got out of hand to the downside.

And I think I have it.

Washington doesn't care about tech. Tech can do what it wants. Tech's not unionized, so Card Check and arbitration, the next battleground, doesn't affect it. Tech doesn't pollute much, so cap-and-trade doesn't mean much. Tech's not much for pensions or for any help from the government with health care. It has virtually no legacies and is largely 401(k).

When oil lost almost $3 a barrel, stock futures indicated a lower opening for today. Just shy of 5 AM, S&P 500, Down Jones, and Nasdaq 100 futures were all off 0.9%. The drop in oil to $64 a barrel has called into question any projections of a quick economic recovery -- as if high unemployment weren't enough. The Monday after any long weekend is hard, and this one's going to hurt.

The direction in which futures are pointing continues Thursday's equity declines in the United States, bringing the S&P 500 its third consecutive weekly loss. For the day, it lost 2.91%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.63% of its value, with the Nasdaq Composite Index giving up 2.67%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is down 5.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.8%.

For the first time in two months, short interest increased on the major exchanges from the May 15 - May 29 period. On the NYSE, the overall number of shorted shares rose 1% to 15.29 billion; Nasdaq short interest rose 3.6% to 6.6 billion shares.

The NYSE short-interest ratio reached 2.7, while the Nasdaq's ratio hit 3.1. The short-interest ratio can be loosely defined as the number of days, at the average daily trading volume, it would take to buy back all shares currently sold short.

This potentially indicates a turning tide toward bearishness after a March-May period that was painful for the short sellers and others maintaining a bearish disposition. With the S&P 500 Index moving back to challenge the 950 area, the bears may becoming a bit more brave. Are we range-bound, do we have further to run, or are we setting up for another correction phase? Share your thoughts in the comments field.

Beth works for The Options News Network (www.ONN.tv), which provides daily stock and options commentary. The above comments are not intended as trading advice.

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:

The market is down again today and there are millions of people trying to figure out why. Some will tell you they know why and give you a plausible rationale. There may be bits of truth here and there but there is also an arbitrary nature too. If not arbitrary, then haphazard.

The market may be down because nobody in Washington - Obama, Benanke or Geitner - made a speech today pounding the drum for a brighter economic outlook.

It could be because oil prices have been slowly rising again as inventories are drawn down.

Wow! Did you know that the the Nasdaq has moved up to or beyond its 200-day moving average? If there's one number that turns traders on it is the 200-day moving average. It creates a new confidence that all is well and it's safe to jump back into the stock market.

We've had two months of steady gains, and now investors who didn't have the courage of buy at the low are in panic mode. They want on board. They want a piece of the action. This is causing more sustained buying. We are just about finishing the mess of bank "stress tests" and this is adding a sigh of relief for the banking sector.

Alcoa Inc. (AA) must have drawn the short straw to be the economic canary in the coal mine decades ago, but for many investors the aluminum maker's earnings are seen as a harbinger of things to come. Judging from Wall Street estimates, expectations are so low, they are almost laughable.

Analysts expect the Dow component to lose 56 cents per share on revenue of $4.08 billion compared with $303 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier on revenue of $7.38 billion, according to estimates by Thomson Reuters. The Pittsburgh-based company reported its first loss in six years in January. Its shares are down about 30 percent this year, even with the recent surge in the stock market.

For the past few weeks, investors have "partied like its 1999" as in the heady days of the tech bubble and not the song by Prince.

They have taken a "What me worry?" attitude that would make Alfred E. Neuman, the fictional mascot of "Mad" magazine proud, sending the major indexes soaring after data showed some small signs of improvement, even though the economy lost 663,000 jobs in March.

After being down 25% for the year in early March, the NASDAQ is back to even for 2009. It is an extraordinary rally which shows that tech can still dig the market out of a funk. The fact that shares in companies like Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) are up for the year helps.

For the day:

Dow 7,908.55 +158.74 (2.05%)
S&P 500 832.72 +18.84 (2.31%)
Nasdaq 1,587.00 +58.05 (3.80%)