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?

I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for American Express (NYSE: AXP), first recommended on April 27, 2009 at a price of $27.28. If you purchased American Express' shares then, you're up a modest 20% or so.

The pessimists regarding AXP have been off-the-mark. Don't misunderstand: we're still in an era of constrained credit with not enough capital (at least not enough capital deployed) for commercial operations, but credit market conditions are improving.

Well, now it seems that even the big boys have to play by the rules. What do I mean play by the rules? Apparently, if a bank wants to pay back the TARP monies, they must demonstrate that they can raise equity.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) were the only two banks that did not raise equity.

So there was an exchange between regulators and Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's chief executive, who said that he did not believe that ability to tap capital markets should have been relevant for his bank. He went on to say, "Any argument you can think of, you could assume we made with our regulators. And as you could also expect, they won.The primary reason was access to equity capital markets, and its hard for me to imagine that really applies in the JPMorgan case." So it seems that the exchange was spirited to say the least.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Adam Warner:

Smarter minds than yours truly have noted that the oil ETF United States Oil Fund (AMEX: USO) is not the best bullish play on crude here. My understanding of the product is that USO owns futures, and must roll each cycle. And right now oil is in deep contango, which always sounds pornographic but actually just refers to the fact that there's a particularly steep and upward sloped curve in the futures as you go out in time.

I'll take their word for the contango part, but I'm not entirely sure why that necessarily will knock down USO. They'll roll when they roll, and even if the spread is wide, won't it then just depend on what happens in the next month AFTER the roll? I'm thinking out loud here, so if anyone has something enlightening to add on this topic, I am all ears.

I sold and am selling more Nov. puts anyway, so it should not matter a great deal from my standpoint. And I'm not sure I really have a great alternative if I want to do something bullish in oil options.

I don't trade futures or futures options, and as far as pure oil there's Super Double Ultra Octane Special (AMEX: DBO), which does not have liquid options.

There's also Ultra Oil & Gas ProShares (AMEX: DIG) and UltraShort Oil & Gas ProShares (AMEX: DUG), but those track energy stocks.

When American Express (NYSE: AXP) announced its financial results Monday, earnings were down from last year's but not by nearly as much as Wall Street had feared. The message in that may be that the consumer is not quite as bad off as economists believe. The company's stock moved up on the news.

American Express reported a profit from continuing operations of 74 cents per share, higher than the 59 cents per share analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted. AMEX loan write-offs rose only modestly from the second quarter to 5.9% from 5.3%

The firm's management did not have much positive to say about the next quarter, but the fact that write-offs were relatively modest and that the company's revenue was up slightly is some sign that credit card users have not died and been buried. There is still reasonable retail commerce going on, based on the Amex numbers, and the huge increase in dead beats has not materialized.

Write-offs at Amex may get worse, or not. No one would have been terribly shocked if 7% or 8% of the company's customers were well behind in payments. News of the collapse in consumer spending led many people to that conclusion.

Fortunately, things were not that bad, and Amex shareholders got a little reward.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Back in 2001, Concur Technologies, Inc., (NASDAQ: CNQR) hit a low of 31 cents per share. At that time, investors had lost all confidence in the Internet. What's more, Concur was in an un-sexy space; that is, a provider of software to help companies with travel expenses.

But the company's CEO, Steve Singh, was still a believer and thought the market opportunity was huge.

Well, as of now, things are starting to pay off. In fact, this week, Concur announced that it received a $251 million strategic investment from American Express (NYSE: AXP) at $39.25 per share. There is also a warrant to purchase an additional 1.28 million share (see more of today's earnings news).

Minyanville's top dog, Todd Harrison, dares to ask in public what Wall Street types quietly consider in private. For more insight and ideas, visit www.minyanville.com.

Lot's going on today as I juggle the end of June. With time constraints on both sides of this screen in mind, I humbly offer the following thoughts:

• I covered the incremental "fade" exposure in Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) (put out near the opening) and I'm now in watch mode.
  
  
• It's tough to tell how much of the big beta action is quarter-end proppage and how much is legitimate demand. As I covered my American Express (NYSE: AXP) earlier--and continue to have exposure in Wachovia (NYSE: WB)--I'm leaving it on for the time being (and yes, subject to change).
  
  
• And yeah, I'm trading around that ugly duckling--nibbling under $15 and trading the swings. There's no putting lipstick on that pig--using it as my vehicle of choice has thus far been wrong. It ain't over till our interns sing, however, so I'm fighting the good fight.
  
  
• That sorta brings up the question du jour: Are we gonna see quarterly inflows... or quarterly outflows?
  
  
• The upside seems begrudging. Of course, after the decline we've seen, you'd be grudging too if you were Hoofy.
  
  
• Somebody call Armond Goldman! l I'm starting the South Beach Diet on Monday, lest anyone wonders what is happening to my sense of humor.
  
  
• The scariest thing on my screen? The VXO is down 6% today. I repeat, the VXO is down 6% today. Ruh roh...

R.P.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

In the battle for "cool history," American Express (NYSE: AXP) wins this one hands down. The company was started in 1850 as an express delivery service. At the time, the U.S. Postal Service was slow and unreliable, and sending anything important or valuable was ill-advised. The American Express Company was known for its "expressmen," who delivered valuable packages all over the country, usually on horseback or with stagecoaches.

After establishing a strong reputation for delivery service, the company later decided to phase out deliveries and move into financial services. They had delivered countless documents for banks, and the money business was appealing. American Express first offered money orders in 1882, followed by travelers cheques in 1891. The travelers cheque business was the main focus of the company for many years.

In 1958, the company gave in to market pressures and issued its first charge card. For almost 30 years, though, the card was not to be used as a "credit" card. All balances were to be paid in full each month. In 1987, that changed as American Express finally issued a card that allowed revolving balances.

Blank-check IPOs have been on the rise recently. There are companies that conduct initial public offerings for the sole purpose of raising capital to acquire other companies. American Apparel (AMEX: APP) recently went public in this manner.

Historically, Nasdaq listing standards have barred these companies from the exchange, which has been a big boon to the otherwise-struggling AMEX. Now the Nasdaq is proposing a new rule to the SEC that would allow SPACs to list on its exchange.

In the press release announcing the plan, Nasdaq Senior Vice President Bob McCooey said that "Acquisition vehicles are an increasingly common capital-raising device. We believe that listing them on Nasdaq, subject to these important investor protections, will benefit investors and issuers alike."

Maybe this is the right move, but it's interesting that Nasdaq was willing to stand by its principled objection to these entities until the amount of money they raise (and fees/trading volume they can generate) grew too big to ignore.

But I still think investors should be very skeptical of investing in these situations. How exactly do you research an investment in a company when you don't yet know what the business model is?

NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) shares are rising on news that the company will purchase the American Stock Exchange for $260 million in stock. The deal will give a second U.S. license for an option exchange, and make it the nation's third-largest player in the $1.3 trillion options marketplace. An analyst at Jefferies & Co. said that the deal allows NYX both to increase its electronic trading business and remain in a traditional trading model, where it has excelled. 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 NYX.

After hitting a one-year high of $106.81 last January, the stock hit a one-year low of $64.26 in August. NYX opened this morning at $72.97. So far today the stock has hit a low of $72.66 and a high of $75.20. As of 10:35, NYX is trading at $72.44, up $3.35 (4.7%). The chart for NYX looks bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a February 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 4.2% return in just one month as long as NYX is above $55 at February expiration. The NYSE would have to fall by more than 25% before we would start to lose money.

NYX hasn't been below $64 at all in the past year and has shown support around $70 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out on 2/05) disappoint, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock might find around $70 where it bottomed in the late summer.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in NYX.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: European chipmakers, Select Comfort and American Express were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Credit Suisse downgraded European chipmakers to Market Weight from Overweight to reflect the slowdown in the economy this year and the decline in the value of the dollar against the euro. The broker downgraded STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• William Blair downgraded shares of Select Comfort (NASDAQ:SCSS) to Market Perform from Outperform, as they believe weak consumer demand for large-average-ticket discretionary goods in 2008 will impact prospects of a turnaround.
  
• Friedman Billings lowered its rating on American Express (NYSE:AXP) to Underperform from Market Perform following the company's Q4 pre-announcement.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JMP Securities downgraded Juniper (NASDAQ:JNPR) to Market Perform from Market Outperform.
  
• ABN Amro downgraded Groupe Danone (GDNNY) to Sell from Hold.
  
• Daimler (DAI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Merck Finck.

The quarterly numbers for American Express (NYSE: AXP) were mediocre. Net income was $1.06 billion, or $0.88 a share, vs. $945 million or $0.76 a share a year in the same period a year ago. Revenue, net of interest expense, rose 9% to $7.13 billion. But that was shy of the $7.49 billion that Wall Street wanted.

The company tried to put a good spin on things: "Spending on American Express cards rose 15 percent, and we added more than 2 million cards during the last three months." But that didn't offset a nagging concern. The company said that provisions for losses increased 85 percent, reflecting higher loan volumes and an increase in write-off and delinquency rates from the unusually low levels a year ago.

It is that "low levels a year ago" that is a bit troubling. Provisions for losses are never considered a good sign, and 85% is a big number.

The figure may just be a blip on the radar. But, the stock did not move up after hours, so on balance, the company's news was not greeted with glee. Shares traded down 2.24%. Someone ought to watch those provisions for losses.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Management is considering a private sale of 10% of the firm that would raise $1.5B.
• Carl Icahn has offered WCI Communities Inc (NYSE: WCI) $22 a share, 55 cents higher than its closing price yesterday, and equal to $920M, reported the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The U.K. Times reported that Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) is set to advise Royal Bank of Scotland on a potential counter-bid of GBP40B or more for ABN Amro Holdings (NYSE: ABN). Other bidders for ABN Amro include Barclays plc ADS (NYSE: BCS), which is currently in exclusive talks with ABN.

• The New York Post has learned that the American Stock Exchange, which is looking at "strategic options," has at least one "high-profile suitor" exploring the possibility of an investment, Susquehanna Investment Group.
• Investor's Business Daily's "The New America" column mentioned U.S. Global Investors Inc (NASDAQ: GROW) positively.

After a couple of quarters of weakening growth, it appears the seeds are now in place for growth to return at CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ: CKFR). The CSP business, CheckFree's bank channel business, jumped back to 7% sequential growth -- an important metric for this company.

The 7% CSP jump brings the business to a growth level that has attracted a lot of investor interest in the past and is a metric that led to strong stock performance. During the past six months that growth figure dropped to just 3%.

In addition to the jump in the CSP business, CheckFree is also beginning to sign up some huge customers. The company began discussing its new deal with American Express, which could be a big windfall for them. Also, CheckFree added Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) for its walk-in pay product.

These new customers wins and the 7% sequential CSP growth mean investors will have to get back into CheckFree's stock. I say go along for the ride.

While the takeover battle between the NASDAQ and the London Stock Exchange rages on, the lesser-known American Stock Exchange (AMEX) has hired Morgan Stanley to begin the process of demutualization, presumably setting the stage for an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO comes after numerous exchanges/trading companies have gone public in recent years including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, New York Stock Exchange and, regrettably, Refco.

The AMEX is definitely the least-respected of the major exchanges. I once mentioned a company to an older stock broker friend and asked him what he thought of the company. The first thing he said was "Ah! The AMEX! That's where bad stocks go to die." The AMEX will also continue to face competition for listing from the OTC market and even the Pink Sheets, where it is taking steps toward greater transparency and scrutiny of companies, perhaps setting the stage for a better reputation. The Pink Sheets is widely known as a great place to find penny stock pump and dumps.

In addition, the high costs of Sarbanes-Oxley will, in my opinion, lead more companies to seek private funding, leading to fewer IPO's in the future. The AMEX may do great, but it's not an IPO I'll be buying into.