Dresser-Rand (DRC - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced it has agreed to acquire diesel and gas engine supplier Grupo Guascor SL in a $690 million cash-and-stock deal. If you think that the stock 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 DRC.

BB&T (BBT - option chain) shares are rising today after the Wall Street Journal reported that Sterling Bancshares (SBIB) has put itself up for sale. The Journal listed BBT as one of the banks interested in acquiring Sterling. If you think that the stock 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 BBT.

BBT opened this morning at $26.83. So far today the stock has hit a low of $26.80 and a high of $27.90. As of 12:15, BBT is trading at $27.87 up $1.00 (3.7%). The chart for BBT looks bullish and S&P gives BBT a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

United Continental Holdings (UAL - option chain) shares are rising today after Continental Airlines announced its fleet service employees ratified their collective bargaining agreement with the company. If you think that the stock 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 UAL.

UAL opened this morning at $23.60. So far today the stock has hit a low of $23.50 and a high of $23.99. As of 12:15, UAL is trading at $23.86 up 0.40 (1.7%). The chart for UAL looks bullish and S&P gives UAL a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Many investors seem to be taking lightly the recent acquisition of McAfee by Intel Corp. (INTC). In fact, they seem bewildered by the move. Why in the world would a maker of chip sets want to own a data security software provider? Let me tell you why.

The days when we subscribed to a third-party service to download those clunky security patches will soon be gone -- and not missed. Those annoying downloads and incessant updates will go the way of the dinosaurs. Intel is preparing for the next generation of data security. Soon your data security will be provided as an integral part of your data handling and communication devices. It will finally be manufactured right into your chip sets. That's the way it should have been long ago.

Rambus (RMBS - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced it has signed a patent licensing agreement with NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA), under which RMBS grants NVDA a patent license for certain memory controllers at a 1% royalty rate for SDR memory controllers and a 2% royalty rate for other memory controllers. However, neither company has signed a release of liability or dismissed any litigation between them. RMBS had earlier charged that NVDA has infringed on some of its chip patents. If you think that the stock 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 RMBS.

Walgreen Co. (WAG - option chain) shares rose Friday after the company said it signed a new agreement with CVS Caremark (CVS) that will allow Walgreen to continue participating in CVS's pharmacy benefit management network. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. If you think that the stock 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 WAG.

WAG opened at $31.01. In morning trading, the stock hit a low of $30.18 and a high of $31.38. As of 12:00, WAG was trading at $30.37 up 1.10 (3.8%). The chart for WAG looks bullish and S&P gives WAG a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Coinstar (CSTR - option chain) shares rose Wednesday after the company announced that it has extended its revenue sharing license agreement between Paramount Home Entertainment and Redbox Automated Retail, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coinstar. If you think that the stock 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 CSTR.

CSTR opened Wednesday at $53.50. In morning trading, the stock hit a low of $52.30 and a high of $54.76. As of 12:15, CSTR was trading at $53.17 up 0.67 (1.3%). The chart for CSTR looks bearish.

Yes, you read that title right. McDonald's (MCD) has just penned a deal with Weight Watchers (WTW) in New Zealand. The agreement will give McDonald's the right to associate the Weight Watchers logo with some Weight Watcher approved fast food items by including that logo on McDonald's menu boards and some other items.

A report from The Sydney Morning Herald indicates that some nutritionists and doctors are already raising concerns about the new marketing ploy. The report quotes Boyd Swinburn, from the Australian Society for the Study of Obesity at Deakin University, as stating, "Make no mistake, this is about selling more burgers and fries." Imagine that, a marketing strategy aimed at increasing sales. Someone needs to explain that concept to Mr. Swinburn.