Monday, June 23

• Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.

Tuesday, June 24

• FOMC to hold two-day meeting.
• Jabil Circuits (NYSE: JBL) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
• 3Com (NASDAQ: COMS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.

Wednesday, June 25

• Second day of two-day FOMC meeting; announcement at 2:15pm.
• Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) to discuss valuation and accounting for recent financing transaction at 10:00am.
• Nike (NYSE: NKE) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.
  
• Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.
• Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.

Thursday, June 26

• PDUFA date for Eli Lilly & Co's (NYSE: LLY) and Daiichi Sankyo's new drug application for Prasugrel.
• Palm Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
• Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

Friday, June 27

• PDUFA date for Indevus Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: IDEV) New Drug Application for Nebido for treatment of male hypogonadism.
• PDUFA date for Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) and Eisai Co's (OTC: ESALY) Aciphex.
  

With concerns that the Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM) transaction may not close hitting the headlines as Congress returns to session ahead of next year's presidential election, could an opportunistic candidate turn national sentiment against a small, yet powerful, private equity group?

Sallie Mae was incarnated to provide low-cost loans to U.S. students so they could afford a college education, mostly targeting those groups who could least afford it. While this mandate has lost its focus as Sallie Mae loans are no longer cheap, it does leave the opportunity for a smart politician to seize the moment: Why should the profits of government-backed debt for students go to JC Flowers, so they make billions in profits?

The same could be said about the recently completed buyout of HCA, the large hospital chain. While it is a Class A operation, it generates a substantial portion of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid. Once again, why should the U.S. taxpayer, who finances both Medicare and Medicaid, be paying money to HCA so they can pay down the $30-plus billion in debt so a few shareholders can walk away with billions?

It is interesting how one deal, Sallie Mae, could potentially raise so many red flags. As with most market excesses, one deal always become the poster-child deal symbolizing an era's end. Look for it to be Sallie Mae this time around. HD Supply renegotiating the terms for its deal could prove to be pure chump change.

US Steel (NYSE: X) volatility Up on unconfirmed chatter that Atticus is building stake. X is recently down $3.18 to $89.49. Unconfirmed chatter is circulating that Atticus Capital has acquired a 10% stake in X. X September option implied volatility of 45 is above its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) calls active as TIVO trades near 10-month high. TIVO, a digital video recorder provider, is recently up 64 cents to $7.01. TIVO has a market cap of $682 million. TIVO September 7.5 calls have traded 25 times on transaction volume of 1,300 contracts above its open interest of 435 contracts. TIVO September option implied volatility of 57 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

Brinker (NYSE: EAT) volatility up; EAT talking to investors about selling Macaroni Grill. EAT operates restaurant concepts including; Chili's, Macaroni Grill, Maggiono's & On the Border. Goldman Sachs says "EAT reported 4Q operating EPS of $0.57, ahead of our $0.47 estimate. The overage came largely from a lower tax rate, share count, and modest expense variance." Dow Jones reported EAT "is talking with a 'number of investors' about the possible sale of its Romano's Macaroni Grill chain." EAT September option implied volatility of 33 is above its 26-week average of 29 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

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