Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features Continental Airlines, XM Satellite Radio, First...

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the March 9 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL), XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR), First Marblehead (NYSE:FMD), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and General Motors (NYSE:GM). Schaeffer's Market Blog is just one of the many

free market commentaries written everyday at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. The Market Blog is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. They are quick insights to the day's most notable market activity from an options perspective. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB12M&PAGE=1 .

Schaeffer's Market Blog for Thursday, March 9, 2006:

Below are just a few of today's Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1 .

9:27 AM NYSE & NASDAQ New Highs/New Lows With Equity Scorecard

A daily feature of our Daily Market Blog is a look at stocks achieving new annual highs or lows while racking up an "extreme" Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard rating. Two of the list today are Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL) and its rating of 7.0 out of 10, and XM Satellite Radio's (NASDAQ:XMSR) rating of 2.0 out of 10.

If you would like to see the entire charts, follow the link above.

1:13 PM First Marblehead Breaks Out Big

First Marblehead (NYSE:FMD) is a stock that has been on a tear lately. The shares are up nearly 30 percent this month since breaking out of a consolidation pattern around their 10-day moving average. Short interest on the equity is extremely high and is probably adding to the magnitude of the upside move as short sellers must buy back shares to cover the losses on their positions. In fact, nearly 50 percent of the stock's float was sold short as of last month's short interest report.

2:12 PM Call Crazy on Microsoft

Options players have been loading up on calls on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently, and today's call volume exceeds put volume by a ratio of more than three-to-one. Even before today's trading activity there were more than twice as many calls outstanding as there were puts with the Schaeffer put/call open interest ratio of 0.32 below 92 percent of readings over the past year. The stock should be well-resisted at $27.50 with more than 90,000 contracts of call open interest sitting there. This is the peak options open interest for all MSFT options contracts.

3:29 PM Journal Report Sends GM Motoring Higher

General Motors (NYSE:GM) has increased nearly five percent this afternoon, thanks to news reported on The Wall Street Journal's online edition. The Journal noted that GM is closing on a cost-cutting deal with its leading supplier of parts, Delphi. Apparently, the two companies are closing in on an agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW) that would encourage early retirement by thousands of its workers. A spokesperson for the UAW basically rejected these claims, noting that the media is, "doing a tremendous disservice to our membership and the negotiations process by suggesting the parties are close." In fact, the spokesperson noted that there are "many, many, significant issues to be resolved."

Investors seem to hold the word of the Journal in higher regards than the word of the UAW. Today's news now has GM above its 20-day moving average and the shares are on the verge of breaking through their 50-day and 80-day moving averages. Keep an eye on GM tomorrow; maybe some more good news will come its way and push the automaker through these levels of resistance.

The above are just a few of today's Daily Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Daily Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1 .

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About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .