CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the August 21 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW), Dollar General (NYSE:DG), E*TRADE Financial (NYSE:ET), Glamis Gold (NYSE:GLG), and Harvest Natural Resources (NYSE:HNR). Schaeffer's Market Blog is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day 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=PROB13M&PAGE=1 .

Schaeffer's Market Blog for Monday, August 21, 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=PROB13C&PAGE=1 .

9:50 AM Lowe Earnings Miss by a Penny

Good morning. In earnings news, Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) reported a second-quarter net income of $935 million, or 60 cents per share. Same-store sales rose 3.3 percent during the quarter. Analysts were expecting the home improvement retailer to earn 61 cents per share on revenue of $13.38 billion. "Expectations for an orderly slowdown in the housing market, moderate income growth and a solid employment picture are stabilizing forces for the consumer," the company said.

9:53 AM Dollar General Lowers Forecast

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) said it now expects second-quarter earnings of 14 cents to 15 cents per share, down from its June forecast of 18 cents to 22 cents per share. Analysts are currently looking for earnings of 19 cents per share for the quarter. As reasoning for the lowered expectations, DG cited lower gross margins and worse-than-expected back-to-school sales.

9:55 AM Free Financial Podcasts

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1:05 PM E*TRADE May Soon Find Overhead Resistance

E*TRADE Financial (NYSE:ET) has been trending higher during the past couple of months after a rough April-to-June period. There may be reason to believe that the recent upward trend may be nearing an end. Optimism in the form of call option buying on the stock has become quite prevalent. Friday's call option volume on ET was about three times respective put volume. Today's call volume on the security is 20 times put volume. Much of the activity is at the 25 strike, which would suggest that the $25 level may be a strong resistance level for the stock.

2:44 PM Good Day for Metals

Things aren't too strong today, but after last week's gains some selling isn't a shock. Volume is light, so really it's just a dull summer Monday. One group that is doing great is metals. With more potential trouble out of Iran, gold gained over $13 to finish at $635 an ounce. Turning to the stocks, the AMEX Gold Bugs Index (HUI) is up a huge five percent. Newmont Mining (NEM) continues to lag other metal stocks as it's up 3.50 percent, while Glamis Gold (NYSE:GLG) is up six percent.

3:17 PM Harvest Natural Resources Leads the NYSE

Harvest Natural Resources (NYSE:HNR) is the leader on the New York Stock Exchange today, up more than 15 percent to $13.77 at last check thanks to an upgrade from Morgan Keenan to "outperform" from "market perform." The stock has bumped its head at the 14 level several times since April. A break above 14 would be interesting, perhaps giving a green light to buyers. With 6.1 percent of the stock's float currently sold short, there's some fuel here for a short-covering rally. At the current average daily trading volume, it would take 5.5 days to buy back all those shorted shares.

Prior to today's upgrade, Zacks reported just four analysts rating HNR, and none of them had it at a "buy." There's room for upgrades and for fresh coverage here. Also, the 20-week trendline is rising nicely. On our Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard, the stock earns a very neutral 5.0 out of 10, so I don't see it as a "buy" right now, but watch that 14 level carefully.

For more information on these stocks or any stock in your portfolio, feel free to visit our Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard feature. Click here to read all of today's Market Blog: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB13C&PAGE=1.

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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 .