Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features Motorola, Oracle, Charles Schwab, Kraft Foods, and Altria Group.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the March 16 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Motorola (NYSE:MOT), Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), Charles Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW), Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT), and Altria Group (NYSE:MO). 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 16, 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 .

3:05 PM Motorola Finds Resistance

With an hour to go we're seeing more weakness creep into the picture. Nonetheless, after the gains we've had over the past week, some selling is probably needed. One stock that looks interesting here is Motorola (NYSE:MOT). The shares made it up to the $22.50 strike, home of a lot of calls. The shares were rejected and are now up less than one percent. Looking at the daily chart, you can see that this level has stopped things cold over the past month. The overwhelming sentiment is pretty bullish on MOT and its definitely underperforming other stocks right now; so if you're looking for a short play, this could be it. On the flip side, if the market continues to gain (as I expect), playing anything bearishly is always a little more difficult.

2:20 PM Trouble in San Diego

We just had a sudden sell-off at two o'clock and after looking for the reason, it looks like it's because word just spread that the San Diego Arena was evacuated before its NCAA game because of a suspicious package. I also read that a bomb-sniffing dog found something near a hot-dog stand. It is early, but this is definitely news we're going to follow.

1:47 PM Near-the-Money Call Trading on Oracle

With one day left until March options expiration, Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) calls are being liquidated at the March 13 strike. The equity hurdled through this level yesterday, despite the continued presence of almost 140,000 contracts at this strike. In other action, calls were added at the April 12 strike. There is now the potential for a delta-hedging rally to drive the stock higher, or options watchers could hope to push the shares back below the 13 mark for expiration Friday. In the April series, the 13 strike is the site of peak call open interest, but there aren't nearly as many call positions here as in the March series currently. If there aren't that many of the call positions rolled out to the April expiration series, this could be a potential bullish play, as call resistance is depleted.

11:45 AM Charles Schwab Lifts Earnings Expectations

Before the open this morning, Charles Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW) announced that client daily average trades in February soared 52 percent over the year-ago period to nearly 320,000, but were down four percent from January. Total client assets were a record $1.255 trillion as of February 28, up 15 percent from the year-ago period. The discount brokerage firm now expects first-quarter earnings between 18 and 19 cents per share compared to the Street estimate for a gain of 17 cents per share. Included in the company's estimate are $25 million in pretax severance charges, stemming from job cuts at the firm's Schwab Investor Services and U.S. Trust units.

The shares gapped higher on the positive news, tagging a new annual high of $17.81. The equity is currently up more than four percent at $17.63 and has rallied approximately 20 percent since the start of the year along its 10-day and 20-day moving averages.

11:15 AM Kraft Foods and Altria Group in the News

Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT) is in the news today after agreeing to unload its Milk-Bone dog biscuit business (and other pet product lines) to Del Monte Foods (DLM) for $580 million. The line of treats for man's best friend and products is expecting to be "meaningfully accretive" for DLM earnings by fiscal 2008.

KFT shares are fractionally lower today but are in the midst of a solid upward recovery. The stock bottomed out in mid-January and has since advanced nearly 10 percent. This rally has eased the shares above their 10-week and 20-week moving averages for the first time since December 2004. Additionally, the shares have now peaked above their 10-month moving average. KFT hasn't managed a monthly close above this long-term trendline since March 2005.

The food company's parent, Altria Group (NYSE:MO), is also active on the newswires today, and is currently trading up a fraction. MO announced plans to record roughly $1 billion in tax benefits following the conclusion of an IRS-led investigation into the company's tax returns dated 1996 through 1999. The firm subsequently boosted its financial outlook for 2006, thanks to the positive repercussions of this benefit, which will boost yearly earnings by close to 45 cents per share.

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 .