Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features: Harrah's Entertainment, Wal-Mart Stores, Gilead Sciences, Myogen, and Ryland Group.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the October 2 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE:HET), Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), Myogen (NASDAQ:MYOG), and Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) 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. To have this report delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link and you'll also get an opportunity to win an iPod Nano.

12:16 PM Housing is Strong

Housing is having a good day so far with the ISE Homebuilders Index (RUF) more than two percent higher and near its highs for the session. The group opened lower after a negative article over the weekend from Barron's, but then at 10:00 AM construction spending came in much better than expected and the group has been soaring ever since. As I've said on this blog and on our website before, housing is one group that very well could be forming a major bottom and now could be the time to get into this sector. Turning to a few names in the group - Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) is up 2.13 percent, Meritage Homes (MTH) is up 3.12 percent, and KB Home (KBH) is up slightly less than two percent. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB13M&PAGE=1

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10:17 AM Update on Harrah's

In Opening View this morning, I noted that The Wall Street Journal reported that Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE:HET) was reportedly in talks to be bought by a group of private-equity firms. The Journal noted that the purchase could be one of the biggest leveraged buyout deals ever. Now that the market has opened, investors are piling into HET, as it is more than 17 percent higher. HET did announce that its board has received a buyout offer from Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group valuing HET at $81 per share. HET's board announced that its board established a special committee consisting of all non-management directors to review the proposal. The committee has hired UBS Securities LLC as its financial adviser and Kaye Scholer LLP as its legal adviser. According to MarketWatch, HET stated that there is no assurance that it will enter into this or any other transaction.

11:26 AM Preliminary Same-Store Sales for WMT Disappoint

This morning, Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) announced a same-store sales increase of 1.8 percent in September when compared to September 2005. This data reflects "tough selling comparisons" against last year's numbers, when sales were boosted by preparation and clean-up efforts related to the spate of hurricanes battering the United States. The world's largest retailer had predicted same-store sales to increase in a range of one to three percent. WMT will report final results on Thursday, as do many of the other retailers. Expectations are for strong same-store sales, driven by falling gasoline prices and cooler temperatures.

11:55 AM Gilead Agrees to Acquire Myogen

While many on the Street focus on the previously covered Harrah's Entertainment (HET) buyout, there is other merger and acquisition news on the wires. Biopharma company Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) announced that it has agreed to acquire Myogen (NASDAQ:MYOG) for roughly $2.5 billion. GILD made the move to gain ownership of MYOG's lead product candidate for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. The transaction between the two is a two-step acquisition: first, a cash tender offer for all of MYOG's outstanding common stock at $52.50 per share, which will be followed by a cash merger in which GILD would acquire any remaining outstanding MYOG common stock at the $52.50 price.

GILD's offer works out to nearly a 50-percent premium over MYOG's Friday closing price of $35.08 per share. Thanks to today's news, MYOG is nearly 47 percent higher on the day. GILD has slipped a tad more than five percent.

12:35 PM Wal-Mart Stores and Apple in Talks?

It's a Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) world; we just live in it. In its continued march toward world retailing domination, WMT is reportedly doing the dance of seduction with Apple Computer (AAPL). Variety.com reported that the two companies are considering an alliance which would enable WMT to profit from downloads of videos on iTunes. What would AAPL get out of the deal? That's a good question. Probably reduced flak from the retailer (and perhaps from Hollywood), both of which have expressed concern with AAPL's iTV device, which plays movies downloaded from the Internet.

In midday trading, both WMT and AAPL are virtually unchanged. The stocks have both been in recovery mode of late; WMT has zoomed almost 15 percent higher since late August, while AAPL has surged about 50 percent since mid-July. The securities have each benefited from support at their respective 10-day and 20-day moving averages,

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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.