Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features: Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft, Delta, IBM, and Cisco Systems.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the September 15 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Delta (Pink Sheets:DALRQ), IBM (NYSE:IBM), and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO). 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. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB13M&PAGE=1 .

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9:41 AM ICE is Hot at the NYSE

Good morning. In Opening View, Jocelynn Drake reported that Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) announced last night that it will buy the New York Board of Trade in a $1 billion cash and stock deal. The offer will comprise 10.3 million ICE shares, and $400 million in cash. ICE sees the deal adding to results within 12 to 18 months of the closing. The firm said it estimates that the transaction with the soft commodity exchange, which deals in commodities such as coffee, cocoa and orange juice, could yield more than $50 million in total pretax synergies, adding that the merger will close in the first half of 2007.

In the early minutes of this Friday session, ICE is leading the way at the New York Stock Exchange, up more than five percent to $68.10, at last check. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 11,592.1) has surged ahead more than 60 points already, with an advance/decline ratio of 2.56. Over at the Nasdaq, the advance/decline ratio comes in at 2.17.

1:12 PM Microsoft Helping to Push Market Higher

Expiration Friday is always an interesting day for the markets. We usually see a lot of intraday volatility, but not a whole lot of net movement. That seems to be exactly the case today. The market looked like it was going to rally strongly on mild inflation data this morning, but the move higher has been capped at modest levels throughout the trading session. One stock that has helped keep the averages looking better than they otherwise would be is Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). As one of the largest caps out there the stock has a significant influence on the S&P 500. After bottoming below $22 back in June, MSFT has rallied more than 25 percent to nearly $27 a share.

1:34 PM First Marblehead Leads the Way on Wall Street

Student loan specialist First Marblehead (FMD) was leading the way on the New York Stock Exchange at last check, up more than 14 percent at $59.81. Friedman Billings Ramsey upgraded the stock this morning to "market perform" from "underperform." FMD gapped higher on the open, trading at levels we have not seen since April 2005.

I notice that the stock scores 9.0 out of 10 on our Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard, suggesting that the upside has more natural magnetism than the downside. A look at the sentiment reveals that 25 percent of the stock's float is sold short, which provides gallons of fuel for a short-covering rally if bearish investors suddenly find need to cover their short positions. Meanwhile, FMD has a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.2, higher than any we have seen during the past year. This extreme ratio warns of pessimism in the options pits, suggesting that sideline money is probably plentiful. Turning to Zacks, we find just five brokerages covering FMN, and four of those have it at a cautious "hold" or worse. This pessimistic configuration leaves room for upgrades, which could add further lift to FMD.

1:41 PM Delta Taking Flight

Delta Air Lines (Pink Sheets:DALRQ) is having a great day today on the heels of falling oil prices. Despite being under bankruptcy protection, the stock is up 16 percent thus far today. The shares were up 30 percent earlier in the session. Delta has rallied over 200 percent since bottoming in March. Situations such as this usually aren't great investment opportunities, but they are certainly interesting from a trading perspective.

1:49 PM California Micro Devices Leads the Way on the Nasdaq

Leading the way on the Nasdaq at last check was California Micro Devices (CAMD), which boosted its fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue outlook thanks to better-than-expected product demand. At last check the stock was up more than 20 percent at $5.32. This California company specializes in analog rather than digital chips, and it has particular expertise in passive components (such as resistors and capacitors) whereas chipshops such as Intel (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) make devices that contain lots and lots of active components (such as transistors). CAMD might be worth adding to your radar screen. Its client list includes Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Dell (DELL), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), and Agilent (A). Zacks lists just three covering analysts, so there's plenty of room for fresh coverage to drive money in CAMD's direction thanks to its star status today. One to watch.

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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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 .