msft

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) implied volatility of 39 above 26-week average of 34.

MT, a global steel producer, with a market cap of $82 billion, closed at $59.60. Bank of America said on 8/23 that the company is "well positioned for Long Term value creation; initiate with a Buy." MT overall option implied volatility of 39 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) implied volatility of 39 above 26-week average of 34.

NUE is engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. NUE closed at $51.53. Merrill Lynch upgraded NUE to Buy from Neutral reports DJ. NUE over all option implied volatility of 39 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) implied volatility elevated at 40. YHOO is recently down 37 cents to $22.95. YHOO overall option implied volatility of 40 is above its 26-week average of 35 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) implied volatility elevated at 40. MSFT is recently down 19 cents to $27.91. MSFT overall option implied volatility of 40 is above its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) implied volatility elevated at 34 after restructuring. AMGN is recently down $1.57 to $49.02. Goldman Sachs says: "Sales and costs in line. Maintain estimate and intrinsic value of $45." AMGN September option implied volatility of 34 is above its 26-week average of 26 according to Track Data, indicating larger risks.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) implied volatility elevated at 34. CSCO is recently up 9 cents to $30.01. CSCO will be holding an analyst meeting on September 5 in San Jose. Jeffreies has a Buy rating on CSCO. CSCO September option implied volatility of 34 is above its 26-week average of 28 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger risk.

Volatility Index S&P 500 Options-VIX up 2.68 to 33.35.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Microsoft does not equal altruism. No, let's be clear here: no U.S. for-profit corporation equals altruism. But even the awesomest of do-goody moves on the part of Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer & team could ever be considered as entirely selfless.

Take the company's plans (in conjunction with hardware manufacturers) to test a pay-as-you-go scheme for computers called Microsoft FlexGo. You pay somewhere around $300 (about half of what the computer would cost at full retail value) and then buy prepaid cards for minutes, a la prepaid mobile phones. Over time, the consumer would own the computer outright (but it wouldn't be repossessed if users failed to purchase all their minutes, just like phones), paying a little more than the retail cost.

The initial markets will be places like Brazil, India, Mexico, China and Russia, where consumer credit rates are high and the average person doesn't carry plastic. Best of all, some estimates have put the untapped market at 1 billion consumers -- those who can't afford the $500-$1000 all at once, but who could afford one were the cost to be spread out.

In one fell swoop, Microsoft could reduce the desirability of pirated software, double its potential consumer base, open up hundreds of billions of room for revenue growth, and oh yes: help people. I'm going to forgive the lack of total altruism. Just this once.