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Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) shares are falling today after an 8.2 percent increase in new home construction during April was shown to be due largely to apartment construction. Building of single-family homes continued to weaken, which could be a bad sign for LOW. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on LOW.

After hitting a one-year high of $33.19 in June, the stock hit a one-year low of $19.94 in January. This morning, LOW opened at $25.22. So far today the stock has hit a low of $24.51 and a high of $25.24. As of 11:45, LOW is trading at $24.83, down 31 cents(-1.2%). The chart for LOW looks bullish but deteriorating, while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a June bear-call credit spread above the $27.50 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in five weeks as long as LOW is below $27.50 at June expiration. Lowe's would have to rise by more than 10% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

LOW hasn't been above $27.50 since October and has shown resistance around $26 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out on 5/19) are a positive surprise, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance LOW might find at its 200 day moving average, which is currently around $26 and falling.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investor's Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in LOW.

U.S. consumer confidence in May 2008 plunged to its lowest level in almost 28 years, an indication American adults are very concerned about the near-term health of the U.S. economy as it slides into its first recession in six years.

The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its index of confidence fell to 59.5 in May 2008, Reuters reported Friday.

It was the index's lowest reading since June 1980 -- a period also characterized by high oil/gasoline prices and a sluggish U.S. economy.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had predicted that the April 2008 index would fall to 62.5. The index stood at 63.2 in April 2008 and 69.5 in March 2008.

'An awful number'

Economist Peter Dawson told BloggingStocks Friday May's consumer sentiment reading reflects conditions on the ground. "It's an awful number, but it reflects conditions on Main Street, as the typical person experiences them," Dawson said. "We've got falling home prices, record-high gas prices, rising food prices, property taxes increasing in many areas, and no job growth. It's not a happy time for Americans right now and the University of Michigan sentiment numbers reflect that."

Oil prices rose to a record $127.43 Friday morning amid new concerns about supply and after Goldman Sachs increased its forecast to $141 per barrel for the second half of 2008.

Goldman upped its forecast by 32%, saying oil prices will average $141 in 2008 and $148 in 2009, citing supply constraints and the lack of scalable substitutes, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

Oil surged on the news before easing back to $127.33. The other major energy commodities also jumped in early Friday trading. Heating oil added 5 cents to $3.67 per gallon, unleaded gasoline jumped 6 cents to $3.22 per gallon, and natural gas climbed 13 cents to $11.53 per million BTUs.

Economist Glen Langan told BloggingStocks Friday that Goldman Sachs' increasingly bullish outlook for oil is not good news for consumers or the U.S. economy.

"This is the first time that I can recall that a major investment bank has mentioned the supply dimension to oil. Up to now, we've been talking about emerging market demand, but if in fact supply will not increase at modern-day historical rates, this is not a good sign for U.S. GDP growth," Langan said. "We're counting on ample supply growth to contain these already high oil prices."

Langan said he expects oil production to grow at least 1.5-2% per year, while Goldman sees it at 1% per year. "If Goldman is correct, prices will rise to over $140 per barrel in the quarters ahead this year, and probably higher, that would put the average price of gasoline in U.S. easily over $4.25 per gallon," he said.

AMR (NYSE: AMR) may have skipped key inspections of some of its planes to keep them in service. According to The Wall Street Journal, "American made the procedural changes and revised its maintenance manual in an effort to prevent planes from being pulled out of service." The inspections were meant to look over planes that may have been hit by lightning.

American's defense for skipping the procedures is that, if a pilot reported that his plane was hit by lightning, mechanics will look into it. What if the pilot is napping? Further, the airline says no plane has crashed from a lightning strike in over 30 years. How convenient.

The airlines have one, weak reason for cutting back on inspections. They cannot afford them. The federal government has to deal with the fact that some carriers are near bankruptcy because of high fuel prices. The FAA may have to supply financial support for extra work by mechanics, or watch the industry fall apart.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and the editor of Ten Stocks Under $10.

Walletpop (our sister site) blogger, Geoff Williams recently examined a new marketing strategy undertaken by Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS). The company wants to make you and your office "fashionable". Unfortunately, it appears that it has hired the wrong marketing firm to handle the task.

I cite as example this one whimsical little marketing blurb from Geoff's blog post. In attempting to get you to purchase fashionable binder clips, Staples has this to say about some retro look clips they have to offer: "It's the look of a bygone era with a decidedly modern flair."

Are they kidding? Does Staples think it's marketing argyle knee socks?

There's a whiff of desperation when a company completely departs from common sense in advertising. Personally, I have no use for toner cartridges which compliment my eyes. If the day ever comes when Staples begins to offer office mail carts with ground effects and spinner rims, I'd say we're just one baby doll lab coat away from seeing Staples close it's doors.

Gary Sattler is a freelance blogger. He does not knowingly have investment interest in the companies mentioned in this blog post

The U.S. housing slump is creating another negative ripple effect, this one by extension, or by association, if you will, as in condo/co-op association.

Owners in condo associations are having to chip-in to pay for unexpected association maintenance, tax, and related fees when other residents enter foreclosure or are substantially behind in payments, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The Times cited the case of condo owners in a 43-story Miami, Florida condo having to ante up more money after 1 in 6 residents battled foreclosure. The additional charge: an additional $1,000 assessment and $50 more a month for cable and internet fees, on top of the regular $450 monthly maintenance.

Connecticut-based appraiser Lawrence Schmidt, not a realtor but a former 15-year condominium owner with extensive knowledge of the sector, told BloggingStocks Thursday prospective buyers need to fully-research a condo association's membership status, including record of tax payments of individual members, in addition to the standard evaluation of the condo association's maintenance fees, contractor services, and quality-of-life issues, etc. Co-op buyers must do even more research on the co-op's balance sheet, monthly budget, cash flow, outstanding mortgage, and other related financials, he said.

Barclay's (NYSE: BCS) stock is falling today after the company announced a 1.1B GBP loss for Q1, including a 1.7B GBP charge, mostly related to write-downs of credit market losses. The company also did not announce rights issue to raise capital, which has surprised analysts. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on BCS.

After hitting a one-year high of $61.55 in July, the stock hit a one-year low of $31.31 in March. This morning, BCS opened at $32.44. So far today the stock has hit a low of $32.35 and a high of $33.17. As of 12:25, BCS is trading at $32.97, down 0.34 (-1.0%). The chart for BCS looks bullish but deteriorating, while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a September bear-call credit spread above the $40 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 7.5% return in four months as long as BCS is below $40 at September expiration. Barclays would have to rise by more than 21% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

BCS hasn't been above $40 by more than a little bit since January and has shown resistance around $37 recently. This trade could be risky if the financial markets execute a turnaround, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance BCS might find at $40, where the stock has topped out twice int he past two months.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in BCS.

If you own a Ford F-150, or a Lincoln Mark LT pickup truck, then you want to pay special attention to this, as Ford (NYSE: F) has announced that more than 655,000 of these vehicles are being recalled at this time.

The reason behind the current recalls is a possible problem with a hose that can affect the trucks' ability to brake properly. So far, Ford claims that there have been 11 accidents resulting from the faulty hoses, but that there have been no injuries to date.

The vehicles in question involve the 2005 and 2006 models of the trucks that come with the 5.4 liter 3-valve engines. If you have one of these trucks you should contact your local Ford dealer as soon as possible and get your replacement hose, at no cost to you.

Most of the trucks in question are located in the United States, which accounts for more than 600,000 of the trucks. Canadian residents account for another 50,000 vehicles, with the small remainder being located in other countries around the world.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

U.S. industrial production plunged 0.7% in April 2008, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Thursday, as a spectrum-wide contraction took place in the nation's factories.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected industrial production to decline 0.3% in April 2008.

Further, factory output plummeted 0.8% - - the largest drop in factory output since September 2005, a month that reflected the abnormal, irregular factory output reduction caused by Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005. Excluding autos and auto parts, factory output declined 0.4%.

Also, capacity utilization increase declined to 79.7% in April 2008 from 80.4% in March 2008. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected capacity utilization to total 80.1% in April 2008. Capacity utilization totaled 80.3% in February 2008.

Industrial output evaluation

Economist David H. Wang said the April 2008 industrial production statistic reflects a familiar theme in the current U.S. economic slowdown: a contracting factory sector.

Initial U.S. jobless claims increased 6,000 to 371,000 for the week ended May 10 -- slightly above the consensus estimate, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday. Claims for the previous week remained at 367,000.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected this week's initial jobless claims to total 370,000.

Also, the 4-week moving average decreased 1,000 to 367,000. Economists view the 4-week average as a better indicator of unemployment conditions, as it smooths-out anomalies for strikes, holidays, or other idiosyncratic events.

Economist Peter Dawson said this week's job report "shows that labor conditions continued to soften. We're seeing little to no evidence that small or large companies have picked-up their hiring pace."

You had to see this coming:

According to a BBC report, It appears that life at Craigslist has become even more interesting. As you may know, Craigslist has been embroiled in a legal tussle with Internet giant eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY). After purchasing a 28.4% stake in the company over a year ago, eBay now claims that Craigslist's founder Craig Newmark and its chief executive Jim Buckmaster have done things to disadvantage eBay's stake in the company. The BBC report didn't specify exactly what eBay claims Craiglist officials have done to "dilute" eBay's interests. Craigslist has now filed a counter suit against eBay, alleging illegal competition. You can get more information on eBay's original lawsuit here.

The BBC report states: "The lawsuit demands that eBay restore all shares of Craigslist owned by eBay or for the court to require eBay to divest its holdings in Craigslist." This demand is apparently supported by the premise that after acquiring its stake in Craigslist, eBay gleaned operating information from that company and then used it to launch Kijiji. Craigslist also insists that eBay, "[...] violated [Craigslist] trademarks and used misleading advertising on Google to run ads for its rival Kijiji site."

What a pretty picture of corporate raiding we have here. I think the outcome of this legal battle shall be dictated by two particular things. First, Craigslist will need to provide a first class package of documentation to support its legal counter claims. Second, it wouldn't hurt if it could find a judge who has been ripped off using eBay...

Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) shares are falling after the company posted a second-quarter profit of $40 million, or 29 cents a share, below analysts' estimates of 30 cents per share. Growth has slowed for WFMI, which company executives are blaming on the slowing economy. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on WFMI.

After hitting a one-year high of $53.65 in October, the stock has hit a new one-year low today. This morning, WFMI opened at $30.17. So far today the stock has hit a low of $28.96 and a high of $30.21. As of 12:10, WFMI is trading at $29.37, down $4.27 (-12.7%). The chart for WFMI looks neutral and improving, while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an August bear-call credit spread above the $37 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 7.1% return in three months as long as WFMI is below $37 at August expiration. Whole Foods would have to rise by more than 26% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

LDK Solar Co. (NYSE: LDK) is one strange solar stock. Yesterday, on a day when other solar companies like Solarfun Power Holdings (NASDAQ: SOLF), Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ), First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) and JA Solar Holdings (NASDAQ: JASO) were all strong and despite earnings coming in at the high end of expectations and guidance solidly ahead of estimates, their stock was down. Not only was it down, but it also tried rebounding, only to fail. Not good at all for the bull case.

Experience has taught me to respect the price action the day after earnings. So when I see LDK trying to break out of a now 5-month old range, pretty much between $30 and $40 -- yes it was up to $50 in January and $20 in March, but those are outliers -- this is a very bearish sign. It's so bearish that I suspect that unless solar plays really heat up again, this stock will need many more weeks or months to break $40, and even then, it's got a ton of resistance all over the place due to bitter buyers in at much higher prices who will be looking to cut their losses.

April saw a 65% increase in foreclosures from the same month a year ago.

The numbers pretty much speak for themselves, with 243,353 receiving notices in April. This is a vast increase from April 2007, when "only" 147,708 homes received the same notice. This was also a 4% increase from March. The numbers are based on a report from RealtyTrac Inc.

Homeowners in California and Florida are among the hardest hit. The two states had 9 metropolitan areas that ranked in the top ten areas of the country in terms of foreclosures.

Median home prices fell in two-thirds of American cities in Q1 2008, the National Association of Realtors announced Tuesday.

The median price fell 7.7% to $196,300 in Q1 2008 down from $212,600 for the same period a year ago, the NAR said. It was the largest year-over-year decline since the NAR started keeping comprehensive records of median home prices in 1979.

Median prices declined 12.3% in the West, 7.9% in the Midwest, 7.5% in the South, and 3.32% in the Northeast.