Stocks posted their second straight week of gains, as the euro regained ground on signs the European debt crisis is being contained with both governments in the region and global banks being able to access the markets and raised debt for their financial needs. Weak economic data in the U.S. limited the upside in the market, on concern over the strength of the economic recovery.

Apple is still on fire. Apple moved to the upside as Kuafman raised its estimates and target price a day after the company announced it logged 600,000 pre-orders for its iPhone 4. Apple closed at $274.

CBOE Holdings Inc’s IPO received enthusiastic response from the crowd, it’s slightly off from its first day close. It has good potential to be as profitable as ICE when it comes to trading. I own ICE, I am waiting to buy CBOE on weakness.

Federal Reserve policy makers meet this week to discuss their target for the federal-funds rate. They are likely to keep the interest rates unchanged. Meanwhile, the growth rate of the Economic Cycle Research Institute’s weekly index of leading economic indicators has fallen into negative territory for the first time since May 2009, indicating the froth has come off the recovery, at the very least.

China surprised with a pledge to make its exchange rate more flexible, but quickly damped the idea that the move would trigger a dramatic revaluation of the yuan by saying it would make the adjustment “gradually.” Whether this is a political game or real thing, we need to wait and see.

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