Under The Radar News - Thursday

To free or not to free. Sources say News Corp's (NWS) Rupert Murdoch feels Wall Street Journal front-page feature stories are too long, igniting editorial concerns that Murdoch seeks to diminish a famed Journal institution, the so-called "leder" story. They also say Murdoch may not make WSJ.com entirely free, as has been widely speculated, because it's "not as simple as he thought."

Fuel costs could erase airline profits. The mounting cost of fuel could force consolidation of airline carriers looking to cut costs. "Speaking for US Airways (LCC), fuel prices are going to be $800M or so higher than what they were in 2007, Everyone has that same equation. What we’re spending on oil this year, if all else stays equal, is more than enough to push them from a profit to a pretty big loss," CEO Doug Parker said.

Byte size internet? According to a leaked memo, Time Warner Cable (TWC) is considering "per-byte billing" for its RoadRunner cable broadband service, in order to make more money off the "5% of subscribers who utilize over half of the total network bandwidth." Comcast (CMCSA) tested the idea, but abandoned it due to fear of customer backlash.

Where are you now, AOL? Time Warner's (TWX) AOL is in talks to buy UK traveller social network Where Are You Now?. The asking price is $200M, about 40x the company's current revenue.

Warner Bros. goes easy on the ax. While 1,000 job cuts had been expected at Time Warner's (TWX) Warner Bros. studio, only about three dozen employees were laid off. The studio declined to say whether there could be more layoffs in the future.

Mining consolidation. Anglo American (AAUK) will buy a $5.5B stake in Brazilian miner MMX. The deal could be announced today.

What JPMorgan might buy. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO James Dimon is looking to take advantage of financial sector turmoil and undervaluations though expansion and acquisitions; until now his focus has mostly been on internal growth. Targets may include SunTrust Banks (STI) and Washington Mutual (WM), and even Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bear Stearns (BSC). Also in strong positions to make moves are Goldman Sachs (GS) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

King of the bankers. JPMorgan's (JPM) market cap ($140B), is already bigger than that of Citigroup (C, about $130B). It's likely only a matter of time before it overtakes Bank of America's (BAC) $174B.

Chip glut may ease. Asian computer-memory chipmakers rose Thursday on expectations a glut may ease after ProMOS Technologies said it will prolong a factory shutdown for maintenance this year.

Lockheed gets F-22 reprieve. The Pentagon will ask Congress to foot the bill for 381 F-22 fighter jets, up from a previously ordered 183. The move would postpone Lockheed Martin's (LMT) planned closing of its F-22 production line in 2011.

Fed to flex muscles. ABN Amro economists expect the Fed to be more aggressive in 2008 than previously thought, cutting the fed funds rate to 3% rather than 4%. They predict the ECB will hold rates steady.

Home equity crisis? Even as banks struggle to get out from under the subprime mortgage mess, they face a new burden: growing delinquencies for home equity loans.

Cable firms break out of stranglehold. Recent partnerships between Comcast (CMCSA) and Panasonic to produce a plasma TV with a built-in box and a portable DVR, and between Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Samsung, indicate cable operators are "finally on the brink of breaking the lock" that incumbent set-top box makers Motorola (MOT) and Scientific-Atlanta (CSCO) have held on the market.

Siemens: Where does the buck stop? A law firm hired by Siemens (SI) has developed leads on the possible involvement of top executives in a bribery scandal.

SEC examines money-market funds. The SEC is requesting data from mutual-fund firms about how they value and assess money-market fund holdings in the wake of the current credit market crisis. Possible targets include Federated Investors (FII), Bank of America (BAC) and SunTrust Banks (STI).