Under The Radar News - Friday

Yahoo novelties. Information Week wonders why Nokia (NOK) doesn't bid for Yahoo (YHOO), which could help it grow its U.S. market share and, together with a pending Navteq (NVT) acquisition, dominate mobile location • Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry says Microsoft's (MSFT) $46.1B bid is a ruse meant to block a Yahoo/AMZN alliance, but that it has no chance of receiving regulatory approval • Capital Research and Management, which owns 11.4% of Yahoo and over 6% of Microsoft met with Steve Balmer Thursday to understand where things stand • Sources say Yahoo has scheduled a special board meeting Friday to determine the fate of the company.

Hedging helps. Hedge funds lost an average 1.8% in January, far better than the indices. Long-short funds fared worst at -4.1%.

Home sellers wait. Homes for sale in major metropolitan areas rose just 1.1% in January, a month in which homes for sale usually jump after a holiday lull.

Ethanol may boost global warming. Researchers say widespread ethanol use could double any greenhouse gas emissions produced by the gasoline it replaces. Farmers growing biofuel plants destroy forests and grass, raising the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Ethanol producers' Renewable Fuels Association called the research "simplistic."

CDO fire-sale draws nearer. 80 CDOs, worth about $97B, have triggered "events of default," up from 58 in mid-January. Senior creditors are now pushing for liquidation, indicating the potential beginnings of a much-awaited fire-sale.

BofA may be sued by SEC. Bank of America (BAC) says it may be sued by the SEC regarding an investigation into financial products it sold to local governments.

Get smart. Research in Motion (RIMM) and Apple (AAPL) may be the primary beneficiaries of a massive consumer shift from basic cellphones to smart phones.

iTunes feature comes under fire. A small firm alleges Apple's (AAPL) iTunes Store Allowance feature infringes on its patents.

Microsoft wants lifecaster. Microsoft (MSFT) is in "advanced discussions" to buy lifecaster UStream.tv for more than $50M. An acquisition would help Microsoft promote Silverlight, its Adobe (ADBE) Flash competitor. Sources say other companies are also bidding.

Dell dumps AMD. Dell (DELL) has stopped selling AMD-powered (AMD) machines through its online store, including the Latitude D531, Vostro 1000 or OptiPlex 740.

Between a rock... Sun Microsystems (JAVA) is s delaying its next-generation server CPU, Rock, by a year.

Airline merger close to takeoff. Northwest (NWA)/Delta (DAL) talks are progressing swiftly, with an agreement possible as early as next week. The new company would be headed by Delta CEO Richard Anderson and would keep Delta's name.

Fifth Third/First Horizon deal falls apart. Sources say Fifth Third Bancorp's (FITB) acquisition of nine Atlanta branches and most First Horizon's (FHN) assets have collapsed at the 11th hour.

Google buys Plaxo? Contact management site Plaxo has accepted a sub-$200M offer, most likely from Google (GOOG). Another possible buyer: Comcast (CMCSA). Some consider the rumors unlikely.

Google's four strengths. The four Google (GOOG) properties with significant U.S. market share: Search (55.9%), YouTube (16.6%), Image Search (13.3%) and GMail (8.29%). That still leaves some significant room for a MSFT/YHOO union, if they get it right.

Unclear picture. Getty Images (GYI) did receive at least one bid before its self-imposed Monday deadline. It's not clear how serious the bid is, nor whether it's for the whole shebang or just a part.

WSJ pans Sears. A continuing decline in sales and tight profit margins might hurt Sears' (SHLD) turnaround plans. "Until I can see why cash is low, I see no reason to own the stock," Morgan Stanley's Gregory Melich says.

Barron's likes Schlumberger. Despite a recent warning, Schlumberger (SLB) will benefit from the global need for more oil and NG and high energy prices. Earnings and revenue will continue to grow at a double-digit clip.