Under The Radar News - Monday

No one saying boo at MicroHoo. Sources within Yahoo (YHOO) say things within the company have gone very quiet after some noise when Yahoo released its optimistic growth plans recently. Microsoft (MSFT) has for all intents gone silent. All this can mean only one thing: A deal between the two has to be getting ever closer. An acquired Yahoo (YHOO) may retain more control over its destiny than many assume.

BofA may shelve sale of prime brokerage. Bank of America (BAC) may scrap the planned sale of its equity prime brokerage business after weak interest from potential buyers, including Barclays (BCS). JPMorgan (JPM) was originally considered a front-runner, but that changed once it acquired Bear Stearns' brokerage business at fire-sale prices. BofA decided to shop the unit after CEO Ken Lewis said he had endured all the "fun" he could handle in investment banking -- a comment he later regretted.

Morgan: Best broker. Alliance Bernstein says Morgan Stanley (MS) is the best bet among brokerage stocks due to its diversification away from toxic assets and lowered leverage.

Better, by a heartbeat. Abbott's (ABT) Xience drug-coated stent showed better performance in avoiding heart attacks and other major issues than Boston Scientific's (BSX) stent, new data shows. The performance gap, though, is not considered significant. A new study also showed that using stents to prop open a key artery yielded similar results to bypass surgery, although stent users were more likely to require further treatment down the road. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Medtronic (MDT) also make stents.

Chip war brewing? AMD's (AMD) imminent release of Barcelona-based processors, as well as a 65-watt quad-core and a triple-core desktop chip, could spark intense competition. Intel (INTC) plans to ship Dunnington, a 6-core chip that uses a 45nm process, in the second half.

Xbox TV. Veteran Hollywood producer Peter Safran will produce original content for Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360. Safran says a first round of shows will be 10-minute, scripted comedy and horror pieces (these appeal to Xbox owners, he says). Available initially only to Xbox, the shows may eventually show up elsewhere. Microsoft expects more such deals.

Ad spending shrinks, except online. North America and Western Europe ad spending will grow by just 3.8% in 2008, down from a previous estimate of 4.4%, ZenithOptimedia says. And ad agencies are preparing for a U.S. recession. The silver lining: Online ad spending will grow by 23.4%, up from a previous estimate of 19%. In 2009, though, it will grow a milder 15.8%.

Dial up movies. Sony (SNE) will launch the first mobile-exclusive movie network on AT&T's (T) Mobile TV network in May. The linear channel, PIX, will carry titles such as Ghostbusters," "Philadelphia" and "Stand by Me." PIX will appear alongside nonexclusive mobile programming from NBC (GE), CBS (CBS), ESPN (DIS) and Nickelodeon (VIA), which will offer altered forms of their traditional linear programming. Films will run on PIX for a month. Sony might eventually convert PIX to on-demand.

Low flying year. Caylon analyst Ray Neidl says U.S. airlines will lose over $1B in 2008 due to high fuel prices and fare cuts. Most, he says, can make it through the year, though he's worried about AirTran (AAI) and Frontier Airlines (FRNT). Delta Air Lines (DAL), Northwest Airlines (NWA) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) are in the best shape -- especially LUV because of its low leverage and fuel hedges.

Greenback not good enough any more. Cisco's (CSCO) Lynksys unit wants to bring North America sales down and/or increase international business so that North American revenue will be below 50%.

Sources say Martha Stewart (MSO) is looking at Etsy, an online marketplace for crafts and handmade items.

Private equity advisory goes dry. Blackstone (BX) and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (GS), normally substantive fee payers to investment bankers, shelled out less than $5M in Q1. Last year they spent over $400M during the quarter.

Three little bears. Only three IPOs in March makes it the slowest month in 4.5 years. Bankers say potential issuers are waiting for clarity and stability in the markets.

Cross border exemption. A lawyer for Imax (IMAX) asked an Ontario court to seal documents submitted in response to fraud allegations so they cannot be used in a U.S. class-action suit against it.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me? "Well who would have thunk it? Not Paul McCartney forty years ago and certainly not yours truly, but yes he has, and I am, about to turn 64. Unlike Paul’s doleful dowager however, who pines for a companion to help him digging the weeds in a vegetable garden, life has offered up a more tossed and complicated salad for me to munch on. An authentic global financial crisis has led to sixteen-hour days and little time for gardening or the golf course for that matter..." Pimco's Bill Gross. He says authorities better fix the housing market quick -- a 20% adjustment wipes out ownership equity for millions of Americans.

Don't tell your wife this, but a Russian doomsday cult says credit cards are satanic. Then again, maybe you should tell her. This may catch on.

Comments

[Thomas Barta]

"Microsoft (MSFT) has for all intents gone silent. All this can mean only one thing: A deal between the two has to be getting ever closer."

Possibly. But not necessarily. People seem to keep forgetting that this merger absolutely DOES NOT benefit EITHER company or their respective shareholders. If it DOES look like it's going forward, expect numerous shareholder lawsuits.

[ED K]

hitting the nail on the head seems to becoming common place for you.Would you mind screwing up once in awhile so that i might hammer you.Keep the informative opinions coming.