Perhaps you have noticed the temporary slowdown and recent minor pullbacks in both MasterCard (MA) and Visa (V) stocks.

My compliments to Mr. Dignan for putting a different angle on this possible acquisition of Yahoo (YHOO) by Microsoft (MSFT) or Google (GOOG) (Microsoft/Yahoo: Will Google Play Spoiler and Bid Also?).

While the market waits, the pundits bloviate and the crush of the cost of a gallon of gas is weighted on the debt laden consumer; however, consider the following:

After seeing the ads for the 4:00 am and 5:00 am openings on Friday, I decided to check things out for myself. First up was Kohls Department Store (KSS) at 4:00 am. The people inside were standing in lines throughout the store to pay for purchases. The largest discounted sale items were already sold out at 4:30 am. Housewares, small appliances and clothing seemed most popular. Target Department Store (TGT) had lines as well, but Kohls seemed to be winning the "most bags per consumer" trend. All in all, pretty standard stuff in the department store arena.

Looking at the recent Dell (DELL) purchase in the virtualization world I suddenly realized that the possibility of a Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) - EMC (EMC) merger would be a great idea.

HP will buy EMC. Why? Because Dell bought one of EMC's competitors. HP is the new gorilla in the server arena. The sales of desktops are falling. Everyone wants a laptop for portability and to keep in touch on the internet while the world gets its act together on the gPhone (GOOG) and iPhone (AAPL) for internet access.