Quote of the Day

"Professionals are people who can do their job when they don't feel like it. Amateurs are people who can't do their job when they do feel like it." - Anonymous

Morning News of Note:

• GOOG: Google's Value? Search Me! ONE OF GOOGLE'S MANY UNIQUE BUSINESS practices is its flat-out refusal to provide Wall Street with any help on how to model the company's future financial performance. Google (ticker: GOOG) offers no quarterly or annual earnings guidance and declines to give any details on the direction the business might take in the months and years ahead. As a result, making forecasts about the company's profits -- and stock price -- involve inherent peril. Last year, for instance, we ran a chart that looked at the attempts of 19 Internet stock analysts to value the stock ("Value Quest," Nov. 29). As it turned out, all of the analysts willing to offer price targets were dramatically too conservative; some were off by 100%. (Full Story) BARRONS
• CVC: Cablevision's Dolans Offer $7.9 Billion for Company The billionaire Dolan family, which controls Cablevision Systems Corp., offered to buy the portion of the company it doesn't already own in a $7.9 billion transaction that would take the company private. Shareholders of Cablevision, the largest cable-television provider in the New York area, would receive $33.50 per share, or 25 percent more than the $26.87 closing price on June 17, the company said in a statement distributed today on PR Newswire. (Full Story) Bloomberg
• GOOG EBAY: Google Said to Plan Rival to PayPal Google is preparing an online-payment system that would compete with PayPal, according to an online retailer who has been approached by Google to take part in the effort. In addition to representing a direct challenge to eBay, which owns PayPal, the largest Internet payment system, the move signals Google's intention to become much more deeply involved in online commerce. (Full Story) NY Times
• AMTD TD: Ameritrade Close to Deal to Buy TD Waterhouse Ameritrade Holdings, the online brokerage firm, was near an agreement late yesterday to purchase TD Waterhouse, another powerhouse in the industry, according to executives close to the deal. The acquisition is expected to be announced as early as today, the executives said. Ameritrade, which is based in Omaha, would become the largest online brokerage firm in the country. (Full Story) NY Times
• WMT: Wal-Mart Stores-WMT sees June comps up 2%-4%

Market Comments: The market is set for a weaker open this morning. Some of this could be what is often referred to as "options expiration hangover", after last Friday's options expiration, as investors reload their puts and hedges, etc. The market has also been up for 5 straight days, a streak that is likely to be broken soon. But I expected any pullback to be benign, and for the market to remain strong into quarter-end.