Morning Look

"Experience and enthusiasm are tow fine business attributes seldom found in one individual." - William Feather

Morning News of Note:

• UCL CVX: When Cnooc, the Chinese government-owned oil company, dropped its bid to buy Unocal this month, it said political opposition in Washington had scuttled the plan. The question oil companies now face is whether they might suffer similar political retribution in their own dealings with foreign governments. The fate of Unocal was finally settled yesterday when a majority of the company's shareholders approved a takeover offer from Chevron worth about $18 billion. The battle has left a bitter taste among many in the oil and gas industry because of the hostility displayed by lawmakers and the consequences this might have for United States oil companies worldwide. (Full Story) NY Times
• TWX: Heard on the Street... Icahn's Big Ideas For Time Warner Are a Tough Sell Wall Street isn't buying Carl Icahn's plan to turn around Time Warner Inc. Word that the New York financier -- famous for putting pressure on corporate chieftains to increase shareholder returns -- was focusing on Time Warner as his next target boosted Time Warner shares earlier this week. But yesterday, Time Warner's share price fell on widespread skepticism about Mr. Icahn's plans. In 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Time Warner shares were down 30 cents to $18.24. (Full Story) WSJ
• YHOO: Yahoo to Pay $1 Billion for Stake in China's Alibaba Yahoo! Inc. agreed to pay $1 billion in cash for a 40 percent stake in Alibaba.com, China's biggest online retailer, to catch up with EBay Inc. in the world's second- largest Internet market. Yahoo, owner of the world's most-visited Web site, will become Alibaba's biggest investor, the companies said in a joint statement today. Alibaba will take over Sunnyvale, California- based Yahoo's China operations, with Jack Ma, chief executive of the Chinese company, leading the new venture. (Full Story) Bloomberg
• YUM: YUM! Brands reports period 8 same store sales (50.71 ) Co reports blended U.S comps +5% vs +3.04% Briefing.com consensus; reports KFC +5% vs +4.5% consensus; reports Pizza Hut -2% vs -1.12% Briefing.com consensus; reports Taco Bell +9% vs +6.21% Briefing.com consensus; reports International +5% vs +6.1% Briefing.com consensus; reports China sales +17% vs +12.1% Briefing.com consensus. Sales results for Period 9 (the four-week period ending September 3, 2005, for the U.S. businesses) will be released Thursday, September 8, 2005, before the market opens.

Market Comments: The market opens up a bit this morning. Considering yesterday's big fade, I would have preferred to see the market open down, and then reverse higher into the close. Energy stocks are still jamming, with oil hovering around $65. T. Boone Pickens was on yesterday saying we'll see $75 oil within a year. Ouch. I'll be back with my top pick in the energy patch later today.

long TWX