U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fall; Bear Stearns, Intel, Pfizer Slide in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures declined
after Bear Stearns Cos. told investors there's little value left
in its two failed hedge funds and Intel Corp. and Yahoo! Inc.
said competition is reducing earnings.

Bear Stearns, the second-biggest underwriter of mortgage-
backed securities, retreated in Europe. Intel, the world's
largest computer-chip maker, and Yahoo, the most-visited U.S. Web
site, also fell. Pfizer Inc. shares slipped after the company
reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Kravis Outspends Blackstone in Buyouts, Instilling Profit-or-Perish Creed

(Bloomberg) -- It's a great time to be Henry
Kravis, as he's quick to remind people.

In April, the buyout mogul is standing in a ballroom of the
Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York, telling AIDS researcher Dr.
David Ho, architect Maya Lin and Yahoo! Inc. co-founder Jerry
Yang that the private equity industry he helped invent is hotter
than ever.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Futures dip ahead of data, Yahoo up

(Reuters) - Shares of Internet media company Yahoo Inc. traded up more than 5 percent in Europe, however, so a bounce in technology could cushion the market.




Data on U.S. housing starts is due before the bell, a day after a survey showed sentiment among U.S. home builders fell in June to the lowest since February 1991.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Regulators look at two online ad takeovers: report

(Reuters) - So far, the FTC has not made "second requests" for extra
information from either Microsoft or Yahoo, the newspaper
reported. Those requests would suggest a closer level of
scrutiny.




A Microsoft spokesman told the Journal that the company is
"cooperating fully" and it looks "forward to addressing any
questions the FTC may have."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Yahoo, Ceridian, Dell Climb in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures increased on
speculation the economy is rebounding after bottoming out in the
first quarter.

Shares of Yahoo! Inc., owner of the second-most-popular
Internet search engine, climbed in Europe after a stock upgrade
by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Ceridian Corp. gained as the provider of
human resource and payroll services agreed to be acquired for
$5.3 billion. Shares of Wachovia Corp., the fourth-biggest U.S.
bank, may move after the company agreed to buy A.G. Edwards Inc.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Microsoft deal cuts chances of Yahoo merger: analyst

(Reuters) - "Microsoft may be more interested in piecemealing together
the highest-quality franchises that replicate what Yahoo
already has," Devitt said in a phone interview.




Earlier this month, several newspapers reported that
Microsoft was considering a deal worth an estimated $40 billion
to $50 billion to acquire Yahoo. A source close to the
situation subsequently said that any talks had cooled.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News