Before the bell 06-20-06: GOOG, MSFT, YHOO, EBAY

Futures are mixed this morning, indicating a flat open and perhaps a continuation of yesterday's downward trend.  Overseas, Asian markets were down overnight as are European markets currently, undoubtedly affecting American investors.

Yesterday's markets tripped for the second day on lack of economic news, fearing the fundamentals haven't changed, especially after an Atlanta Fed Chairman commented that inflation is beyond an acceptable range. Rising interest rates helped push the dollar up affecting commodity prices.  Bond yields changed little.

The overall sentiment in the market is that nothing much will happen until earnings season next month when investors can get a better actual picture of how rising inflation, energy costs and interest rates are affecting companies individually.

Today at 8:30 two economic indicators will be released: Building permits and housing starts.  Market consensus calls for 1.96 million and 1.86 million respectively.  We might see a more positive day if the results are better than expected, but barring that, volatility is expected to continue.

Here's a look at some key Blogging Stocks:

Google (GOOG) is down $2.72 in pre-market trading to $387.98 as of 8:03 a.m. The biggest news on Google comes from competitors with both Microsoft and Yahoo unveiling updated instant messaging programs yesterday.

Microsoft (MSFT) is up 44 cents to $22.54 as of 7:50 a.m.  Yesterday, Microsoft showcased robotics innovation, yet two articles in Forbes maintain that while Microsoft is experiencing growth and momentum, many concerns remain.  McAdams Wright Ragen maintains a "buy" rating on Microsoft with a 12-month target price of $31. 

Yahoo! (YHOO) is down 6 cents to $30.30 as of 7:04 a.m. The biggest news on Yahoo is its new Messenger plug-ins that allow third-party (eBay and Amazon)  tracking as well as sharing Yahoo services among users.

eBay (EBAY) is down 21 cents to $30.07 as of 7:57 p.m. yesterday. Here's a new twist on the email scam that has been affecting eBay and PayPal users.