Before the bell 6-29-06: GOOG, MSFT, YHOO, EBAY

Stock markets rebounded yesterday after their big sell-off on Tuesday. Still, without a doubt, the one thing that was and is on investors' minds is Bernanke's announcement at 2:15 p.m. ET today about the Fed policy. It isn't so much the expected rate hike that investors want to hear, but rather the Fed's economic outlook and ongoing policy. Will further rate hikes be implied from Bernanke's statement?

A slew of economic indicators is also going to be reported today, most notably final first-quarter Gross Domestic Product, the broadest measure of economic activity  as well as weekly initial claims, both at 8:30.  The expected numbers are a 5.6% growth (up from a prior 5.3%) for GDP, and 310,000 claims.

Crude oil rose to $72.37 a barrel. Overseas, European markets are higher, while Asian markets also closed posting gains.

The yield on the 10-year note was little changed this morning after it went up to 5.24% yesterday from 5.20% on Tuesday. Bond prices therefore declined.

In corporate news: U.S. regulators charge BP Unit with manipulating propane prices in 2004. BP was up more than 1%. And Walt Disney Co. named ex-Procter & Gamble CEO and Disney director John Pepper as non-executive chairman.

Futures are surprisingly positive in early morning trading indicating a higher beginning to the trading day as investors boldly face the hours before the Fed's statement. What will happen after the 2:15 announcement will depend on the statement given by the Fed.  However, at the very least the statement should give investors a better picture going forward with regards to Fed policy in the coming month, which should be a relief after weeks of speculation.

Here's a look at some key Blogging Stocks:

Google (GOOG) is up 91 cents in pre-market trading to $407.02 as of 7:41 a.m. Google Inc. today announced the launch of Google Checkout, an online payment system competing with eBay's PayPal. Yesterday, a Paris court had upheld a trademark ruling against Internet search leader Google Inc. and increased the damages to be paid to luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton.

Microsoft (MSFT) was up 4 cents in after hour trading to $23.20 as of 7:25 p.m. yesterday. For Microsoft Corp., the biggest news come from competitors as Google launches its Google Checkout. Red Hat, a distributor of open-source Linux software, reported an 11 percent increase in first-quarter net income yesterday.

Yahoo! (YHOO) still traded at its yesterday's close price of $31.92 as of 7:48 p.m. yesterday. UK-based mobile phone company 3 said on Thursday it had chosen Yahoo Inc to provide Internet services for its network. South Korean online retailer Gmarket, in which Yahoo Inc. has a 10 percent stake, raised $139 million in a Nasdaq IPO on Thursday.  Yahoo Inc. will consider refunding money to thousands of advertisers dating back to January 2004 to settle, what has become known as the "click fraud" lawsuit.

eBay (EBAY) is up 5 cents in after hours trade to $28.80 as of 7:56 p.m. yesterday. Google Inc. today announced the launch of Google Checkout, an online payment system competing with eBay's PayPal. South Korean online retailer Gmarket, in which Yahoo Inc. has a 10 percent stake and an eBay competitor, raised $139 million in a Nasdaq IPO on Thursday