Newspaper wrap-up 1-16-07: Fidel Castro in "very grave" condition

MAJOR PAPERS:

Barron's Magazine (subscription required) highlighted a number of possible M&A targets, along with a few stocks it believes to be undervalued:

M&A is expected to continue in Europe: possible large cap targets include Barclays (NYSE: BCS), Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN), Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY), Koninklljke (NYSE: KPN) and Swisscom (NYSE: SCM); possible small-mid cap targets include Hellenic Telecom (NYSE: OTE).
There may still be upside in shares of Xerox (NYSE: XRX), says James Benson, a partner and securities analyst at Harris Associates.
Shares of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) may be undervalued by as much as 50%, says Barron's "Bottom Line," which writes that shares could climb above $60.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) featured an article on Pfizer's new CEO and his strategic plan.

Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) new CEO, Jeffrey B. Kindler, is preparing to detail his strategic vision for the company that will likely involve more job cuts.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is claiming a nanotechnology research breakthrough that would bring big benefits in performance.
According to a Nomura report, Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE) will reach only 75% of its global target for PlayStation 3 sales this fiscal year through March.

The New York Times had an article highlighting the possibility of New York funding stem cell research.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer called for the passage of a $2B 10-year bond initiative for research and development, at least half of which would be set aside to pay for stem cell research.
Citigroup (NYSE: C) may shorten its name to Citi and drop its umbrella logo.

OTHER PAPERS:

The UK Times wrote that Ford (NYSE: F) may have trouble selling its Aston Martin unit after potential buyers found problems in the divisions books while doing due diligence.
El Pais wrote that Fidel Castro is in "very grave" condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection known as diverticulitis.