The Consumerist somehow came into possession of a Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) employee training manual that seems to spell out customer stereotypes -- from early adopter males to empty-nester couples. Why would the consumer electronics retailer need such a document to train its floor associates? So that the company could outwit "demon" customers and focus on "angel customers."

Those terms was coined by consultant and customer guru Larry Selden based on his recommendations to the retailer in 2004. Demons were customers who constantly bargain hunted and returned products at a high rate and angels were profitable customers who paid higher prices and bought extended warranties with many purchases. In other words, some customers are great and some are horrible. Selden's advice: focus on the customer, forget the actual product.

Now, Best Buy's focus on the customer apparently includes training associated on "personas" that Best Buy employees use to sell the most profitable products to the the correct "type" of customer. In the training manual, young urban males are termed "Buzz" while upper middle class women are termed as "Jill."

Once a blue-shirted salesperson identifies what type of customer they are dealing with, they can customize their sales approach to get the most profitable product sold. Although this stereotype way of selling may bother some, this is the future of retail. Each customer needs a specific sales approach and a customized experience. In the process, the retailer needs to move inventory and hopefully the most profitable kind at the same time. Looks like Best Buy may be leading the way.

Here it is, right in front of you, the opportunity of a lifetime for Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). With the Rivals.com deal now in hand, making Yahoo a larger internet sports media interest than ESPN, the iron is hot and ready to strike a working partnership between Yahoo! and ESPN. If the two entities can hammer something out that makes full use of each companies strengths, we would most probably witness the birth of an internet sports composite that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) couldn't touch. Wouldn't it be nice to see Yahoo! as the undeniable leader in something? Admit it to yourself, Yahoo! deserves it.

I have no idea if there have been corporate discussions regarding such a working partnership, but you must consider that Yahoo! and ESPN are more than a little aware of each other, and if there's one thing that Yahoo! must be tired of right about now it would be the concept of vainly slugging it out with other large internet properties.

Let us watch carefully to see if some new strategies start seeping out of Yahoo! Perhaps Jerry Yang has secretly been waiting for Terry Semel to be dislodged before instigating some new ideas. If I held Yahoo! shares right now I'd be very hesitant to sell them, and I'd even consider adding a few. Yahoo! has been floundering, but it is far from being counted out. I repeat my conviction that if Yahoo! will just just try to forget about Google and begin to cut it's own swath, it will do far better in the long run than by continuing to beat its head against the "Great Wall of Google."

It's being called an April Fool's joke gone wild, but four days after the fake press release hit the web it's still picking up steam and is showing no signs of slowing down. Apparently first released on Pheebay.com, the faux news release claims that Jack Ma of Alibaba renown would be making an overture for ownership of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), the stated goal being a gut thrust drive at upsetting online auction leader eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) for good. The fake notice also pulls Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) into the fray but alas, to no avail.

What makes this situation at least mildly remarkable is the response that it has received. It seems that as people realize that it's only a joke, the uniform response is one of disappointment and dismay in finding out that it is just not true. The fake notice was well received on the Powersellersunite boards where you can easily see that had it not been a joke it had the potential of becoming an over the top success. This serves as another quick and passing reminder that there are a great number of disenfranchised former eBay sellers who still have an axe to grind.

I read the full release on AssociatedContent about this light hearted fantasy, and I think about all the options available on the internet. I am reminded that strange things do happen in this internet world and that yesterday's joke is sometimes today's block buster hit. Don't turn your back on the true possibility that the eBay slayer is standing in the shadows ready to strike. As David Lee Roth sang in Fair Warning, "What you think is nothing, might be something after all."

Note: The Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Volatility Index S&P 500 Options-VIX at 18.46

Washington Mutual -- (NYSE:WM) implied volatility & put volume indicates Aggressive Risk. WM, a consumer and small business bank with assets of $346 billion, is recently down .87 to $41.71. According to SNL Financial for The Wall Street Journal, WM has loan loss reserves of 0.60%. This is below banks set aside average of 1.09% at the end of last year according to data from 518 publicly traded banks according to SNL. WMcall option volume of 8,889 contracts compares to put volume of 38,848 contracts. WM April option implied volatility of 28 is above its 26-week average of 18 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

MGIC Investment Corp. -- (NYSE:MTG) volatility & put volume elevated suggests hedging of risk. MTG provides private mortgage insurance in the to the home mortgage lending industry.SBSH lowered its price target to $71 on "MTG's '06 10-K, filed yesterday, provided revised guidance regarding C-BASS -- indicating that the 1Q07 earnings contribution from unconsolidated subs will likely be 'materially lower' YOY." MTG call option volume of 2,291 contracts compares to put volume of 9,136 contracts. MTG April option implied volatility of 42 is above its 26-week average of 28 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Option volume leaders today were: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), New Century (NYSE:NEW), Novastar (NYSE:NFI) & Pfizer (NYSE:PFE).

My colleague, Zac Bissonnette, wrote an excellent post. In his writing, Zac tells some real truths regarding the holding of dividend paying stocks. Being a fan of value stocks and the dividend checks they provide, I couldn't sit by quietly without expressing my opinion. You may file this under: "Oh no, here goes Gary again!"

Dividend paying stocks do have their downside, it's true. The double tax proposition is a tough pill to swallow, so why would anyone accept that? The best explanation I have is that it's a payoff against the reduced level of risk that you gain by buying into a company with a history of providing a balance sheet you can sleep on.

Yes, there's probably far more immediate return available when trading stocks in rapid style but that's a horse race at best and some people just don't have the nerve for that. It's also worth considering that many of the people who hold these value stocks, hold them to hold them ... quite literally. The shares are being saved for the growing kids and will then be available for those kids to sell.

When I went to college, I ventured far from my safe liberal hippie Portland, Ore. home -- all the way to a little town in Virginia. Robert E. Lee's horse was buried a few feet from my freshman dorm room, if that's any description. And that's when I was introduced to Krispy Kreme.

My immediate reaction? Eww! "Krispy Kreme" sounded like something that had been left in the hall's refrigerator since the early 80s. I didn't even try the doughnuts until five years later, and swayed by a friend who loved them and the convenient location in New York's Penn Station, I grew to hunger for their swift sugary rush. When I moved back to Portland at about the same time embarked on its wild expansion across the U.S., I jumped on the bandwagon and bought a little stock.

A year later everything in my portfolio was doing brilliantly with the marked exception of Krispy Kreme, which had lost roughly two-thirds of its value, closed 100 of its 400 stores, and initiated a program of franchise buybacks that is now being "informally inquired" about by the SEC. I let it sit there, soaking up the juice thrown off by winners like eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) and J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) with its nutritionally empty sweetness. It's still there, and let me tell you, I'm not planning on utilizing those 12 shares as a down payment on my retirement vacation home.

That's why when I saw Prudential had initiated with a 'Buy' and a $15 price target. My reaction was one of gaping, open mouth.

With Starbucks' earnings results coming out next week, investors wonder: is it still time to buy? The stock has appreciated nearly 50% this year, and is up sharply today to $35.40. I write this now just to put out a few points that suggest long-term prospects are still good.

• First, let's start with the simple fact that Starbucks has the advantage over many companies by having a great brand name and known product. People don't mind spending $4 a day for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, but they do at other local coffee shops.
• Second, it is important to note that companies worldwide are using Starbucks as an example of how to expand their companies, such as India's Barista. This proves that Starbucks is truly innovative, showing companies around the world how it should be done, even if it is with such a simple product as coffee.
• Third, expansion opportunity is extremely large for Starbucks because of the potential in China. China doesn't welcome every foreign company into its country, but China's president Hu Jintao actually said he wants Starbucks to expand in China, after trying out Starbucks on his visit to the U.S. India may also offer an opportunity for Starbucks, but it looks like they are focusing on China for now.
• A fourth point that I find interesting is that Starbucks has to spend barely anything on advertising. You never see commercials for a new Starbucks coffee on TV, simply because a large portion of their customers come daily, and that is all they need to showcase their new product. This keeps advertising costs down to a minimum, and it also keeps people from getting annoyed from their advertising!

Because of its leading name and product, great management, good financials, and amazing growth potential and opportunity, I see Starbucks as a clear long-term winner.

Hilary: great smile, great dimples, and best of all, GREAT calls... (Sorry, I just can't be PC -- not in a blog.)

Hilary Kramer (HK) in her stock blog, HilaryOnStocks, has changed direction and decided to make people money by saving them some money, suggesting it may be time to bail out of certain holdings. Generally speaking, her comments on the 10 stocks she reviewed were very good.

However, I must take exception to the overall principle of trading in and out of stocks because that may not be smart for certain investors. For example, she suggests that Apple may be over, with its long run-up behind it and that taking some profits is in order. I made a similar argument last week.

More in depth review might reveal that if you got in early and live in a high tax state like California you are looking at losing 22% to 24% of your gain to taxes when you add the state tax to the federal capital gains tax and then add up the transaction fees. So while HK is correct that Apple may start moving lower, the question is by how much?

Also, you must consider where you will put the money when you get it. And if you put it in cash or short-term investments, then when will you get back into the market and what will you buy? And you will be putting back 25% less perhaps.

I am not against paying taxes or rotating out of questionable companies, but you must always look at the broad picture as it applies to your own situation.

Here's my take on the 10 stocks she suggests selling:

Home Depot (HD) and KB Homes (KBH): Solid companies and while they my lag for a while, if you got in at the right price they can be good core holdings depending on your personal circumstances.

Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL), Coach (COH), Gap (GPS), General Motors (GM): You don't need to bother with them now.

Apple (AAPL) and Hewlett Packard (HPQ): Big maybes.

Krispy Kreme (KKD) and Jet Blue (JBLU): No reason to own in any market!

Also check out my recent posts: "Dividends are very sexy -- no joke" and "A bad rap for a bad market"