DOW JONES & COMPANY (NYSE: DJ)

Could it happen? Could News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) pull its offer? They could, and the fear is absolutely there. That's why the stock has fallen. For one, the Bancroft family, which controls the majority of Dow Jones' shares, hasn't formally accepted Rupert Murdoch's $5B, $60 a share offer. And no one else has come forward with a competing bid. But it does seem that both sides are moving together in the same direction. Okay, but somebody should make up their mind -- either way -- and stop fiddling around.

EXPEDIA INC (NASDAQ: EXPE), IAC/INTERACTIVECORP (NASDAQ: IACI)

Barry Diller is back at it. The chairman and CEO of IAC/InteractiveCorp, who is also chairman of the board and a senior advisor to Expedia, is working to take online travel firm Expedia private at $30 a share. Part of any deal will involve Expedia's TripAdvisor being spun off with about 400 jobs being lost in that shuffle.

PENN NATIONAL GAMING INC (NASDAQ: PENN)

After many, many laps around the track, this race is over, as race track and casino operator Penn agreed to be acquired today by Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) and private equity firm Centerbridge Partners. All cash, baby, in a deal worth $8.9B that includes $2.8B of assumed debt. Everyone to the Winner's Circle.

"India is a country of the future," observes Nick Vardy in The Global Stock Investor. And his current favorite play on this market is ICICI (NYSE: IBN). He notes, "ICICI can be considered India's 'Citibank' -- and it is angling to profit from India's growth in many ways."

The advisor points out that the Delhi Master Plan 2021 -- a government plan to transform New Delhi from a "chaotic city into a clean, organized and world-class metropolis" -- proposes making land available to build 2.4 million housing units in Delhi.

He notes that ICICI Venture Funds Management Co. -- a joint venture with Tishman Speyer, a U.S. real-estate company -- is already actively looking at funding a large chunk of the project. The prospects look strong.

Meanwhile, he adds, ICICI Bank's international aspirations continue to bear fruit. Recently, he states, ICICI received a license to set up a branch in the Qatar Financial Centre, Doha, Qatar. According to Vardy, ICICI Bank is the first Indian bank to receive a license from Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA).

He explains, "Perhaps no other stock in our portfolio demonstrates better that it is important to stick with strong-growth megatrends, no matter how volatile the ride can be. I continue to be very bullish on the long-term prospects of ICICI bank and the stock remains a long-term buy and my #1 pick on the global financial-services megatrend."

For more stock picks from the leading financial newsletter advisors, visit Steven Halpern's free daily website, TheStockAdvisors.com.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been ordered to pay $1.52B to Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) for infringing patents on a fundamental technology for digital music.
• According to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column, shares of India's two largest private sector banking companies, Icici Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN) and HDFC Bank (NYSE: HDB), have tripled over the past three years. However, some investors are getting cautious on the stocks as India's central bank has taken tougher steps to rein in lending growth and stanch inflation.
• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" suggested investing in companies with modest dividend yields, but a strong cash position and business model, such as outsourcing player Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX), fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) and insurer Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to German website Heise Online, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) will exhibit at CeBIT, the European version of the CES expo, from March 15 through the 21. Apple will be exhibiting the iPhone, said the site. However, according to German website Computerwoche, Apple has denied that it is participating in CeBIT. (Both links in German)
  
• Business Week's "Inside Wall Street" column mentioned UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH), Epix (NASDAQ: EPIX) and LJ International (NASDAQ: JADE) positively.
  
• Warren Buffet has stirred up interest in UnitedHealth by reportedly buying one million shares in the company.
• Small biotech Epix, which recently signed a deal with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), could double within a year, believe some experts.
• LJ International, which has already risen from slightly over $4 to over $11 since December, may still have room to rise, according to Albert Lee of Maxim Group, who has a $12 price target on the stock.
• Investor's Business Daily's "New America" column highlighted Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN), the 10th largest grocery distributor in the U.S., which has seen earnings growth in double and triple digits for nine of the past ten quarters.