MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" wrote that there is currently little to get revved up about with Harley Davidson Inc (NYSE: HOG), as its fundamentals have deteriorated, leaving little upside for the stock over the next year, according to Citigroup Analyst Greg Badishkanian.
• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) will name James Cornelius, who has been interim CEO since last September, as the permanent CEO of the company.
• Comcast Corp (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is pushing into Web TV, a space currently being dominated by Google Inc's (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube, reported the Wall Street Journal.

• According to the Detroit Free Press, Chrysler Group suitors must submit new bids next week to make the cut and continue talks with DaimlerChrsyler AG (NYSE: DCX); one or two "preferred bidders" are expected to emerge.
• The L.A. Times reported that employees of Fremont General Corp (NYSE: FMT) are suing over losses on company stock in their retirement plans which they say should have been foreseen and prevented.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that E.On AG (NYSE: EON), the German utility, today raised its takeover offer for Spain's Endesa (ELE) to EUR40 a share, valuing the utility at about EUR42.36B.
• Also in the Wall Street Journal, Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) is expected to cut 15,000 jobs under its restructuring plan.
• According to the Financial Times (subscription required), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (NYSE: SMI) is seeking a strategic investor and has named Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) to assist in the process.
• The Financial Times also reported that Saudi Basic is preparing a bid for General Electrics Company (NYSE: GE) GE Plastics division, that could be worth up to $12B.

• Blackberry maker Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is getting a line of mobile games from Gameloft, a leading cell phone games maker, reported the New York Times.
• The Los Angeles Times reported that Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) is said to be favoring Sam Zell's $33 per share offer for the company, according to a person familiar with the talks.
• The Sunday Telegraph reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is preparing to launch a range of audio and video phones.

• According to AppleInsider.com, Jeff Hansen, Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Senior Director of Channel Sales and Distribution, told colleagues in a company e-mail that he plans to retire from his post effective March 31st.
• According to ChinaTechNews.com, China Unicom Limited (NYSE: CHU) will reportedly sell is CDMA business for RMB70 billion to China Telecom Corporation Limited (NYSE: CHA), but China Telecom reportedly wants the price cut by RM35 billion.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that the expiration of Roche Holding's (OTC: RHHBY) Tamiflu stockpiles poses a dilemma for some poor Asian countries of whether to spend millions and restock with the drug.
• The Financial Times wrote that China has launched its first navigation satellite.

• The Associated Press reported that Michael Dell outlined corporate changes in a company wide email, and said he will "quash" bonuses for 2006, reduce managers, would not hire a new COO, push for faster product development and expand into new businesses at Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL).
• The New York Times reported that Simon Property Group is expected to bid $1.56B for Mills Corp (NYSE: MLS).
• The Los Angeles Times reported that General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal will name Jeff Zucker as its new CEO this week.
• According to the Detroit Free Press, DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler Group may cut up to 10,000 jobs next week.

The Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB) soap opera is reaching yet another plot twist.

Bids for the media conglomerate are due later this week, according to the New York Times. What struck me most about the article, though, was the despair evident among the reporters and editors of the Los Angeles Times, which billionaires Eli Broad and Ronald Burkle, along with media mogul David Geffen, are reportedly interested in buying.

"At The Times, several reporters have said privately that they prefer the idea of Mr. Geffen as the ultimate owner but that Mr. Broad and Mr. Burkle would most likely be preferable to a buyout firm that might cut costs further," the story said. 'Still, reporters and editors are generally nervous about any new buyer, even billionaires who say they want to maintain high quality."

Employees at the Los Angeles Times shouldn't be nervous about their future, they should be terrified. Even by the standards of major metropolitan papers, the Times is in bad shape. The paper's daily circulation declined 8% during the last period reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, which was higher than the drop off seen at other major dailes, including the Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post.

Whether Broad and Burkle will succeed if they decide to do a joint bid is anybody's guess. Other bidders are probably put off by the many headaches they would inherit from Tribune, including the Los Angeles Times. It will be interesting to see how much competition emerges or if the billionaires can buy these assets on the cheap.

I just heard that Dean Baquet, the editor of the Los Angeles Times, has been pushed out by his Chicago-based overlords because he refused to oversee any more staff cuts.

Well, all of us members of the Fourth Estate, past and present, saw this coming. It's just another ill tiding for the newspaper industry.

The Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), owners of the Chicago Tribune (and lots of other media outlets), own the Los Angeles Times. It's been relentless in its pursuit of profits, slashing staff and other resources. It's slowly starving its brand by trying to wring every last penny of profit out of its business. And when was the newspaper business ever a money-making operation?

Yes, the newspaper industry is dying. Yes, more people get their news now from the Internet or TV. Yes, advertising revenue has tanked, again thanks to the Internet. I'll even hazard to say there won't be newspapers as we know them in 20 years time. But it ain't dead yet. There are still millions of people who get a newspaper every day, for whatever reason. And those people want a good product. The Los Angeles Times was a good product. A great brand.

My hometown newspaper is the LA Times, which is owned by Tribune. The Tribune has other traditional media assets like the Chicago Tribune.

Well, I haven't subscribed to the LA Times in years. Like more and more people, I get my news from the Internet.

So, who would want to buy a company like Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB)? There are certainly buyers. The problem is, though, that they want a dirt cheap price. Tribune has been on the auction block and simply put, the sale has been withdrawn because the bids have been too low.

As a result, it looks like Tribune may sell off individual assets. Perhaps, this could result in an overall higher value for the company?

After all, billionaires like David Geffen and Ronald Burkle may just want to purchase the LA Times, whereas Gannett may be interested in other properties. Also, the Tribune owns the Cubs, which would likely fetch a high price. There are also interesting Net properties, such as CareerBuilder (which Tribune has an equity interest in).

The fact remains, however, that circulation in the newspaper business continues to erode as dot-coms like Craigslist eat away at high-margin segments.

Maybe, then, Tribune can go private?

Whatever option is taken, it does look like shareholders will not get much of a premium. If anything, the big winner may be the IRS, which could reap a huge windfall in tax dollars if there is a liquidity event.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.