Will a marriage occur between General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler? According to industry scuttlebutt, talks have been going on for several weeks, but have been held up partially because of the credit crunch. Today in the Wall Street Journal, a source familiar with the talks reported that talks were proceeding at a "measured pace" and that Cerberus, the private equity firm that owns Chrysler, would want to breathe "fresh air" into the management team of the combined company.

The only member of the two current management teams who could possibly be considered "fresh air" would be Robert Nardelli, much-maligned former CEO of Home Depot and now-chief of Chrysler. He's been in the spot for a little over a year, the sum total of his auto experience. The two most likely candidates to head the combined entity at GM, CEO Rick Wagoner and COO Fritz Henderson, have each been with GM for decades (Henderson was even born in Detroit) and can hardly be considered new blood.

Bringing an outsider into a merged company would certainly create change, though it's hard to know who Cerberus has in mind. The firm's own staff is filled with onetime Fortune 500 executives, including former Johnson & Johnson COO Jim Lenehan and former MCI president and COO Tim Price. My money's on Price, who worked actively on the GMAC deal and thus has deep experience with the industry. Who else could Cerberus be considering for this historic amalgamation of American autos?

Is Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) really feeling threatened by social networking property Facebook? Sensationalist media pundits think so, and the fuel is building on just when social networking websites will somehow "steal" customers from established internet properties like Google and Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO). Oh my, how the flavor of the month can get too many riled up in their seats.

After having perused Facebook for a while, I'm still in disbelief of how it's such a hot topic these days. Perhaps it is the virtual mall for the tweener and early twenty-something set. No problem with that. But, didn't MySpace.com have this title a year ago? How long is it since you've seen MySpace in the news outside of some sexual predator being busted for posting a profile there? I'm still wondering if Rupert Murdoch is secretly kicking himself over that one. Another question mark in my brain centers around Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and why he has not cashed out at the pinnacle of his brainchild. Maybe the pinnacle is not there yet, but it's getting very close.

A really cool social networking technology called Second Life had its day (a very short one), and word has it that fans of the site are leaving in droves just as corporate sponsors start littering the environment with their wares and marketing messages. Coincidence? Or, are the target demographics for social networking websites as finicky as all get out? If Google is chasing the new "innernet," where you connect with those you want to interact with (and only those) using images, voice, chat or whatever, then it's chasing being un-innovative in this space. First-mover advantage is always where it's at (ask Yahoo! about Yahoo! Mail), and social networking is still just the flavor of the month in its current incarnation.

It may persevere, but the proof is only partly there. Business models and profit run a business, not page views and ad inserts alone. Although Google may be losing some top talent to Facebook, many are likely looking to cash out once an IPO or buyout occurs. Loyalty is a forgotten term (even with many brainiacs), and social networking has a bit to go to provide a sustainable business platform that works long term and consistently.

Shares of TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) are up roughly 3% today on higher-than-average volume as merger rumors are surrounding the company. The Wall Street Journal reported [subscription required] reported that the company is in talks with E*Trade Financial (NASDAQ: ETFC), supposedly considering a merger.

Should you buy into these rumors? In my opinion, I don't think it makes sense to ever buy a stock simply because the media is circulating buyout, merger, or any other rumors. When considering these situations, you need to step back, study the company, and make sure you're not overpaying for the prospects of the rumor.

Shares of TD Ameritrade sold off hard when the financial sector (as a whole) got hit on rate concerns during the last two months. This trade-off has put the stock at slightly less than 18x earnings. With Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) fetching more than 19x earnings, there seems to be a small valuation discrepancy suggesting TD Ameritrade is undervalued. Why? TD Ameritrade is more profitable, expected to grow faster than Schwab in the next year, and grew more quickly than Schwab in the last several years.

More interestingly, TD Ameritrade is currently trading for less than 16x its earnings guidance for this year and less than 13x estimates for next year's earnings! Shares of Charles Schwab, on the other hand, are fetching more than 17x next year's earnings estimates. This huge forward discount makes no sense, in my opinion, and leads me to believe TD Ameritrade is undervalued, merger or no merger.

CV THERAPEUTICS INC (NASDAQ: CVTX)

For sale? Seems so. The bio-pharmaceutical company hired investment bankers to check it out and just like that, the stock jumped 6%. But sell to who? Some say a bigger competitor. At what price? $18 a share is about right. One report says that the CEO would absolutely jump at $20 a share. Added pressure to make a move has come from Third Point, who made their point to do something as they acquired a 10% stake in May.


MARSH & MCLENNAN COMPANIES INC (NYSE: MMC)

Since January there has been interest in buying this worldwide professional services company. Management is taking the tact of listening to some of the interested LBO parties, but has not said it wants to sell, nor has it hired a team of advisers to help think it through. Bids could be made in the mid-$30s, but management might be expecting something the $40 range. Which means there is interest to sell, but at a higher price, equal to a premium over their $18B market cap. Blackstone and KKR are said to be among the interested. A sale of some assets may first be necessary to make it all happen.


WENDY'S INTERNATIONAL (NYSE: WEN)

The company chairman, James V. Pickett, speaks: "While a sale remains only one of the alternatives under consideration, we believe it merits more thorough examination." And, I'll have a square hamburger on a round bun, please.



STILL FLYING AROUND


KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS INC (NYSE: KKD)

But will they trade oil for donut batter? Mohamed Abdulmohsin Al Kharafi & Sons of Kuwait are buying up the stock like crazy. The shares are rising fast, and a purchase could finally happen. Or, could there be big expansion outside the U.S. of A.?


NETFLIX INC (NASDAQ: NFLX), AMAZON.COM INC (NASDAQ: AMZN)

It's not getting any easier for Netflix. Blockbuster Inc (NYSE: BBI) is making life miserable by price undercutting. Now Netflix will have to top that. Will Amazon now make it's move?



BUZZ


Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE: TSN): The shares are up on heavy trading, but many balk at talk of a sale or buyout... Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE: HOG): Stock price moving on up may be due to takeover talk.

Analysts are expecting Jones Apparel Group Inc (NYSE: JNY) to announce a sale of upscale fashion retail chain Barneys New York any minute now. Sources have indicated Jones CEO Peter Boneparth is looking to sell the chain because of a decline in the company's stock price -- shares closed yesterday at $28.36, while trading in January for over $35. Additionally, having failed to sell the entire company nearly a year ago, Mr. Boneparth may be looking to take advantage of the highly competitive market for luxury goods.

Because of the desire for luxury goods, Barneys has been sought after by publicly-traded companies as well as private-equity groups. There is strong market speculation that Istithmar, the investment arm of the Dubai government, could be the victor in the race for Barneys. Istithmar has a global real estate portfolio valued around $7 billion, including owning apparel retailer Loehmann's Holdings, and has been in hot pursuit of other U.S. properties over the past year. Sources close to the matter believe Istithmar could offer around $825 million for Barneys.

In addition to Istithmar, rumors swirled recently that Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom Inc (NYSE: JWN) had been interested in the chain and considered making bids around in the $800 million to $850 million range price, but dropped out when both companies believed the price would escalate too high, perhaps as far as $1.4 billion.

A sale of Barneys would likely come, as the New York Times reported, as a "partial victory" for Mr. Boneparth. He had been oft criticized that he paid too high a price in 2004 for the chain, but may have the last laugh if the sale price turns out to be nearly twice as high.

Everyone wants to know exactly when the iPhone will be released, and, hey! It's so much fun to speculate. Who knew CNBC, the source of all financial (supposed) fact and opinion, would announce a launch date that was confirmed only by one iPhone store representative.

Talk about having your fingers do the walking. When the AP sought to confirm this fact, they were given estimates ranging between June 11 and June 22 from eight different stores in the New York area. No one in the financial press, popular media, or blogosphere has yet been able to find any more firm news. Is it true?

I, for one, don't believe it for a second -- taking one's information from an AT&T (NYSE: T) store rep (though they're all lovely people) seems about as reliable as getting it off the subject line in one of your spam e-mails. I'm still planning to have my cash socked away by June 11th (the start of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s Worldwide Developer's Conference and, many believe, the real launch date of the iPhone) just in case. If you're an investor, the launch date is only liable to cause an effect on the stock if it's much earlier or later than expected -- and much earlier seems highly unlikely.

Update: The iPhone release date of June 29 has been confirmed as of June 3, 2007.

Click through for our gallery of iPhone release date news and rumors.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been hungry for online advertising companies lately. Of course, the latest deal was a zinger: $6 billion for aQuantive (NASDAQ: AQNT).

In light of all this, it seems natural that Mr. Softy would buy Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). But Microsoft's chief advertising strategist, Yusuf Mehdi, threw cold water on this and said "[w]e have all of the pieces we need to move forward.''

What to make of this? I had a chance to interview Allan B. Krans, who is an analyst with Technology Business Research (TBR). According to him:

"I agree with the statement that Microsoft has all of the tools needed to be successful in the online business. However, a solid toolset alone will not spur an improvement in Microsoft's online business. Microsoft needs to drive online search traffic in order to attract advertisers to its toolset. For this reason, we believe a merger/acquisition with Yahoo! continues to make sense for Microsoft. Combining the two companies' respective shares of the online search market gives Microsoft the opportunity to drive search traffic and leverage its newly compiled advertising toolset."

I also got this from John Byrne, who is also an analyst with TBR:

"At this point I think maybe Yahoo is the stickler though - they've just implemented Project Panama and they probably feel like they're going to show real improvement over the next few quarters which would increase their value without an acquisition. Then maybe next year they're in a much stronger position."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Heading to Memorial Day, there's certainly no moratorium on the number of talked about potential deals. Receiving a fair amount of attention over the last few days include the companies below. There's more, of course, but hey, it's a three-day weekend.

LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION (NASDAQ: LRCX)

This supplier of tools that makes microchips keeps seeing its stock move up. Up about 13% over the last few months. And it may be more than speculation that it will soon be acquired. Investors looking for a deal are snapping up equity calls, some are then selling them, and keeping both eyes on the stock price. Others are looking out to see which private equity firms or "strategic" buyers come calling.

AMDOCS LIMITED (NYSE: DOX)

As Alltel Corporation (NYSE: AT) goes, so goes Amdocs? Well, not quite. Yes the Alltel sale has pushed Amdocs' stock upward. Some say this maker of software products for telecom services firms may want to continue to go forward by themselves. But that hasn't stopped that list of potential buyers from being passed around. Best bet: International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM).

CIRCUIT CITY STORES (NYSE: CC)

Again, here we go: Is it going to take a buyout? (Read: private equity buyer.) Or a miracle? (Read: new management) There are profit warnings. (Read: red flags everywhere) The stock is in miserable shape. (Read: cheap) Tough competition. (Read: Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT)). Think there's a book to be written about all of this? (Read: who'd want to?).

APPLEBEE'S INTERNATIONAL INC (NASDAQ: APPB)

Food for thought. Kangaroo Holdings wants to buy OSI Restaurant Partners Inc (NYSE: OSI). Not surprisingly, Applebee's stock goes up. Are they cooking up a sale price for themselves as they "evaluate" offers? You betcha.

PALM INC (NASDAQ: PALM)

Going, going...almost gone. Even we're beginning to tire of this one. But it never gets old if you like to watch. Now, they're canceling conferences. The CEO is selling shares. The CFO has a bad back. Come on! The latest product review - Palm Treo 755p - is terrible. Market share is going down the tubes. R&D? Forgetaboutit. Sound like a company on the go? Right. Right into someone else's lap. And to think what they once were. Great job all around, everybody.

Maybe this week's theme should be industry consolidation. At least that's where the rumors, and signs, seem to be pointing.

CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INC (NYSE: CLF)

Think iron pellets. If you do, you won't be alone. Lots of options folk think they've caught a takeover candidate, and have been picking up bullish options all over. Is it steel industry consolidation fever? Most probably. Rio Tinto plc ADS (NYSE: RTP) and Brazil's CVRD have been named as predators. Speculation about the company's future actually began late last summer for a company with a market cap of just $3B, which happens to be the largest producer of iron ore pellets in all of North America, and a key part of producing steel. The stock has been heading up for about seven months now. Makes sense.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORPORATION (NYSE: NSC)

Higher and higher goes the stock for a few reasons: Railroad stocks look to be buyout candidates, and some analysts are focused on the Southern, the fourth largest railroad in the U.S. The other reason? Mr. Warren Buffett also owns 6.4M shares worth over $300M. Good enough?

EQUITY INNS INC (NYSE: ENN)

There's speculation that the Inns are in buyout mode. The stock recently hit a 52-week high, and has been going up for about six weeks. Some who follow the company think it's definitely worth more than the $20 a share range.

And two that won't go away: Monster Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: MNST) and Sherman-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) are absolutely considered to be prime takeover targets.

Understand that Engadget is our sister blog, a star in the AOL constellation, with great writers that push the envelope every day to bring readers the very latest, hottest tech news. Yesterday, that drive came back to bite them in the ass when, acting on a tip from a reliable source, they blogged, and then were forced to retract, a story that the Apple iPhone rollout was going to be delayed.

Unfortunately, in the interval, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s stock lost an estimated $4 billion in about six minutes. Within half an hour of the blog's retraction, the stock had recovered almost its full value.

The next time you are stuck in traffic on the Santa Monica Freeway, you might amuse yourself by recalling that much of the steel in that mass of vehicles was made by an outfit headquartered in Middletown, Ohio.

AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) produces carbon, stainless and electrical steel products. The firm makes cold-rolled and aluminum-coated stainless steel for automakers, provides energy efficient electrical steels to makers of power transmission and distribution equipment, and sells hot- and cold-rolled carbon steel to construction companies, automakers and industrial machinery producers. It also manufactures carbon and stainless steel tubular products and makes antimicrobial coated steels for appliances. The firm has major plants and offices in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Clients include Ford Motor (NYSE: F), General Electric (NYSE: GE), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM). Competitors include U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE).

The stock is up more than 30% over the past month, on news of a solid first quarter earnings report and takeover talk. The latest rumor involved last week's speculation that Arcelor-Mittal (NYSE: MT) might be sizing the company up as a potential acquisition. The possibility was actively debated in the press and that prompted a remark by the AK Steel CEO that management is "not actively seeking to sell the company." Still, the steel industry is in a consolidation phase and Arcelor-Mittal is said to be interested in bolstering its U.S. presence. The stock popped on the takeover rumor and has since been defining a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the shares with one "buy," five "holds" and two "sells." The AKS Price to Sales ratio (0.60), Sales Growth rate (19.78%), EPS Growth rate (983.33%) and Revenue per Employee ($907.57k) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $11.11 and $37.70. A stop-loss of $29.30 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

Another week, another run through the rumor mill. And, as usual, it all surrounds possible takeovers/buyouts.

WENDY'S INTERNATIONAL INC (NYSE: WEN)

Up first is Wendy's, because since the company is exploring strategic alternatives, and shareholder Highfields Capital Management is pushing for a sale, the idea of a suitor isn't that farfetched. The rumor is that this mystery suitor has bid for the company. Will this Biggie-size Wendy's stock price? Only time will tell.

ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND COMPANY (NYSE: ADM)

And in the earlier stages of the M&A cycle, the rumor with Archer Daniels Midland is that the company has hired a strategic adviser. This wouldn't be that mind-blowing, considering it follows an EPS miss when the company reported on May 1, and a downgrade by ThinkEquity on May 2 on margin weakness.

BEA SYSTEMS INC (NASDAQ: BEAS)

File this under "the boy that cried wolf." BEA Systems has long been the subject of takeover talk, and it has continued this week. This despite firms such as Bernstein saying a takeover is unlikely as the company's valuation is too high.

Hour by hour, day to day, week after week, there's usually a fairly significant list of potential takeover candidates, LBOs, or word of a cash infusion from private equity firms. You look them over, and usually out pop some interesting tidbits. So here, dear reader, we go:

CHAPARRAL STEEL COMPANY (NASDAQ: CHAP)

Down in Midlothian, Texas there's a big old "For Sale" sign posted right out there on Ward Rd. That's right. The folks at Chaparral Steel have put the word out: "Come on down." Don't know if that was Goldman Sachs' (GS) idea or not, but those Yankees are there in force looking over them "strategic alternatives." And they're good at it, too. It's probably going to be a sale, but nothing wrong with a partnership, merger recapitalization or taking over another fella's firm. You know? Or who knows, they could decide to sit pretty a while longer. Anyway, the second largest producer of structural steel beams in all North America sure likes to let its neighbors know what it's up to. Right friendly, don't you think? The stock price sure likes it, cause it's moving right up there with all that news.

Well, it has gone and done it now. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has apparently initiated talks with Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) again. All I can say is, HAVE IT NO PRIDE???

After Yahoo!'s management shrugged it off the last time it made an offer, Microsoft management should have undertaken an entirely different strategy which should have involved ramping up its own Internet advertising showboat and pinning Yahoo against the wall until it cried uncle and begged for just anyone to acquire it. Instead, MSFT went home, licked its wounds and now came back whining, "Please oh please, won't you marry me?" What kind of limp-wristed business strategy is that?!

The whole thing seems to be sired by Microsoft's bushel of sour grapes in regard to losing the DoubleClick bidding war to Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). My interpretation of Microsoft's subliminal message here is that it couldn't win the game so it's going to pay the crippled kid down the street to come play with it. The only problem here is that the crippled kid isn't all too interested in playing, and Microsoft doesn't even seem to realize that it's a cripple.

While you've been busy scouring over this week's earnings reports, back here at rumor central there's been a number of "head ups," but not all that much to write home about, or to send you phoning your broker. But take note of these just for the heck of it.

UNITED RENTALS INC (NYSE: URI)

It's not news that the world's largest rental company has been for sale for a couple of weeks, but once again, as it is for so many speculative situations as this, there's an ongoing undercurrent of chatter. The CEO is retiring in June, and the COO will then hold down the fort. UBS (NYSE: UBS) and Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) are offering advice. The company's in pretty good shape, and should attract some interesting offers. The stock keeps ticking slowly upward. But the rental market has slowed some. Stay tuned.

EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY (NYSE: EK)

The stock's been moving on up. Take over? Cash infusion? Fabulous new product release? Not one of us outsiders knows for sure what's up. So, what is up? Well, they sold the health imaging business and should get paid its $2.35B soon. Is Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) a potential merger partner? Maybe, maybe not. Last month it was reported that Kodak had eyes for OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI). Maybe after quarterly results are released May 4 there'll be a clearer Kodak moment. Just don't count on them to try and rejoin the Better Business Bureau anytime soon. Now there's a rumor.

CUMMINS INC (NYSE: CMI)

Shares hit a record high the other day, at least one brokerage firm upgraded the stock, and reports were that the engine maker was...you guessed it...the target of takeover "expectations." Is that like, expecting? Like expecting to be courted and bought? Fiat (NYSE: FIA) could be expecting cause they are among the "rumored" to want to expand their truck division in good old North America. Cummins, one of the few remaining independents worldwide, meanwhile has been humming along, with three straight years of record earnings. What a machine, eh? Hmmm.