The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is not resting and keeps planning forward. After the recent launch of the iPhone in Europe, it is Japan's turn, and reportedly, Apple has held talks with NTT DoCoMo. Jobs, according to "people familiar with the matter," recently met with NTT DoCoMo's president, Masao Nakamura, to discuss a deal to offer its iPhone in Japan. Engadget notes, however, that NTT DoCoMo does not run a GSM/EDGE network and maybe consumers there will have to wait for the 3G version of the phone.

After announcing a dividend increase Monday, drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) said Tuesday CEO Sidney Taurel will retire on March 31 and step down as chairman of the board at the end of 2008. President and Chief Operating Officer John C. Lechleiter will take over as CEO on April 1.

Hong Kong Disneyland, held by Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) and the Hong Kong government, which holds a majority stake, failed to meet its visitor attendance target for the second year running, a park official said Tuesday, revealing that numbers tumbled to over 4 million in its second year of operation from 5.2 million a year earlier.

Before the bell: Futures decline as concerns over economy grow

Notable calls:

• Citigroup downgraded ratings of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wachovia (NYSE: WB), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and others.
  
• Kroger (NYSE: KR) was upgraded by Credit Suisse from Neutral to Outperform, setting a target price of $32.
• RBC Capital Markets downgraded Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) from Outperform to Sector Perform.
• UBS upped its target price on market darling Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) from $220 to $235.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants more information on its Cervarix cervical-cancer vaccine before approval.

Among the few companies reporting Monday, Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) is set to deliver its results after the closing bell.

Once again shares of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) are on the move. On Wednesday, shares of the two satellite radio companies got squashed due to concern over the merger review. XM shares tumbled 9.9%, or $1.45, to $13.21, while Sirius dropped 6.0%, or 21 cents, to $3.29.

Interestingly, lawmakers, who sometimes hold hearings about large mergers but have no direct say, voiced their opinion on the merger, with the U.S. House of Representatives antitrust task force expressing concern about the Justice Department review of Sirius's proposed purchase of rival XM.

Reuters has obtained a copy of a letter that Democrat John Conyers, chairman of the task force, and Republican Steve Chabot, wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, dated Dec. 11, in which they are conveying their dismay over reports the Justice Department may be trying to rush through the merger and that "Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Thomas O. Barnett may intend to grant the merger over the objections of department staff."

XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) recently down $1.45 to $13.19.:

XMSR and SIRI announced on 2/20/07 a merger of equals. XMSR shareholders will receive 4.6 SIRI shares for each XMSR share. The FCC is expected to decide on the merger before the year's end. XMSR December 12.5 straddle is priced at $2.35. XMSR January option implied volatility of 143 is above its 26-week average of 66 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) recently down 21 cents to $3.28:

SIRI December 3 straddle is priced at 50 cents. SIRI January option implied volatility of 97 is above its 26-week average of 63 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Daily Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

The short interest in Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) spiked up between November 15 and November 30 by 14.4 million to 113.4 million.

Sirius shares have been down over the last few days, and perhaps the market thinks they will go lower.

Many analysts expected that the Sirius merger with XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) would be approved by now. No such luck. The longer the approval drags on, the better the chance that it will get derailed by ranting congressmen of the Justice Department.

Then, there is the issue of the Sirius balance sheet. The company has long-term debt of about $1.3 billion and no way to repay it. With bad credit markets, it may not even be able to be refinanced. The company had an operating loss of $106 million last quarter on $242 million in revenue. And subscriber counts are not doubling year-over-year like they used to.

Sirius is in trouble. The market knows it. And it needs that merger and the savings it should bring to stay afloat.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Before the bell: Futures higher ahead of data, despite OPEC decision

Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) and Bear Stearns Cos. (NYSE: BSC) have been subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as part of an investigation of "related to the packaging and selling of debt tied to high-risk mortgages," according to the Wall Street Journal [subscription required].

Two Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone news/tidbits this morning: France Telecom said its Orange division had already sold close to 30,000 iPhones in France since its launch there last week. If some were concerned about a cold shoulder from consumers in Europe, perhaps they had nothing to worry about.
Also, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) released its list of top search terms in 2007 and the iPhone grabbed the No. 1 slot on a list of the fastest-rising search terms in the United States. Webkinz and TMZ took the No. 2 and 3 spots respectively.

Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) was upgraded to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel Partners. The broker believes 2008 could exceed expectations with Intel seeing PC strength and benign selling price pressure next year. However, the broker cut estimates on rival Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD). INTC shares are up 1.75% in premarket trading, AMD shares up 1.2%.

Before the bell: Investors concerns resumed, stock futures lower

With last week's BusinessWeek article expecting a verdict on the proposed merger between Sirius Satellite (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite (NASDAQ: XMSR) soon, I feel that it's imperative that the regulators let the deal happen. Without a deal, both companies will continue to incur heavy losses, and the future of satellite radio will be in jeopardy. It's ironic that the antitrust lot are worried about a monopoly, but without a merger, the entire industry could be finished.

With plenty of competition coming from traditional radio, internet radio, and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPods, the government's worry over lack of competition is unfounded. Rather, the money saved by the merger in new customer acquisition will help keep the companies solvent. Doug McIntyre had a nice analysis of the deal a few weeks back, and he feels that with both stocks' recent rise, Wall Street is telling us that 1) they think the merger is going to go through, and 2) it would be mutually beneficial if it does.

If we can get a quick resolution to this, after months and months of foot-dragging by regulators, and the resolution is in favor of the merger, then this will be a defining movement for the satellite radio industry as it moves ahead and becomes a true media force to be reckoned with.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. Disclosure: Writer has no position in any stock mentioned as of 12/03/07.

'Free' Credit Reports Sometimes Aren't Free
Confusion awaits any consumer who dares tread online in search of a credit score, personal finance experts say. "It's one of the biggest rip-offs you can find." Misleading credit scores aren't the only snare. Consumers are also getting tricked into paying for basic credit reports before obtaining the ones they can get free, as mandated by the federal government in 2003. The only place those free reports are available is at AnnualCreditReport.com. Yet, dozens of websites affiliated with the bureaus falsely imply that they can also distribute the government-mandated free reports. At FreeCreditReport.com, ConsumerInfo.com, PrivacyMatters.com, Free3BureauCreditReport.com and other similarly named websites, free trial offers and package deals abound.
'Free' credit reports sometimes aren't free - USATODAY.com


Dare to Retire Before 50?
Some are retiring in their 30s and 40s even though they're not rich. Can you buck the mainstream and do the same? Can you afford extreme early retirement? - Bankrate.com

Shares sold short in Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) rose 23.5 million shares to 103 million between October 31 and November 15, according to data from Nasdaq.

Investors appear to be upping the bet that the Sirius merger with XM Satellite (NASDAQ: XMSR) will not go through due to objections from Congress and the FCC. The two companies need the merger to bring down redundant costs. Many in Washington argue that a government sanctioned monopoly in satellite radio will only lead to higher consumer prices.

The reason for short selling in Sirius, however, may be more complex than that. The company's subscriber base is not growing as fast as it once was. Sirius may not be able to do it alone without selling more stock or taking on more debt. Either one would be bad for common shareholders. In the September quarter, Sirius was still losing a lot of money -- $106 million on an operating basis against $227 million in revenue.

Sirius has total liabilities of over $2.2 billion and almost $1.3 billion of that is debt. Even if the company can grow at a rate it has not seen in a couple of years, paying that down is more than a challenge.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

With nothing better to do the day before Thanksgiving, The Wall Street Journal has decided to revisit the odds of whether a merger between the two satellite radio companies, XM Satellite (NASDAQ: XMSR) and Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) have improved. The paper writes "in the past few months, investors have shown increasing confidence of the deal's winning approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department."

There may be a few good reasons that the chances of a deal have improved, but they are hardly compelling.

Some of the car companies have come out in favor of the merger. That would only make sense. Marketing two platforms is probably a bit of a mess. A fair number of congressmen who want to look good say the merger is bad for consumers, and will drive up prices. There isn't any hard evidence of that, but it is a nice talking point.

There is probably an economic reason for a merger. Both companies have over a billion dollars in debt. Paying that down would probably be easier with the savings from combining the companies.

But Wall Street may look at the share prices of XM and Sirius and say that they are the best sign that a merger looks good. The stocks are both up 25% in the last three months. Maybe investors are gambling the deal is looking better.

There is another reason for the stocks to be up: Both companies are still growing and adding subscribers. The firms may still be losing money, but they are moving closer to break-even.

That has nothing to do with a merger.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) closed at $14.06.

XMSR and SIRI announced on 2/20/07 a merger of equals. XMSR shareholders will receive 4.6 SIRI shares for each XMSR share. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is expected to decide on the merger before year end. XMSR December option implied volatility of 122 is above its 26-week average of 61 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) closed at $3.48.

SIRI December option implied volatility of 88 is above its 26-week average of 59 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Before the bell: Sharply lower open expected as oil rises and global markets sell off

After France comes Germany with a similar ruling: Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone must be offered without contract restrictions. Deutsche Telekom AG's (NYSE: DT) mobile unit said it would comply to the court ruling that was issued after Vodafone challenged T-Mobile's exclusive lock on the handset.

Following Hewlett Packard's (NYSE: HPQ) better-than-expected results, what can be expected from Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). Dell, which is reporting next week, is more vulnerable to U.S. economic woes as it earns 56% of its revenue from sales in the U.S. whereas HP is focused more on international markets and only earns a third of its revenue from the US. Considering Dell is also in the midst of a turnaround, it is clear the company may be facing more challenges.

According to TechCrunch, Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is rumored to be trying "to do to the set-top box what it is trying to do to the mobile phone with its Android operating system-create an open-source hardware platform and attract developers to build applications on top of it."

The storied merger proceedings between Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and its hoped-for partner, XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR), took another step on Tuesday, albeit one that was widely expected. Shareholders of both companies gave the merger their collective blessing by a healthy majority.

The sizable hurdles of regulatory approval on the part of the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) remain. Those opposed to the collaboration say the deal would create a monopoly in the satellite radio industry and point to the failed merger attempt between EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH), parent of the DISH Network, and DirecTV.