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Monday, May 19

• Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) to report Q1 earnings; conference call scheduled for 9:00am.
• Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) to report Q3 earnings; Conference call scheduled for 10:00am.

Tuesday, May 20

• Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Global Internet Freedom & Corporate Responsibilty at 10:00am. Appearing: Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).
• Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) to report Q4 earnings; conference call scheduled for 8:00am.
• Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call scheduled for 5:00pm.

Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) provides software designed to enhance the performance of business computer systems. Products include program suites that test system performance, manage enterprise files and focus application development. Compuware also offers consulting, systems integration, custom programming, maintenance and support services. Ninety percent of the Fortune 100 companies are clients. CA Inc (NYSE: CA) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) are competitors.

The company pleased investors last week, when it guided Q4 EPS to 23 cents and revenues to $337 million. Analysts had been looking for 19 cents and $319.84 million.

CA, Inc. (NYSE: CA) provides information technology (IT) management software. Its programs manage network databases, applications, storage functions and security options, operating across distributed computing environments. The firm also provides technical support and consulting services. CA has strategic relationships with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and other IT market leaders. It is one of the world's largest software companies.

CA surprised the Street late last month, with fiscal Q3 EPS of 36 cents and revenues of $1.1 billion. Analysts had been expecting 25 cents and $1.04 billion. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $1.22-$1.26 ($1.09 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $4.25-$4.28 billion ($4.19B consensus).

Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) is scheduled to release Q4 EPS this afternoon.

ELY will hold an analyst meeting on February 7.

ELY overall option implied volatility of 50 is above its 26-week average of 41 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

CA, Inc. (NYSE: CA), an information technology management software company, closed at $22.30 Wednesday.

Stanford Group initiated CA with a Hold rating. Stanford says: "In our opinion CA has suffered from three main problems in recent years; growth, restructuring-related disruptions, and a complex financial model that hindered visibility of its financial performance."

CA is expected to report Q3 EPS after the market close tonight. CA February option implied volatility of 43 is above its 26-week average of 28 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

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

It's as if M&A is in overdrive for the software space. SAP AG (ADR) (NYSE: SAP) agreed to pay $6.7 billion for Business Objects S.A. (ADR) (Nasdaq: BOBJ). And, of course, today Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL) announced a $6.6 bid for BEA Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAS).

What's going on here? Well, I had a chance to interview an expert on the topic: David O'Connell, who is a senior analyst at Nucleus Research.

Q: What's your take on the recent activity?

A: "What's driving this is that SAP and Oracle both want to be the biggest kid on the block. They each want to be the only vendor that companies turn to when they buy software. Oracle buys Hyperion, so SAP buys Business Objects. Oracle may buy BEA, so maybe SAP will buy a vendor with a strong integration or SOA offering. It's always hard to tell who's winning. The good news is that end users can be the winners if they say to their account representative, 'hey, I'm buying almost all my software from you, so prices have to come down, and deployments have to be flawless, or I'll ruin your holiday by taking all that business to your rival.'"

Q: Why now?

A: "Because SAP and Oracle both need new customers. The market for selling major applications, especially ERP, to the largest companies is pretty saturated. So SAP and Oracle need new ways to grow revenues. They are starting to go head to head with one another in the market for smaller companies, where Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) dominates. Smaller companies have smaller IT staffs and less time to dedicate to IT. So SAP and Oracle want to court these customers with full product suites, the benefit of one stop shopping, and the alleged benefit of integration among their acquired applications. Buying new products and customers through acquisition is another way to grow revenues.

"Oracle's bid for BEA is a great integration play. Oracle has bought a lot of solutions over the years, so it is putting a lot of development and money into Fusion, which gives customers ways to create integration among their various Oracle applications. BEA basically helps companies integrate their various applications. So BEA is a logical way for Oracle to create integration among its acquired products, and for Oracle customers to create integration among their Oracle solutions. I don't see who else would come to the table. Business Objects will be a huge integration challenge for SAP, so I don't think the timing would be right there. Buying BEA would be duplicative for HP (NYSE: HPQ) and CA (NYSE: CA), who already have lots of integration capabilities in their offerings."

Also, if you want to check out other recent M&A deals, click here.

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

Ticker Wars: NYSE vs. Nasdaq
The nation's two leading exchanges are battling over a game of alphabet soup. The SEC is expected to rule soon on a proposal that would allow the Nasdaq to display three-character tickers. That's a big deal because investors generally associate a company with a ticker length of one to three letters as being listed on the NYSE or American Stock Exchange
NYSE, Nasdaq locked in battle over ticker symbols - CNNmoney


10 Tainted Stocks: Turnaround Plays or Game Over?
In the post-Enron era, scandal doesn't always tarnish a company for life. There can be buying opportunities. Here are ten stocks and what to look for. They include Ahold, AIG, Apollo Group, CA, DHB Industries, Doral, Jackson Hewitt, Marsh & McLennan, Qwest and Tenet Healthcare.
Can Tainted Stocks Make Good Investments? - Kiplinger.com


Pros and Cons of Going Paperless
Spurred by an array of new electronic services and financial-services firms' promotion of paperless accounts, many consumers are considering doing some of their business online.
Pushing Paperless: The Pros and Cons - WSJ.com


Older, Dangerous Drivers a Growing Problem
Health and safety analysts say as the elderly population booms: aging drivers, clinging to the independence that cars give them but losing their ability to operate the vehicles, causing more accidents. Debates over how to prepare for a boom in elderly drivers are resonating in statehouses across the nation. What should be done?
Older, dangerous drivers a growing problem - USATODAY.com


Why What You Have Is Never Enough
As a country, we are richer than ever. Yet surveys show that Americans are no happier than they were 30 years ago. The key problem: We aren't very good at figuring out what will make us happy. We constantly hanker after fancier cars and fatter paychecks -- and, initially, such things boost our happiness. But the glow of satisfaction quickly fades . So why do we keep striving after these things? Experts offer two explanations.
I Can't Get No Satisfaction - WSJ.com


Hackers Set Traps on Broad Websites
Ordinary websites are fast-becoming a top security threat for PC users. Tainted Web pages first appeared in late 2005. Now, they're turning up as Google advertising links, on Wikipedia and elsewhere, "from top-tier names to mom and pop bakery shops," says Dan Hubbard, vice president of security research at Websense. Cybercrooks are corrupting Web pages by the tens of thousands. Here are a few tips to avoid viruses.
Hackers set traps on broad websites - USATODAY.com

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CKE Restaurants (CKR), Cardinal Health (CAH), eBay (EBAY) and CA Inc (CA) topped today's noteworthy initiation list today:

• Nollenberger believes the Hardee's franchise is entering a period of accelerated growth and initiated shares of CKE Restaurants (NYSE: CKR) with a Buy rating and $27 target.

• Goldman views Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) as a as a high quality, focused franchise with strong fundamental outlook driven by margin expansion and improvements in non-drug wholesale businesses and restructuring efforts, reinstating its Buy rating on the company.

• American Technology initiated eBAY Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) with a Buy rating and $43 target, believing the company is the top play on growth of U.S. e-commerce and they expect upside to numbers tonight.

• Needham believes CA Inc (NYSE: CA) Inc remains in transition as it continues to work on the repackaging of its vast product array into five solution sets and started the company with a Hold rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Lazard initiated F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ: FFIV) with a Buy rating and $100 target.

• Citigroup started Clearwire Corp (NASDAQ: CLWR) with a Hold rating and $23 target.

• Morgan Stanley assumed coverage of Vornado RealtyTrust (NYSE: VNO) with an Equal Weight rating.

• SourceFire Inc (NASDAQ: FIRE) was initiated with a Hold rating and $12 target.

• The Wet Seal (NASDAQ: WTSLA) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Cowen.

• Roth Capital initiated shares of Vivus Inc (NASDAQ: VVUS) with a Buy rating and $15 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

CA Inc. (NYSE: CA), the software company formerly known as Computer Associates, last week began to speak out against founder Charles Wang about two years too late.

Under Wang's leadership, Computer Associates developed a reputation for accounting shenanigans, shoddy customer service and obscenely high executive compensation, which is why a special board committee urged CA to try and recoup some of Wang's pay. The company should take the advice.

Wang, who also owns the New York Islanders, has denied any wrongdoing. The New York Times reported that he blames CA's problems on his successor Sanjay Kumar, one of many company executives who pled guilty to securities fraud following a federal investigation.

Considering how close the two men were and Wang's autocratic management style, Wang's denials are hard to believe. If this fight goes to court, this will get nasty very quickly. CA has tried for years to undo the damage done by Wang and his associates. The New York Times pointed that the company has had to spend $500 million on fines ad internal investigations.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Adobe Systems Inc (ADBE), CA Inc (CA) and DSW Inc (DSW) were today's most notable initiations:

• Adobe Systems Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $47 target at Credit Suisse. The firm said Adobe is one of the best-positioned large-cap software companies given its leading position in digital media and growing presence in enterprise mobile and Web 2.0 markets.

• CA Inc (NYSE: CA) was initiated with a Hold rating and $27 target at Jefferies. While CA is being looked at by private-equity players, Jefferies believes shares are richly valued.

• DSW Inc (NYSE: DSW) was initiated with a Sell rating and $30 target at Wedbush, as they believe the consensus' 3-5 year annual EPS growth rate of 20% to be too high.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Credit Suisse started Southern Union Co (NYSE: SUG) with an Outperform rating and $33 target.

• Needham assumed coverage of Ikanos Communications Inc (NASDAQ: IKAN) with a Hold rating, as the firm believes a rebound of VDSL spending is unlikely until the second-half of 2007.

• Morgan Joseph is positive on Denny's Corp (NASDAQ: DENN) improving operations and started the food retailer with a Buy rating and $7 target.

• Jefferies started HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY) with a Buy rating and $25 target. The firm believes HMS Holdings is positioned to serve the needs of government healthcare programs.

• Credit Suisse initiated WebEx Communications Inc (NASDAQ: WEBX) with a Neutral rating at $50 target based on valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

It looks like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has achieved another breakthrough in the semiconductor sector.

According to a report in The New York Times, a new microprocessor that Intel plans to introduce uses a new insulator that leaks less current near transistors, reducing power consumption, while at the same time enabling improved processing speed/performance.

They're called 45-nanometer generation chips -- a project more than ten years in the making -- and it will help Intel reassert itself against competitors in the low-power chip segment. In its pursuit of speed, Intel had fallen behind competitors in that dimension of chips, who were shifting to low-power alternatives.

Intel's here-to-fore emphasis on processing speed is understandable; it could be argued that, along with Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows breakthrough, Intel's semiconductor advances are the two engines that helped propel the impressive increases in worker productivity that have characterized the Digital Age since the early 1990s.

Further, recently Intel has been pressured by lower-cost competitors Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD), Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), and Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF), with the latter grabbing the No.1 flash memory spot from Intel.

Wall Street has duly noted these inroads by Intel's competitors, and Intel's stock -- while it has not plummeted, has languished between $17 and $23 over the past year, after a sharp down-off from $28 in late 2005. Intel's shares closed Friday at $20.53, down 7 cents.

However, if Intel's new 45-nanometer chips perform as well as the company hopes, Intel's stock may start racing ahead as well, along with the performance of PCs, laptops, and other digital devices.

As an admitted gadget idiot, I ought to be drawn to Verizon Communications Inc.'s (NYSE:VZ) Chocolate and Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (NYSE:S) Fusic phones. After all, wouldn't it be better to have one device to play your music and make telephone calls. It's one less expensive thing that can be left in a restaurant or lost in a taxi. Still, I am not ready to take the plunge yet.

Apple Computer Inc.'s (Nasdaq:AAPL) iPod is so simple to use that even a caveman can use it. I really don't care for now that I can't make a phone call over my iPod. I would rather have a good MP3 and a good cell phone rather than a mediocre device that does multiple things.

That's why I am curious about what will come of the reported alliance between Apple and Cingular. CNNMoney points out that if the report in the Wall Street Journal proves accurate, this is bad news for Verizon and Sprint, which unlike Cingular use CDMA technology while Cingular uses the more common GSM. Other attempts to sell iPod phones have flopped because they weren't very good.

For technophobes like me to buy a new device, it has to be durable (we drop stuff a lot) and easy to use. I can be persuaded to give up my temperamental iPod if something great came along to replace it. Ditto for my cell phone. So, I'll check out what's going to come out from Apple and Cingular.

The companies might consider selling clips for their device like the ones kids have for their mittens. It would sure save me a lot of aggravation.

Jonathan Berr is the editor of http://www.desperateinvestors.com.

Tonight on CNBC's MAD MONEY, Jim Cramer picked three Top Speculative Stocks for 2007. You can access the full stories at the links below:

1) Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ:LVLT). This stock closed up over 6% in normal trading and then traded up yet another 4% after-hours to about $6.20 on his pick.
2) Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD)
3) Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SVNT)

Also, Cramer made six other picks this week for 2007. He gave us three Growth Stocks on Thursday evening and three Value picks on Wednesday.

The Cramer Growth Picks for 2007 in order are:
1) New York Stock Exchange Group (NYX)
2) Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
3) Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)

The Cramer Value Picks in order are:
1) Altria Group (NYSE:MO)
2) Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS)
3) Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL)

Have a great weekend.

Traditionally, private equity firms have focused on brick-and-mortar companies. The targets are often underperforming – yet have strong cash flows and stable contracts.

But, recently, private equity firms have moved to tech companies. And some of the deals have been huge, such as the $17.6 billion buyout of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL) and the $11.4 billion Sungard buyout.

So, is this the beginning of a major trend?

The answer is "no" from a top credit analysis firm, Fitch Ratings.

Why?

First, tech companies are not ideal for loading-up the balance sheet with debt. That is, the free cash flow tends to be too low – or too erratic. Besides, there is "technology risk," in which a company's products can become obsolete from intense competitive forces.

Next, because of the dot-com implosion, many tech companies have already restructured operations. In other words, there is little opportunity for improvement that a private equity can provide.

Despite all this, Fitch did find a few attractive candidates for buyouts: CA, Inc. (NYSE:CA), Convergys Corporation (NYSE:CVG) and even Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL).

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

Not glued to the business news this week? Here's your chance to catch up.

Housing Blues. The housing market's slide continued this week with a spate of bad news. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported U.S. construction in September fell by 0.3 percent with residential building falling for the sixth month in a row. The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales fell in September -- The pending sales that month were 13.6 percent lower than in 2005. Read the story.

RadioShack Whoops. A prominent member on the board of RadioShack Corporation (NYSE:RSH) was jailed in Kansas where he has been charged with possession of child pornography. Bond for Ronald E. Elmquist, 60, has been set at $100,000. He faces three counts of child pornography charges – these are considered felonies. Elmqusit is also a member of RadioShack's Audit and Compliance and Corporate Governance committees. Read the story

Minimum Wage? The minimum wage debate is raging again. The fight in Washington revolves around an increase in the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over two years. Some 86% of Americans approve of boosting the minimum wage, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.

ARMS and the man. An Associated Press-AOL poll found that one-third of Homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages are worried about being unable to afford mortgage payments when their interest rates shift higher. That compares with 64 percent of homeowners with ARMs who say such a shift doesn't concern them. Nationwide, about 22 percent of U.S. homeowners have ARMs, while 74 percent have fixed-rate mortgages. Read the story.

Driving Corn. Corn prices hit 10-year high $3.45 per bushel driven in part by surging demand for ethanol. Wall Street analysts are concerned that rising prices for feedstock will hurt livestock and poultry producers including Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) and Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD). It could lead to industry-wide consolidation and to a shift in world export growth to Brazil. Corn sweetener producers such as Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) and Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG), a soybean and oilseed producer, could also be negatively affected. Read the story.

The Inflation Question. Labor costs surged over the summer at their fastest pace in a quarter of a century, providing evidence that inflation is back as a serious threat to the US economy. Labor costs in all sectors of the economy excluding agriculture rose 5.3 per cent from a year earlier in the three months ended September, the US Labor Department said this week. This is the fastest pace the US has experienced since 1982. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly fell below the 12,000 level on the news. Read the story.

The Big Money. Private-equity firms have broken the fund-raising record they set in 2000, with almost two months left in the year. 278 private-equity funds -- which invest in corporate buyouts and start-up companies -- had raised $177.89 billion, according to Private Equity Analyst, a trade magazine published by Dow Jones & Co. That bests the record set in 2000, when 630 funds raised a total of $177 billion.

Kumar Sentenced. Former CA, Inc. (NYSE: CA) CEO Sanjay Kumar was sentenced Thursday morning to 12 years in jail for his role in backdating contracts so the company could meet Wall Street's revenue expectations, a practice that CA called "35-day months" that ballooned into a massive $2.2 billion stock fraud scandal that brought CA to its knees.He has also been fined $8 million and will have to make restitution, a sum that could run into the hundreds of millions but won't be decided until February, when he's supposed to be incarcerated. Read the story.

Big Spenders. In this campaign, political parties have exposed voters to nearly $160 million in ads attacking congressional candidates, the Associated Press reported. Republicans spent $87.5 million to oppose candidates and Democrats spent $72.6 million. Only $17 million was spent on ads painting a positive image. That's just over $1of positive campaigning for every $10 of negative advertisements. Direct contributions from individuals continue to be the primary source of funds for national party committees, according to data from the FEC.

Old Hollywood. Tom Cruise and his producing partner, Paula Wagner, were handed the reigns of United Artists -- founded in 1919 as an "artist-friendly" studio by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith. United Artists launched the James Bond series, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Rocky" and "Annie Hall." Since then, the studio has been an MGM-owned label releasing films such as "Bowling for Columbine" (2002) and this year's flop "Art School Confidential." Read the story.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor with AOL Money & Finance and writes a daily stock pick blog.