Before the Bell

"Yahoo!" is Wall Street's reaction to a New York Post report that Microsoft is pushing to buy the search engine company with the exclamatory name.

Stock futures are pointing up even with economic data that investors generally await with a mixture of eagerness and dread. It could also be because the market liked yesterday's numbers on the service sector, productivity and weekly jobless claims.

But when it comes to employment, Wall Street always frets about the possiblity that there's too much of a good thing. U.S. Treasuries are up a bit after yesterday's losses, and the dollar has risen against a batch of currencies.

Oil-supply disruptions in Nigeria are driving up prices, with London Brent crude above $66 a barrel.

Media consolidation has spread to us - Reuters, that is. Shares are up on word that the company has received overtures from an undisclosed suitor. The financial picture is looking a little brighter at Kodak, which reported a smaller quarterly loss.

But luxury home builder Hovnanian now expects its loss to come in bigger than it had forecast.

Lisa Von Ahn - Editor
www.Reuters.com