Before the Bell

You gotta love those dealmakers. With stocks - and oil prices - at lofty heights and a lack of economic data on tap for today, a somewhat dizzy Wall Street might be tempted to fall back to what might seem like more solid ground.

But stock futures are merely pointing sideways, thanks in large part to news that private equity firm Cerberus has clinched a deal to buy a majority stake in Chrysler. If speeches by Fed officials were money, we'd have an embarrassment of riches this week.

It starts today with the head of the Dallas branch, and continues tomorrow and beyond with appearances by top gun Ben Bernanke and others. Key economic data is coming tomorrow in the form of the consumer price index.

The dollar is down a bit against major currencies, and U.S. Treasuries are flat. London Brent crude oil is up past $67 a barrel as Saudi Arabia keeps supply curbs in place through June, disruptions continue in West Africa, and Iran and the West remain at odds.

In other M&A, Mylan Labs is buying the generic drug business of Germany's Merck for $6.6 billion, and Cardinal Health is acquiring medical products maker Viasys Healthcare for $1.5 billion, including debt. And Bloomberg says Ford's founding family is considering selling part of their controlling stake in the auto company.

Now back to Chrysler. While Wall Street is all smiles over the deal, the Canadian Auto Workers union says it finds the sale worrisome. Perhaps the idea of working for Cerberus - which is named for the mythical three-headed monster that guards Hades - is a tad intimidating.

Lisa Von Ahn - Editor