From Barron's 5-14-07 "The still-unfinished agreement to merge Thomson (ticker: TOC) and London's Reuters (RTRSY) would boost the resulting entity's financial-market sales well ahead of those of Bloomberg, the privately held firm whose huge success allowed founder Michael Bloomberg to take time off to become mayor of New York. A Thomson-Reuters company would get 60% of its revenues from financial customers and enjoy an almost comfortable duopoly with Bloomberg in the market for financial-data workstations...If the $18 billion cash and stock deal comes off, therefore, Thomson-Reuters would have improved data products and greater pricing flexibility. Costs would also drop. The companies have targeted $500 million in post-merger savings, on top of aggressive restructuring campaigns that each already had under way."

From Barron's 5-14-07 "The still-unfinished agreement to merge Thomson (ticker: TOC) and London's Reuters (RTRSY) would boost the resulting entity's financial-market sales well ahead of those of Bloomberg, the privately held firm whose huge success allowed founder Michael Bloomberg to take time off to become mayor of New York. A Thomson-Reuters company would get 60% of its revenues from financial customers and enjoy an almost comfortable duopoly with Bloomberg in the market for financial-data workstations...If the $18 billion cash and stock deal comes off, therefore, Thomson-Reuters would have improved data products and greater pricing flexibility. Costs would also drop. The companies have targeted $500 million in post-merger savings, on top of aggressive restructuring campaigns that each already had under way."

From Barron's 5-14-07 "The Dolan family, majority owners of Cablevision Systems, knows how to create drama. Its attempt to take the cable-television provider private -- this time for $36.26 a share -- once again has sparked an uproar among other investors who think the bid undervalues the company by as much as $10 a share. If it succeeds, critics argue, the family of Chairman Charles Dolan, 80, and his son, CEO James Dolan, 52, will capture more than $2 billion of value that would otherwise enrich Cablevision's public holders. Our bet: The largest investors of Cablevision (ticker: CVC) will successfully block the transaction. Either the Dolans will raise their offer or the deal will unravel, leaving shares to rise in tandem with the company's improving cash flow in the next few years."

From Barron's 5-14-07 The New York-based Constellation (ticker: STZ) is well-positioned to benefit from the increasing popularity of high-end wines and spirits. "The U.S. and other major world wine markets are now undergoing some profound shifts in drinking habit [like moving to more upmarket brands], and these shifts are playing to some of the company's big strengths," says Ramey...Most people don't realize it," notes Sands, "but Constellation is the No. 1 premium-wine maker in the U.S. and in the world." In value wines and so-called fighting varietals, which are wines selling for under $8 a bottle, Constellation is ranked third in that market, which is a market where sales are either falling or at best static. But in the higher categories, up to the $15 level, the company is the biggest seller in terms of units. " We think in terms of the market for $10 wines growing at about 10% a year and the market for $20 bottles at about 20%," says Sands. That's where the growth is and that's where our focus is."

From Barron's 5-14-07 "The federal reserve has been no friend to Annaly Capital Management in recent years, but that could change if the economy continues to weaken in 2007, spurring the central bank to lower interest rates. Annaly, a Manhattan-based real-estate investment trust, borrows funds at short-term rates and reinvests them in mortgage-backed securities sold by the likes of Fannie Mae (ticker: FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). It earns the difference, or spread, between the income generated by its portfolio and its cost of capital, and pays out about 90% of its earnings in the form of dividends. Some savvy investors now think the worst is over. "The yield curve will start to steepen in the second half of the year and continue to do so in '08 as the economy begins to slow and the Fed cuts rates," says Arnie Schneider, chief investment officer of Schneider Capital Management, which has owned shares for about a year. "If the federal- funds rate decreases by one percentage point, [the company] could probably earn close to $2."