VEB, which holds a blocking state in Vimpelcom, will apparently agree to the merger of the mobile operator with Ukrainian company Kyivstar.  Car sales in Russia fell 52% in September year-on-year, a slight improvement on August's drop of 54%.  State-controlled VEB bank has extended loans for six companies, including Gazprom's oil unit Gazpromneft.  Reuters reports that Italian automaker Fiat is interested in launching its SUV in Russia.  Fiat SpA has said that its CNH unit has signed a letter of intent with truck-maker Kamaz for a joint agricultural and construction equipment project.  The government will provide around $170 million in financial assistance to state-controlled defense industry corporation Oboronprom and titanium producer Vsmpo-Avisma.  Russian Railways has reported that 2008 net income dropped 47% from a year earlier to $2.6 billion.  Russia has placed Hermitage Capital Management ...

U.S. stocks pared early losses and ended the day mixed, helped by a late-day surge in banking shares.  Treasury prices declined for another day, pushing yields higher.  Financials also took a cue from Princeton University economist Paul Krugman who noted, "there's some reason to think that we're stabilizing."  Trading was volatile on Monday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had shed almost 130 points earlier in the session, closed the day just above unchanged.  The S&P 500 index closed 0.95 point lower and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost seven points.  Volume on the NYSE was light as only 1.1 billion shares exchanged hands.

With the government's plan to sell $65 billion in debt this week, investors remain concerned that interest rates could be hiked sooner than expected.  Investors are also awaiting news from the Treasury Department, which is expected to announce which banks will be allowed to repay funds

...

Asian markets jumped to eight-month highs Monday on expectations of a global economic recovery even as General Motors prepared to file for a historic bankruptcy protection.  A third successive rise in Chinese manufacturing also raised hopes that the worst of the economic crisis is over.  The Shanghai Composite Index in Mainland China jumped 3.4% as the country's official purchasing managers' index for May fell to 53.1 from 53.5 in April.  Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 4% and the Nikkei added 1.6%.

Following the overseas gains, US stock futures suggest Wall Street is headed for a higher open.  Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 1.2% to 8,586. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures jumped 1.4% to 930.50, while Nasdaq 100 index futures gained 1.1% to 1,451.50.       

On Friday, a late-session rally pushed U.S. stocks to their biggest three-month run since 2007, as commodities recorded their highest monthly advance

...

The third-largest US automaker, Chrysler, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday. The firm is expected to undergo a 30-60 day restructuring, receiving $8 billion in government funds and creating an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat, which managed its owned turnaround in the past 5 years.

Today's expected releases include: Allergan (NYSE:AGN), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Clorox (NYSE:CLX), Dean Foods (NYSE:DF), and MasterCard (NYSE:MA).

Aon (NYSE:AOC) reported a first quarter as earnings at 76, 12 cents less than expected, along with a 2.7% revenue decline to $1.85 billion.

Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) reported first quarter results of 52 cents, 10 cents better than expected, as revenues dropped 12.2% to $2.7 billion with indications of a solid start to the second quarter.

Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO) reported first quarter results of $1.03, ahead of estimates by 8 cents notwithstanding revenues plunged 20.3% to $1.44 billion, as was expected.

Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) received an analyst upgrade from UBS (NYSE:UBS).

Goldman Sachs

...

Investing in the Pink Sheets: The Most Speculative & Lucrative Companies on the Planet

by Robert Williams, Associate Investment Strategist, The White Cap Report

Editor’s Note: Just over a month ago, Robert Williams, Chief Investment Strategist of The White Cap Report explained investing in the Pink Sheets - an unknown, but lucrative, segment of the market that most of Wall Street doesn’t even acknowledge - to his subscribers. We’re republishing his article below for your benefit…

Roughly 3,000 companies trade on the Nasdaq. Another 2,000 trade on the New York Stock Exchange. And the IPO market adds more companies to the mix each quarter (although the IPO market has been quiet of late).

Together, they represent the entire stock “universe” that most know and search through.

But many investors are surprised to know that there’s an entire market that’s overlooked - and mostly forgotten. A group of companies that may well be

...

* Talks between Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) appeared back in the works following reports of a meeting between CEOs Ballmer and Bartz regarding a possible advertising partnership.

* Dutch electronics firm Royal Philips Electronics NV (NYSE:PHG) reported additional cost-cutting measures to offset expectations of poor business conditions. 

* Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported first quarter results of $1.26, beating Street estimates by 4 cents, and matching year-ago results on revenue of $15 billion. The firm also provided EPS guidance for the full year of $4.45-$4.55; Street estimates place the year's EPS results at $4.49.

* Chrysler creditors may provide a counter-offer to the US Treasury this week with requests for an equity interest on the Chrysler/Fiat combined entity.

Zacks Investment Research

Monday March 30, 2009 Navivest

According to the White House, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler, which were supposed to provide viability plans to the government per a request on February 17 by the Bush administration as a condition of the bailout aid the automakers received, have not submitted acceptable plans. The lack of an acceptable plan raises the possibility that the companies will not receive any more money, at least not until the government receives an acceptable plan.

The government is also warning the companies that they could be forced to undergo bankruptcies, as the administration is not willing to keep pumping billions into the companies if a turnaround is not imminent.

The administration has given the companies another deadline to try and convince the government that they are worth saving.

Chrysler, which has asked the government for another $5 billion in loans on top of the $4 billion it has already received,

...

Fiat S.p.A. (OTC: FIATY) agreed to buy a 35% stake in fledgling Chrysler LLC in a deal that will boost Chrysler’s small-car technology and give Italy-based Fiat access to the U.S. auto market. Fiat and Chrysler’s controlling shareholder, Cerberus Capital Management LP, signed a non-binding agreement that requires approval from the U.S. Treasury. Fiat said it would not make a cash investment in Chrysler, nor commit to provide funding in the future. Rather, Fiat will give Chrysler a platform to make smaller and fuel-efficient cars and a distribution channel to sell them. Sign up below… and we’ll send you a new investment report for free: “Credit Crisis Report.” ...