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The article discusses securities-trading irregularities that can undermine investors' confidence in the stock market. Details are presented of stock transactions occurring outside the quoted bid-asked spread, and of a stop-loss order getting erroneously triggered. To help restore confidence the New York Stock Exchange has proposed that transactions for retail investors occur in intervals of one-tenth of a cent.

The article discusses a lack of liquidity in the U.S. stock market. Volatile stock prices have prompted some hedge funds and mutual funds to cut back on their trading, which has at times led to large differences between the bid and asked prices for shares. Hedge-fund manager Patrick McMahon attributes large downward moves in stock prices to a dearth of buyers willing to absorb sell orders.

The article reports that United Airlines has invited Boeing Co. and Airbus to bid on a purchase order for as many as 150 new airplanes. By soliciting competing offers, United hopes to obtain advantageous pricing amid a soft economic climate. The winning firm could secure business in excess of $10 billion.

The article focuses on a reduction in a bid which Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS) has offered for the purchase of Dutch bank ABN Amro Holding NV. RBS stated that its offer of $51.67 per ABN share may decrease because they may need the money to cover legal costs associated with ending ABN's deal with Bank of America's LaSalle Bank. A discussion of the performance of stock shares of both ABN and RBS is presented.

Examines the competition between Qwest Communications International Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. to acquire MCI Inc. Question as to whether Qwest is offering more than it can afford; Comparison of the values of bids offered to MCI; Support of Qwest's offer from Legg Mason Capital Management, a large shareholder of MCI; Excerpts from a letter written by Qwest Chief Executive Richard Notebaert to MCI regarding the latest offer; Reasons why MCI has rejected earlier bids from Qwest; Speculation about how much Qwest can offer. INSET: Hammer Down.

Reports on efforts by Richard C. Notebaert of Qwest Communications International Inc. to outbid Verizon Communications Inc. for the purchase of MCI Inc. Improvement in the terms of the Qwest offer, despite the fact that Verizon has decided to sell itself to Verizon; Reference to Mr. Notebaert's visits to Washington, D.C. to tell politicians and regulators that Verizon's deal for MCI would hurt competition; Overview of options MCI might pursue at this point, including deciding that Qwest's bid is superior, giving Verizon five days to decide if it wants to improve its offer; Reference to the fact that Qwest's latest offer for MCI is 25% higher than Verizon's; High stakes for all three companies.

Examines the prices being paid for art work and the artists whose work is selling at several art auctions. Comments from William Ruprecht, president of Sotheby's Holdings Inc., regarding this year's interest in the auctions; Percentage increase in the amount of money raised by the auctioneers, including Sotheby's, Christie's International and Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg; Values of paintings sold by less-popular artists, suggesting a shift in art-market tastes; Comments from Marc Selwyn, an art dealer from Los Angeles, regarding the prices some less-established artists are getting for their work; Discussion of contemporary art.

Reports that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $25 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegations that the bank induced clients to bid up stocks in exchange for allocations of lucrative listings in the future. How J.P. Morgan conducted the scheme to reward clients who made high bids in the aftermarket; Comments of Stephen Cutler, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, regarding underwriters attempting to distort the market; Extent of regulators' investigations into Wall Street practices during the boom years of the 1990s, including a probe into allocations of highly sought-after initial public offerings.

The article discusses the interest of discount retailer Dollar General in purchasing rival discount retailer Family Dollar Stores, focusing on an offer made by Dollar General to engage talks with Family Dollar and dispel fears of antitrust.

The article reports on the decision of discount retail chain Big Lots Inc. not to sell the company due to the low bids it received from private equity firms.

This article focuses on the three bids received by Centro Properties Group Inc. of Australia which is estimated to be worth 9 billion U.S. dollars each for its U.S. portfolio of 588 shopping malls.

The article reports on the higher bid price for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. being offered by Avis Budget Group Inc. in July 2010 as compared to the proposal of its rival Hertz Global Holdings Inc.

The article reports on the intention of Pfizer to bid up to 4 billion U.S. dollars for the acquisition of Ratiopharm Group International in 2010 in an attempt to seek diversification, according to sources.

The article focuses on a bidding competition between Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Peet's Coffee & Tea over Diedrich Coffee in the U.S. in November 2009. Green Mountain has proposed a 35 per share dollars for Diedrich following a public offer made by Peet's Coffee & Tea on November 2. Diedrich removed some of its coffee shop in California this year in order to set its focus on its single-cup brewing business called K-Cups. It is said that Peet's plans to outdo Green Mountain both on price and antitrust issues.

The article reports on a bid issued by Deutsche Börse AG for the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) in Poland in 2009. According to analysts, the Polish government might be anticipating for a higher price for the deal. It states the growth in the market capitalization of firms listed on the WSE to 681 billion zloyts since 2004. The government is pursuing a privatization campaign in order to collect 36.7 billion zloyts by the end of 2010 in an effort to stop the country's budget deficit.

The article reports that Publicis Groupe is in the lead to purchase Razorfish, the digital advertising agency of Microsoft Corp. According to the people familiar with the bidding, Publicis's bid for the agency is between 500 to 600 million U.S. dollars, while Dentsu made a higher offer. In 2008, Razorfish has about 2,000 employees and had a revenue worth 400 million U.S. dollars.

The article reports that bids for the long distance business of Qwest Communications International Inc. in the U.S. are below the $2 billion to $3 billion target set by the company. Some of the companies interested in buying the business are Level 3 Communications Inc. and TW Telecom. It is noted that Qwest Communications may opt to stop the auction.

The article announces the decision of Hearst Corp. to raise its offer price by 13 percent for one-third stake in Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. The company increased its offer price to $4.50 a share from $4 following negotiations with Hearst-Argyle's board. According to Hearst, Hearst-Argyle is expected to recommend that stockholders accept the offer.

The article reports that Sara Lee Corp. is examining a sale of its European household and personal-care business as it seeks to reverse a sharp decline in its share price and focus on its core food and beverage business in 2009. Goldman Sachs Group has been hired by the company to help it examine possible bidders for the business, which could fetch more than $2 billion. Sara Lee's shares have reportedly declined to 42% in the past year due to slowing global economic growth and the impact of strong dollar on its international business.

The article reports that investors are more confident about Coca-Cola's proposed $2.4 billion China juice deal. Stock value of juice maker China Huiyuan Juice Group is above 10 Hong Kong dollars, and continues to rise in the market's trading. Coke's offer values Huiyuan at 12.20 Hong Kong dollars a share.

The article discusses the practice of placing outrageous bids by publishers on new books in view of the deepening economic crisis. In the past, the strategy of making outsized investments to acquire a small number of titles with hit potentials help publishers increase their sales to make up the slow performance in the rest of their catalogs. The article claims that one sure indicator of commercial success is its resemblance to existing bestsellers and the heavy convergence of interest on certain titles triggers competitive bidding situation.

The article reports on the $275 million takeover offer of Sierra Wireless Inc. for Wavecom. Offer is valued at 8.5 euros a share and 31.93 euros convertible bond which is higher than the bid of Gemalto NV. Wavecom previously rejected the offer of Gemalto saying it did not reflect the strategic value of the company. The article also notes that Wavecom founders agreed to tender their shares comprising 20 percent capital of Wavecom with Sierra Wireless.

The article looks at the setback facing Reed Elsevier PLC in its plans to sell Reed Business Information. Analysts Usman Ghazi said the probable price will range from £600 to &pound750 million prior to the declining asset prices and tight credit markets. According to the article, Reed will sell off the unit to reduce reliance on advertiser-funded media and focus on counter-cyclical scientific and legal publishing business. It also notes that Reed aims to close a deal by the end of 2008 with bidders TPG and Bain Capital.