Genzyme (GENZ - option chain) shares are rising today on a report in the Wall Street Journal which says that Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) could make a formal takeover offer to GENZ's board that could be worth about $20 billion. SNY declined to comment on the report. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on GENZ.

GENZ opened this morning at $70.31. So far today the stock has hit a low of $69.97 and a high of $70.97. As of 11:55, GENZ is trading at $70.09 up $2.09 (3.1%). The chart for GENZ looks bullish and S&P gives GENZ a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

U.S. stocks surged Thursday morning following yet another strong batch of earnings, and despite several weak economic indicators. The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 200 points, or 2%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.3% and the S&P 500 soared 2.1% by noon trading. And stocks were even higher earlier.

Earnings results continued to impress Wall Street. This morning, such heavy weights as Caterpillar (CAT), 3M (MMM), UPS (UPS) and AT&T (T) all topped earnings estimates and raised their outlooks. Shares of all four were generally higher in morning trade. Meanwhile, General Motors said it is acquiring auto financier AmeriCredit (ACF) for $3.5 billion.

BP (BP) announced Tuesday that it completed a sale of assets to Apache (APA). The assets sold were in North America and Egypt and carried a price tag of $7 billion. Previous reports indicated Prudhoe Bay was up for sale, but it turned out not to be the case.

According to APA, which has a knack for purchasing older oil wells and squeezing some more money from them, this purchase was a "rare opportunity to acquire legacy positions from a major oil company." The company's CEO, Steven Farris, noted that the company "seldom have an opportunity like this in one o our core areas let along three," adding that Apache will add value to the assets "for decades to come."

Tesla Motors (TSLA) and Toyota Motor Corporation (TM) announced a new agreement today to develop an electric version of Toyota's RAV4 sports utility vehicle (SUV). The joint statement sheds a little light on a memorandum of understanding signed by the two automakers last week, which did not specify exactly what kind of cars Tesla and Toyota would be collaborating on.

According to a joint statement, Tesla and Toyota are looking to launch the electric RAV4 in the U.S. market by 2012. The eco-friendlier vehicle will combine the existing RAV4 model with an electric powertrain provided by Tesla. The first prototype has already been built, and testing is underway.

As the economy begins to gain some traction, we are starting to see more M&A activity. This is a good sign as it shows credit markets are thawing.

Today, we saw three key acquisition announcements.

BP (BP) is making a move to try and polish up its tarnished reputation by going green. BP announced it will be buying Verenium Corporation's (VRNM) cellulosic biofuels business-- fuels made from grasses, canes, softwoods and other biomass -- including the company's facilities in Jennings, LA and San Diego, CA for $98.3 million.

As seen with the success of companies like Foursquare, the market for location-based mobile services is heating up. And while Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT) and Nokia (NOK) have robust mapping services, this is certainly not the case with Apple (AAPL).

It looks like this will change soon, though. Apple has purchased Poly9, which is a Quebec-based Internet mapping company. There are sketchy details on the deal as the site is no longer operational and it appears that the company's employees are now in Silicon Valley.

Oxford Resource Partners LP (OXF), which is a steam coal producer, launched its IPO today. The company issued 8.8 million shares at $18.50 apiece. However, the expected price range was $18-$20, which had to be reduced from $19-$21. And, as a sign of lackluster investor enthusiasm, the shares of Oxford are currently trading at $18.

The company is the largest producer of surface mined coal in Ohio. For the most part, the main customers are large utilities, which agree to long-term supply contracts.

A report has surfaced that Playboy's (PLA) founder Hugh Hefner has made an offer to purchase the remaining shares of the company -- taking it private.

Supposedly Hefner will join forces with Rizvi Traverse Management in order to buy the shares that he doesn't already own for $5.50 apiece. Would this be a solid investment for Hefner or will the move result in a last-gasp effort to try and make the magazine relevant in some way?

Smithfield Foods (SFD - option chain) shares are rising today as rumors have surfaced that the company may be an acquisition target for Brazilian meat titan JBS. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SFD.

SFD opened this morning at $15.60. So far today the stock has hit a low of $15.28 and a high of $16.20. As of 12:15, SFD is trading at $15.34 up 0.46 (3.1%). The chart for SFD looks neutral and S&P gives SFD a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Noble Corporation (NE) announced Monday morning that it has entered a definitive merger agreement with FDR Holdings, also known as Frontier. The deal values the joint venture at $2.16 billion. NE expects the deal to close by the end of July, and noted that it will be accretive to cash flow immediately and to earnings in 2011. NE will acquire a fleet of roughly 23 rig years of contracts that generate roughly $3.2 billion in gross contract backlog.

NE CEO David W. Williams sated that, "Frontier is an excellent strategic addition to NE's existing asset, customer and employee base ... This acquisition is a highly complementary extension of our mid- and deepwater presence and positions us for additional growth in new market segments that can provide further opportunities for Noble and our customers."

Walgreen Co. (WAG - option chain) shares rose Friday after the company said it signed a new agreement with CVS Caremark (CVS) that will allow Walgreen to continue participating in CVS's pharmacy benefit management network. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on WAG.

WAG opened at $31.01. In morning trading, the stock hit a low of $30.18 and a high of $31.38. As of 12:00, WAG was trading at $30.37 up 1.10 (3.8%). The chart for WAG looks bullish and S&P gives WAG a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

The Limited is under Limited Brands (LTD) no more. The retail company unloaded the remaining 25% of the eponymous women's apparel retailer to private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, which already held 75% of the company. The final chunk of the 220-store chain sold for roughly $32 million. Sun bought its initial 75% stake in the name in August 2007.

Sun Capital's influence has been good for The Limited, which posted positive pretax annual earnings for the first time since 1993 (ironically, that's the year when I spent 90% of my allowance on their clothes. Honeycomb sweaters, anyone?).

Somanetics (SMTS) was the most advancing stock in the Nasdaq Wednesday morning, with shares up more than 31%, or nearly $6 to $24.85. Shares reacted to news that Covidien (COV) is buying Somanetics, acquiring all of the outstanding shares of Somanetics for $25.00 per share in cash, a 32% premium to Tuesday's close. Covidien will pay a total of $250 million, for a total transaction value of approximately $300 million.

Covidien, a drug and medical devices maker, is already the distributor for Somanetics' noninvasive diagnostic equipment called INVOS (In-Vivo Optical Spectroscopy) Cerebral/Somatic Oximeter in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. INVOS monitors patients and continuously measures blood oxygen levels in the brain and in the body to help detect and correct complications.

Coinstar (CSTR - option chain) shares rose Wednesday after the company announced that it has extended its revenue sharing license agreement between Paramount Home Entertainment and Redbox Automated Retail, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coinstar. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on CSTR.

CSTR opened Wednesday at $53.50. In morning trading, the stock hit a low of $52.30 and a high of $54.76. As of 12:15, CSTR was trading at $53.17 up 0.67 (1.3%). The chart for CSTR looks bearish.

Trading is upward and active today, on shares of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS). News Corp. shares have gained over 6%. The share hike is in reaction to News Corp.'s bid to completely swallow UK satellite service provider BSkyB. Bloomberg reports that News Corp's current offer of $11.5 billion has been kindly rejected by BSkyB. Apparently, that company is asking for a bid increase of some 14%. Indications are that the negotiations are amicable and moving forward.

The question is, has Rupert Murdoch lost his mind? I would have to say not. Murdoch has made it quite obvious that internet content by subscription shall be his unflinching business model. He's chosen his path, and he's sticking to it, come hell or high water.