Oprah Winfrey is a smart cookie. I am guessing she knows all too well that you can make more money in cable than you can on a TV network. If it's like other cable networks, her new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which she co-owns with Discovery Communications (DISCA), will be much more profitable than the TV networks.

And her departure from her popular show will cost those TV networks big money. How much? Show broadcaster, Walt Disney's (DIS) ABC, will lose millions in ad revenues, according to the New York Times. CBS Corp. (CBS), which owns Oprah's syndication rights, will similarly lose millions.

Recent revelations about alleged insider trading at hedge funds make me wonder if the average investor has a fair shot at investing in stocks. The most recent story pertains to a $15 billion hedge fund that closed back in May.

And last month, the $3.7 billion Galleon hedge fund was shuttered after its founder was arrested with many others. I think it's great the SEC is starting to focus on the problem. I hope the fear of getting caught will stop insider trading by hedge funds altogether.

Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, and General Electric, the giant industrial conglomerate, are finalizing an agreement that would create a new media titan anchored by NBC Universal. The deal would instantly remake the entertainment industry landscape. Negotiations are "moving in the right direction" but are not complete, sources close to the deal tell DailyFinance. Sunday was the first day of Vivendi's annual window -- from Nov. 15 to Dec. 10 each year -- to exercise its option to sell its 20% stake in NBC Universal.

Teams of lawyers and bankers huddled over the weekend. An announcement isn't likely on Monday, but it could come by week's end, according to knowledgeable sources. However, it's clear that the bankers and lawyers will make the deal happen -- it's what they're paid to do -- and they're looking to do it soon.

Is a deal with Satan the kind of thing you're required to disclose in a proxy statement? If so, I'll be very curious to see the one filed after Comcast (CMCSA) completes its takeover of NBC Universal (GE).

It's hard to imagine what else could account for the continuing employment of Jeff Zucker as the head of one of the world's premier media conglomerates -- even as it becomes increasingly clear how unfit he is for the job. Now it looks like not even the sale of his company will put an end to Zucker's reign of error: Reuters reports that Comcast has agreed to keep him on as the CEO of the joint venture created by the acquisition, if and when it comes to fruition. This despite the availability of former News Corp. (NWS) president Peter Chernin, a media executive with a substantially better track record than Zucker's. Chernin is advising Comcast in the deal.

As expected, the E.U. raised objections to the Oracle (ORCL) buyout of Sun (JAVA) at about the same time that the Department of Justice approved the deal. The E.U.'s objection is based on the large market share that the two tech companies would have in the MySQL software business.

European authorities have been deviling American companies for years. In 2001 they killed the GE (GE) deal to purchase Honeywell (HON), which would have been the crowning achievement of Jack Welch's tenure at the world's largest conglomerate. The E.U. has troubled Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC) over antitrust concerns, and now it has brought up similar issues with Oracle's plans.

Comcast (CMCSA), the nation's largest cable company, and GE (GE), the giant industrial conglomerate, are nearing agreement on a deal that would value NBC Universal, the huge entertainment company, at around $30 billion, sources familiar with the matter tell DailyFinance. If successful, the pact would pave the way for a distribution and content behemoth sure to attract attention from regulators. The new entity would dramatically alter the competitive landscape of a media world already wracked by Internet-driven disruption and the ever-increasing penetration of high-speed broadband service.

Comcast, already a corporate giant, clearly sees the long-lusted-after golden chalice of a unified content and distribution system within its grasp.

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) has made a 9.8 billion pound ($16.4 billion) cash-and-stock offer for Cadbury PLC (CBY). Unable to seal a friendly deal and as the deadline for Kraft to make an offer was today, the bid has been expected to turn hostile. Kraft indeed went directly to shareholders with a lower offer than its previous rebuffed approach, but many of the shareholders are hedge funds with perhaps different interests. Cadbury advised its shareholders to reject the offer, saying it is "derisory" and represents a worse deal than when Kraft made its original approach in September. CBY shares traded over 1% higher in premarket trading.

Comcast (CMCSA) and GE (GE) have reportedly agreed on the worth of NBC Universal, thus clearing another hurdle. The value is reportedly around $30 billion. CMCSA shares were 2% higher, GE's nearly 3% higher ahead of the bell.

American International Group Inc. (AIG) posted its second straight profit Friday morning of $455 million, or 68 cents a share, as investment losses narrowed and catastrophe costs declined. But revenue fell at life and property-casualty operations. Shares fell over 10 percent ahead of the bell.

Starbucks (SBUX), late Thursday, reported higher earnings, saying adjusted profit of 24 cents per share, beating the 21-cents-per share estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters mostly due to cost cutting measures. The coffee chain lifted its fiscal 2010 adjusted earnings guidance due to improving traffic in its stores. Shares jumped about 4 percent in premarket trade.

Comcast (CMCSA), the nation's largest cable TV company, reported a 22.5 percent rise in third-quarter earnings, beating expectations, but didn't offer any details about its possible purchase of a majority stake in media giant NBC Universal. Negotiations to create a content and distribution juggernaut are proceeding apace, according to multiple reports, with a deal to be announced as early as this week.

Comcast's strong numbers illustrate the stickiness of cable TV service -- despite a drop in subscriber growth -- at a time when consumers are cutting back on spending during the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Viacom (VIA), the parent company of MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount, offered an early Christmas present to investors, with a healthy quarterly earnings report driven by increasing advertising revenue and improving profit margins. The media giant reported a 15 percent increase in profit, thanks in part to its third quarter of sequential ad revenue gains.

Viacom's sunny report comes as arch-rival NBC Universal and Comcast (CMCSA) are nearing agreement on a deal that would create a media and distribution juggernaut at a time of wrenching technological change in the media business. Viacom's report kicks off a spate of media company earnings, which should serve as a barometer for the battered industry.

Ford Motor Co. (F) is no doubt this morning's story. The automaker, the only one of the Big Three American car manufacturers that didn't take a direct government bailout and stayed out of bankruptcy protection, reported a surprising $1 billion profit Monday morning. Ford reported net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, Ford reported a quarterly pretax profit of $1.1 billion, or 26 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $3 billion or $1.32. This handily beat analyst estimates ranging from 12 to 20 cents loss per share. Ford still faces obstacles in its turnaround, but so far proved to be able to weather the storm and, in fact raised its own forecast from a break-even or better 2011 to "solidly profitable" 2011. Shares of Ford shot up over 8 percent in pre-market trading.

Ever since it announced plans to create a 10 p.m. nightly talk show for Jay Leno, NBC has said it will give the strategy plenty of time to prove its worth. But reality may be less patient.

While General Electric Co. (GE)'s network may be prepared to accept smaller audiences than it's accustomed to, NBC affiliates don't seem to be. Station managers in Baltimore, Kansas City, and elsewhere are alarmed at the way ratings for their local newscasts have plummeted since the network introduced The Jay Leno Show and changed its format for the last hour of prime time, Joe Flint reports in The Los Angeles Times.

Hasbro Inc. (HAS) said Monday its profit rose 8.8 percent to $150.4 million, or 99 cents per share, in the third quarter, helped by lower costs and slightly higher sales of Transformers and G.I. Joe toys. The results beat estimates for earnings of 93 cents a share. Still, revenue fell 1.7 percent to $1.28 billion, missing analysts' estimates of $1.32 billion. Shares gained nearly a percent ahead of the bell. McDonald's (MCD) and Whirlpool (WHR) are among other retailers reporting this week.

Disappointing quarterly results from General Electric (GE) and Bank of America (BAC) weighed on stocks Friday, causing the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) to fall back below 10,000.

The blue-chip Dow fell 67 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 9,995, while the broader S&P 500 ($INX) dropped 9 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,088. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ($COMPX) slid 16 points, or 0.8 percent, to finish at 2,157.

For more on stocks making moves today, be sure to check out BloggingStocks' market wrap up.

It might seem risky for a marketer to integrate its TV spots with a show known for its advertising parodies. But that's not stopping Anheuser-Busch from buying up all the commercial time on this weekend's Saturday Night Live to shill Budweiser. The October 17 show will air eight to nine minutes of commercial time, integrated with the programming -- all of it devoted to introducing the Bud Light Golden Wheat brand extension from Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), according to Advertising Age.

The ad buy marks the first time in 35 seasons of the show that a single marketer has bought all its national commercial time, according to NBC. It's a clever ploy designed to grab attention for Golden Wheat, which the brewing giant introduced on October 5.