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5 Things that Will Move the Market This Week

Among the things sure to help shape the week ahead on Wall Street, Visa will tell us whether we've been choosing plastic over paper; Disney will tell us how much magic it has in its financials; and Panera and Chipotle will serve up their quarterly results.

Diamond to Buy Pringles for $1.5 Billion

Diamond Foods is buying the Pringles brand of chips from Procter & Gamble for $1.5 billion. The deal is the latest -- and biggest -- of a stack of acquisitions for the maker of Emerald nuts and Pop Secret popcorn, making Diamond to the No. 2 snack company after PepsiCo's Frito-Lay.

How to Take Advantage of the M&A Boom

Mergers and acquisitions are becoming ever more popular, with activity up 24% in the first two months of this year -- after already growing 23% in 2010. Here's how your portfolio can benefit from this trend.

Borders' Bid for B&N Will Go Nowhere Fast

When Barnes & Noble announced it was looking for a buyer, we entertained the fanciful notion that struggling rival Borders might put in a bid. As absurd as the idea was, that buyout offer has been made. Here's why it has virtually no chance of succeeding.

M&A Activity Expected to Jump 36% in 2011

Global mergers and acquisitions activity is expected to rocket upward 36% next year, getting its strength from the financial and real estate industries, according to a report released Monday -- a level of increase that hasn't been seen since the credit crisis hit.

Goldman Sachs Earnings: Expect Lower Profits

Goldman Sachs is expected to report a sharp drop in third-quarter earnings early Tuesday, due to a decline in trading activity in a market that's been light on volume for months. Goldman is forecast to report adjusted earnings of $2.28 a share.

J&J to Acquire Vaccine Maker Crucell

Giant drugmaker Johnson & Johnson has agreed to buy Dutch vaccine maker Crucell. The deal will give J&J a bigger piece of the vaccine market and better access to emerging markets.

AirTran Shares Spike 65% on Southwest Deal

Southwest Airlines, one of the earliest discount airlines, will buy rival AirTran -- another sign of consolidation in an industry that has witnessed the mergers of Northwest with Delta and United with Continental over the last two years.

Sinochem Closer to Countering BHP's Bid for Potash

The FTC has cleared a BHP Billiton bid for Potash Corp., but that hardly matters. Authorities in the fertilizer company's home country of Canada may not approve the transaction. And it looks like BHP won't be the only bidder. The giant Chinese conglomerate Sinochem is working on an offer.

Avis Raises Its Bid for Dollar: Do 'Jumpers' Have an M&A Edge?

Avis Budget has increased its offer for Dollar Thrifty, firing the latest salvo in its bidding war for Dollar with archrival Hertz. It's a familiar pattern in the world of mergers and acquisitions, and the data shows that interlopers like Avis often a better chance of taking home the prize.

StockWatch: Three Ways to Profit from Software M&A

Shares of software security companies are rising as investors hope to cash in on growing M&A activity. One the heel's of Hewlett-Packard's decision to acquire ArcSight, here are three other companies that could be future take-over candidates.

Hewlett-Packard Close to ArcSight Deal

HP is close to a deal to buy security software maker ArcSight (ARST). The transaction would be worth about $1.5 billion, or a little more that $43 a share. That's a 24% premium over where ArcSight's shares traded on September 10.