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General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Chrysler CEOs will be back on Capitol Hill for a second day of testimony as they continue to press for a $34 billion government bailout. GM's Wagoner told lawmakers he would accept strict conditions, including a promise to return the money and file for bankruptcy if his company doesn't fulfill the terms. GM and Chrysler also said on Thursday they would be open to a merger if the U.S. government mandated it. On a lighter note, the auto industry bailout received support from an unlikely source -- Jon Stewart on The Daily Show explains why he supports it.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) may again delay deliveries for the 787 Dreamliner at least six more months, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. This would be the fifth delay and first deliveries of the jet may not occur until as late as summer 2010. BA shares traded 3% lower in premarket (8:06 am).

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) on Thursday named a former Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) executive, Qi Lu, to

This post is part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst in Money 2008 feature.

In the decades to come, business school students will be faced with a plethora of examples from 2008 in studying how not to do something.

Picking one business decision as the worst is sort of like choosing a favorite child. Each was wretchedly awful in their own unique way. They each deserve their own wing in the hall of shame, but there only can be one winner. In my mind, the company that consistently shot itself in the foot with a heretofore unknown precision was American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG).

Of course, AIG is now owned by the U.S. government, largely thanks to two bailouts. The government ripped up the first $85 billion deal after determining that the New York-based company needed an even bigger life preserver of $150 billion. Even then, it managed to post a $24.5 billion loss.

What set the standard for corporate hubris, though, were the junkets. There was a fun-in-the-sun getaway to a resort in California, only days after the $85 billion bailout went through. Recently, it was disclosed that another junket was held in Arizona. Though the amount of money involved in the gatherings was piddly, the principle at stake was not. AIG was telling people -- especially members of Congress who approved the bailout -- that nothing had changed when, of course, everything had.

Lately it's been very difficult for investors to get their bearings, but I can tell you that the winners in this game will be companies with little or no debt. Forget what stock values are doing now and focus on the future. You can take it to the bank that stocks gaining in value will have started from a very solid balance sheet foundation.

That said, I want to talk about Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Yesterday the company was in the news again with reports that former AOL chief Jon Miller is seeking capital to purchase YHOO outright for a price that is reported to be in the $20 range.

YHOO shares rocketed higher on the news, immediately jumping up by nearly $1 per share, or approximately 10%.

My initial reaction, as you might expect, was skeptical. Jump on this news as a chance to dump shares. Management at YHOO, with or without Chief Yahoo Jerry Yang, has destroyed shareholder value so much that it would be hard to believe that anyone would pay a premium for the stock.

How could it be that a lone ranger from the failed AOL model be considered a serious alternative to YHOO going it alone? It makes no sense until you take a closer look at YHOO fundamentals. There the story starts to get a little more interesting.

When Michael reported yesterday that former AOL head Jon Miller was hoping to buy Yahoo! for over $20 per share, I did a double take. Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has been floundering for the better part of 2008, and has seen its stock price plummet and its founder step down as CEO after a disastrous run that included the rejection of a $45+ billion takeover offer from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). One would think Yahoo! is a company without direction or drive, even with its huge, world-leading global eyeball audience.

The fact that Yahoo! has one of the top web audiences on the entire planet but can't seem to monetize it properly is a case study for future business courses. But the real question is why anyone would still want to buy such a directionless company? Enter former AOL head Jon Miller, who is reportedly trying to raise over $28 billion to buy the company for a huge premium over its closing price of $11.15 yesterday. Although Miller is an excellent high-tech leader who could probably do better than most in improving Yahoo!'s fortunes, are backers going to fund him to the tune of $28 billion?

Can Yahoo! ever regain even a piece of its former glory? Highly doubtful -- and it's incredibly hard to see financiers following Miller's logic in this economic environment and shelling out tens of billions to buy the company. Will any of them even be able to issue debt in this environment? Cowen's Jim Friedland indicated to Barron's that "the company will continue to lose share in search and that user engagement with its portal will decline over time." And that, folks, is the killer. If Yahoo! starts losing engagement over time, the game is over. This decline began a few years ago and will likely gain steam in the next two years.

Jonathan Miller, the former chief executive of AOL, is apparently trying to raise money to buy Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Miller has been talking to the only people who have any money left to invest right now, deep-pocket private equity investors and sovereign wealth funds. Miller would like to purchase the whole Yahoo! enchilada at $20 to $22 per share, for a total value of $28 to $30 billion.

Yahoo! stock is spiking on the report. As of 1:15, Yahoo! is trading at $11.74, up 9% on the day.

Last week, Zac Bissonnette wrote about the fact that Carl Icahn has recently increased his stake in Yahoo! Icahn bought nearly seven million more shares in the company last week, raising his stake in Yahoo! to roughly 5.5%. Is it possible that a buyout led by Miller is part of Icahn's plan?

Whatever the backroom maneuverings, there is a lot of skepticism about any kind of Yahoo! deal, no matter who leads it. Financing such a big deal would be mighty difficult in this market, and Yahoo!'s valuation remains in flux. So you should probably take the news as reported: people are talking about a deal for Yahoo! but no deal is in place.

If you were hoping that last week's stealth rally was going to continue, that didn't happen. Manufacturing data was atrocious here in the U.S., and even China gave horrible data on that front. Then, the NBER came out and officially declared the recession has been afoot -- in case you hadn't noticed. To show how much demand destruction there is, oil was down another $4.00 by 2:00 PM. All this data led to record lows on Treasury maturity yields.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Top Upgrades & Downgrades

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was hit on a research report predicting that tomorrow's GE Capital presentation will be a platform that will allow the company to reduce guidance further than it already has.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) traded up early on reports that a new deal between Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo! may occur on a search pact rather than a merger. This was refuted elsewhere and it took the wind out of the rumor.

December Trading Strategies
After a stomach churning November, most investors would be happy to just get out of 2008. But our experts offer 10 tactics to profit by before putting this year away for good.
http://www.marketwatch.com/newscommentary/tradingstrategies

'12 Days of Christmas' Costs Rise 10.9% This Year'12 Days of Christmas' Costs Rise 10.9% This Year
That's this year's cost, according to the annual "Christmas Price Index" compiled by PNC Wealth Management, which tallies the single partridge in a pear tree to the 12 drummers drumming, purchased repeatedly as the song suggests. The price is up $8,508 or 10.9%, from $78,100 last year. PNC checks jewelry stores, dance companies, pet stores and other sources to compile the list. While it is done humorously, PNC said its index mirrors actual economic trends. Seven swans-a-swimming are up 33% this year while a couple items declined: three French hens (down $15 to $30) and six geese-a-laying (down $120 to $240) reflect declines in food prices.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/economy/bc.na.us.twelvedays.cos.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008120103

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) plans to sell its Japanese trust banking unit NikkoCiti Trust and Banking for about 40 billion yen ($416.7 million) as it struggles to survive the global financial crisis, according to the Nikkei. Also, a Citigroup fund, Citi Infrastructure Partners, is bidding 7.9 billion euros ($10.2 billion) to buy a Spanish highway operating firm, Sacyr Vallehermoso, the firms said on Monday. Citi shares were down over 12% by 11:30 am.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) -- over the weekend there have been conflicting reports regarding the two. There were reports that Microsoft is going to offer $20 billion for Yahoo's search business, but then other sources said these are completely unfounded. Meanwhile, SAI posted that Sue Decker is the front runner for the CEO job at the portal company. YHOO and MSFT shares were down about 3.5% by 11:30 am.

General Motors Corp's (NYSE: GM) board met Sunday to review a restructuring plan intended to win support for up to $12 billion in emergency funding from the U.S. government, according to different reports. GM's plan includes cuts to executive pay andcould indicate that the company will ask some bond holders to accept equity and a limited cash payout to redeem the debt they hold and focus on fuel-saving technology. GM shares were down about 9% at 9 am.

[Update 8:50 am: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has agreed to buy breast-implant maker Mentor Corp. (NYSE: MNT) for $1.07 billion, or $31 per Mentor share, a 92% premium to Friday's closing price. The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2009, is expected to have a dilutive impact to Johnson & Johnson's 2009 earnings per share of approximately $0.03 - $0.05. Of course, MNT shares are up over 88% in premarket trading. JNJ shares were down about 2.7%, but MNT's up about 90% by 11:30 am.]

The Times of London says Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is on the brink of taking control of Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) search business. AllThings Digital says the story is hogwash.

According to the UK paper, "Microsoft is in talks to acquire Yahoo's online search business for $20 billion (£13 billion)." In the transaction, former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller and former Fox executive Ross Levinsohn would end up managing Yahoo! and owning a big piece of the business. The account says that the boards of both companies have met on the deal.

Contrast that to the U.S. technology website's take. "A report in the Times of London in which Microsoft would buy Yahoo's search business in a convoluted $20 billion deal that would include well-known Internet execs Jon Miller and Ross Levinsohn, is -- in the words of one key player -- 'total fiction.'"

The news, or lack of news, points to the role rumor has come to play in important M&A negotiations. How could a major newspaper be so wrong? How could a website, considered an expert in news about the internet, contradict reporting that was obviously based on the Times interviewing people at the center of the deal?

One of two significant industry sources is almost certainly completely wrong. Why on earth would that medium run a story that clearly has no foundation?

When rumors rule, "news" is worthless.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

In a move that comes as somewhat of a surprise, Carl Icahn spent the first three days of this week spending $67 million on shares of Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO). He bought 6.8 million shares for an average of $9.92 bringing his total stake to 75.6 million million shares -- roughly 5.5%of the company.

Given that Icahn's nemesis, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is on the way out, Icahn may be positioning himself to have considerable say in the company's choice of successor. Icahn controls three seats on the company's board of directors.

The market value of the company has taken a beating since Icahn got involved. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) had offered to acquire the company for $33 per share. Yang spurned that offer and it was withdrawn in May. The stock now sits right around the $10 mark.

Icahn's decision to up his stake in the company signals some level of long-term confidence now that any kind of major deal with Microsoft seems like a remote possibility. But the question shareholders have to ask is, as valuable as Icahn is on matters of corporate governance, does he really have the expertise that will make him a valuable contributor to the internet company's search for a CEO?

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) -- as it runs short of cash and attempts to raise $4 billion from asset sales, GM has asked real estate agent Jones Lang LaSalle for help in raising up to $257 million from the sale and leaseback of some of its European offices and other property assets, as well as inquired about its options regarding the Renaissance Center, the Detroit skyscraper complex that serves as its headquarters, the Financial Times reported.

Meanwhile, adding insult to injury, GM has asked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to prevent public tracking of a jet it leases.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is also ignoring public outcry and is so far resisting pressure to cut the salary of its chief executive. Maybe asking emergency help from the federal government requires that large compensation...

Staying with automarkers, Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache said the scales are tipping in favor of a federal bailout from GM and Ford, MarketWatch said. GM traded 12% higher and Ford shares were 15% higher in the first minutes of trade.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) -- The Federal Reserve Board officially approved BAC.'s acquisition of Merril Lynch (NYSE: MER) on Wednesday in a $50 billion deal first announced in September. BAC shares were nearly 3% higher and MER's over 4% higher in the first few minutes of trade.

I saw some interesting Nielsen data posted at Silicon Alley Insider the other day about traffic levels at eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY). They seem to be on the decline. I don't want to spend time repeating a bunch of the numbers here, but suffice to say that trends in unique visitors and page views on a year-over-year basis have not been favorable to the online-auction entity. One quick example would be the 33% drop for the page-view category seen in October.

What the heck is going on? Man, I remember when eBay was loved unconditionally and considered to be the best yard sale on the block. Heck, it wasn't just for closet-cleaning exercises; a person infused with even a modicum of an entrepreneurial spirit could easily start a business on the site. And its brand was second-to-none in this space. Well, eBay's brand equity remains high, but the bloom has definitely come off the rose, at least from my perspective.

On an anecdotal basis, I've heard many complaints about eBay, especially from the point of view of the sellers. But there's no question that eBay has to do something about the declining stats. People are spending less time at the site, and that surely won't do much in terms of appeasing the sellers.

Here's a shocker (although not really to those paying attention), if you would have invested in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.B) three years ago instead of the wonder company Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) you would be 30% ahead right now.

'My pal Warren' never ceases to amaze and for all the excitement that Google has brought to the investment world, the stock market in particular, and the internet -- scaring the likes of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), it has not done all that much.

For those that took a ride on the Google band wagon at the beginning you are now poorer than you would have been taking a more traditional investing approach and you did it all the while taking more risk. More risk and less reward is a bad thing.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is recently down $2.44 to $255 in pre-open trading. Thomas Weisel has a $650 target on GOOG. Smith Barney has a $450 target price for GOOG. GOOG December option implied volatility of 87 is above its 26-week average of 50 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) closed at $10.21 Monday. Thomas Weisel has a 12-month target of $15 on YHOO. YHOO December option implied volatility of 112 is above its 26-week average of 66 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is recently down 20 cents to $42.30 in pre-open trading. Stanford Group says: "Initiate coverage of AMZN with a Sell rating and a $25 per share price target. We forecast revenue growth to decelerate materially in 2009 as retail sales declines worsen as inventory and pricing competition builds during a deep global recession." AMZN December option implied volatility of 93 is above its 26-week average of 62 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

With Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) stock in the dumper, the CEO spot looking for a newcomer and musings about the future of the company underway, perhaps there is a small bright light for the internet pioneer. Wireless provider T-Mobile will use Yahoo!'s mobile search as the default on all its phones' mobile web browsers.

While that may not be the biggest victory one can think of, it does help. Mobile search and web browsing has been increasing in usage (though still small), and although T-Mobile USA is only the nation's fourth-largest mobile provider, just the fact that Yahoo!'s services will keep the largest wireless providers from using competitive mobile search products is a blessing for Yahoo!

Making money from mobile web search is another matter. Although Yahoo! and T-Mobile said they will share revenue from the new arrangement, the question is this: are any mobile search companies and wireless providers making any significant revenue from mobile search partnering? At this point in time, it's hard to see that just based on skimpy usage. While it may not be that way in the future. T-Mobile International, which replaced Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) mobile search with Yahoo!'s solution earlier in 2008 and Yahoo! also has its fingers in mobile search with the largest wireless provider in the U.S., AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T). Perhaps Yahoo!'s rebirth will be around mobile technology after all. It's just a question of when.