-->Bloomberg, Nov. 5 -- Reckson Associates Realty Corp., owner of five midtown Manhattan skyscrapers, rejected billionaire Carl Icahn's $4.3 billion bid and said it will ask shareholders to vote on an offer from SL Green Realty Corp.

-- We are witnessing a merger and takeover frenzy based on greed, massive liquidity and extreme ease of borrowing. Most of this action is set off by old men with huge pots of available cash and nothing to do. I'd say the majority of these takeovers are ego trips that profit only the few. My belief is that most of the mergers and takeover make little economic sense, although there are a few exceptions. They are a product of today's ultra-speculative times.
Bloomberg, Nov. 5 --Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury-home builder, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 44 percent as orders tumbled and the company wrote down expenses for land.

-- The air is escaping from the great housing bubble-balloon. So far, the rest of the market has been ignoring the wheezing balloon. Whether this can or will continue is a leading question. Soft landing or hard landing ahead? So far, it seems to me that the market has decided on soft landing. The housing stocks have actually been in a bullish trend since mid-July. Why? My guess -- Wall Street has developed enormous faith in the Fed's ability to fix or handle all situations, good or bad. In 2007 we'll see if Wall Street's faith is warranted.

(aus Richard Russel's Daily Comment)