Tuesday Quick Hits

• Microsoft makes up about 14% of the Nasdaq 100. It's good for that index to see MSFT rallying.


• It's options expiration week. Kind of boring (so far) for what is normally a very volatile week.


• Hey Chicken Little, they're coming after you. Vietnam slaughtered thousands of birds, and China vows to vaccinate 14 billion poultry. I'm not sure if the bird flu is over-hyped or something we should be very afraid of. 60 people have died in Asia; and the fear is that the disease will mutate so that humans can transfer the virus. Scarey stuff.


• No, Kobe didn't make a 3 last night. Not only that, the Lakers lost. Against the Memphis Grizzlies.


• Donovan McNabb didn't make his case last night, throwing an interception that led to Dallas' victory.


• I came in to the office today, because my internet connection was down at home. It was so windy last night. Cable TV out, too.


• I also brought my leftover Halloween candy in.


• The Democrat bloggers are accusing the Republicans of stealing their idea on an Iraq War strategy. After reading what the GOP is proposing, it doesn't sound any different than what we're currently doing. Except it'd put it in writing. "Train the troops, leave as soon as they're ready." This does differ from the Democrat plan of setting a timeline on when to bail out.


• After suffering huge losses at the polls last week, CA's Governor Arnold is now supporting a $50B bond to spend like crazy on roads, bridges, education, and you name it. He's turned and run in the opposite direction from somebody who wanted to fix the budget mess in Sacramento. With a structural deficit, now he wants to add more to the tally. Charge it on the state's credit card, and create some good times for next year's election cycle.