This Week's 5 Smartest Stock Moves

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If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.

1. Let's give satellite radio some credit
Remember when Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) was so out of favor that it practically couldn't give its stock away? That is so February.

The satellite radio operator's stock rose 15% Thursday, after the company bumped up the size of its planned debt offering. Because of healthy demand, Sirius XM went from raising $350 million in senior secured notes to $525.75 million.

The notes will mature in four years, bearing a rate of 11.25%. It may seem high, but this was also the same company that settled for rates as high as 15% and handing over a sizeable chunk of the company four months ago.

Sirius XM has come a long way in a short time.

2. Barn again
Not every retailer is hunkering down and shedding concepts. Dress Barn (Nasdaq: DBRN) bucked the mall malaise by announcing that it will acquire Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB). The all-stock deal will exchange each share of Tween Brands for 0.47 shares of Dress Barn.

It's a winning move for many reasons:

• Dress Barn expects the deal to add to earnings in future years, and for it to be simply neutral this year.
• Tween's Justice and Limited Too concepts are preteen magnets, helping it broaden the company's generational reach beyond its dressbarn and maurices chains.
• The market liked the deal so much that shares of both companies finished higher Thursday.

3. The future of television is in the past
Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) may be seen as media dinosaurs. Comcast has the country's largest base of cable television subscribers, but folks continue to consume more video online. Time Warner's AOL ruled the Internet access roost when dial-up was all the rage.

Will they be relevant in the future? They may be. The two companies are spearheading the TV Everywhere initiative, in which Time Warner will strive to make its cable properties accessible to Comcast cable television subscribers.

The model is open and non-exclusive. Both companies hope that other content creators as well as the cable, satellite, and telco providers hop on board. The key takeaway is that if you're paying for a particular premium channel, it should be able to follow authenticated users anywhere in cyberspace. In short, it will be a great way for the Comcasts of the world to get away with their hefty cable bills (as well as the channel providers that consume chunks of those subscribers fees).

Don't bury these dinosaurs yet.

4. Don't bury MGM Mirage, either
When you're talking about "going concerns" and Las Vegas, it's probably about your "concerns" over "going" to one casino over another, and losing Lady Luck along the way to a night of bad bets and even worse hangovers.

However, casino operator MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) is more than happy to shed the "going concern" language from its auditor's reviews. Deloitte & Touche is now suggesting that "there is no longer substantial doubt" in MGM Mirage as a going concern.

This is welcome news for a company that seemed as if it might be on the brink of filing for bankruptcy protection when its debt-saddled financials and the costly CityCenter project were dragging it under. The casino giant hasn't hit the jackpot yet, but at least it's holding a better hand this time.

5. When you're here, you're family
If I told you that there was a company that posted a healthy quarterly report this week -- with sales from continuing operations climbing 8% and profits up 21% -- you wouldn't think that I was talking about a casual dining chain. The truly cynical would certainly not expect this out of the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster.

However, that is exactly how the numbers lined up for Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) this week. And as if free breadsticks and bottomless soups and salad bowls aren't enough, Darden is also boosting its dividend by 25%.

I guess when you're there, you really are family.