Murdoch Bails, Postage Sails, GM Pales

Good morning, investors, and welcome once again to "Breakfast With the Fool." Grab a cup of joe and sit yourself down while we scan the morning papers together. First up ... for investors who've been wondering whether there is any price Rupert Murdoch will not pay to control every media outlet in the world, the answer arrived on Saturday.

That was the day News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) announced that it was withdrawing its $580 million bid to purchase Long Island daily Newsday. After seeking to acquire the nation's 11th-largest paper (based on circulation) for the past year, News Corp. finally balked at the prospect of getting into a bidding war -- in this case, with local rival Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), whose $650 million bid upped the ante to 1.3 times sales.

So how much will Murdoch pay to control the world's newspapers? To increase his stranglehold on New York-based media outlets, he'll apparently pay roughly 1.2 times sales, and not a penny more. Of course, if the paper is named The Wall Street Journal, Murdoch will be happy to double the price.

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In other news, those of you still using snail mail will be elated to learn that the U.S. Postal Service is giving you the chance to support your favorite surly bureaucracy this week. Rates for first-class postage stamps rise one penny to $0.42 today, with other charges rising in tandem.

That's bad news for heavy users of the USPS, including Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), but it's good news for FedEx and UPS, I should think. Any time their governmental doppelganger raises mailing prices, the private-sector alternatives might begin to look that much cheaper by comparison.

News to go
Moving on to non-penny news affecting your investments, the strike at American Axle looks likely to drag on further this week. United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger took umbrage at a GM (NYSE: GM) proposal to provide $200 million in funding to its key truck-axle manufacturer. Gettelfinger urged UAW workers to reject American Axle's demand for wage and benefit concessions, a move that pundits argue will pressure GM to raise its offer.

GM blamed the strike for production cuts in its pickup and SUV lines that cost the automaker some $800 million last quarter -- and one Deutsche Bank analyst predicts that the damage will grow worse if the strike continues. So does GM have incentive to pay up to make this problem go away? I think it does.

Meanwhile, Ford (NYSE: F) shared some love at its post-Q1-earnings annual meeting last week, while Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) warned of a 27% drop in profits this year. So who's winning the race among the new-and-improved Big Three automakers? Write your answer in pencil, because you may want to erase it tomorrow.