This Week's 5 Smartest Stock Moves

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. The road to success
It's been a rough couple of years for GPS makers, but TomTom is doing the right thing with its entry into Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store. The new app retails for $99, pricey by iPhone standards but a bargain compared to standalone GPS gadgetry.

This is just more validation for Apple. TomTom's program is the real deal. It offers turn-by-turn navigation. Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) has to be quivering in the corner.

However, TomTom may still want to worry about its own demise, since there are already plenty of third-party navigation programs in Apple's virtual storefront.

2. What iLike about you
Web 2.0 isn't the hotbed it used to be, and it's about time News Corp.'s (NYSE:NWS) MySpace profits from the fire sales. News Corp. is reportedly paying less than $20 million for iLike.

This is a sweet catch for News Corp., especially since it keeps the app out of rival Facebook's hands. iLike was the belle of the ball two years ago, when it became one of the darling apps to launch through Facebook. The ability to share music data as a way to drum up new music recommendations was a powerful hook.

The app is still popular, too. There are 55 million registered users serving up 1.5 billion monthly impressions. But it must be a tough crowd to monetize if iLike was willing to cash out at a mere $0.35 per user.

3. We're in Sirius debt  
General Motors is tailgating Ford (NYSE:F) these days, in announcing that it, too, is ramping up production. The initial "Cash for Clunkers" success finds GM instituting new shifts in a move that will add 60,000 cars to its assembly-line process this year.

It doesn't matter that "Cash for Clunkers" is now winding down. The industry got the kickstart it needed, by lighting a fire under drivers of the oldest gas guzzlers on the road.

New cars also come with new gadgets, so Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) likes the sound of auto plants going into overdrive. Don't worry, Garmin. You'll get some loving too, if Apple doesn't get to the drivers first.

4. Thriftiness is always in fashion
Not every retailer is moribund these days. TJX (NYSE:TJX) posted better-than-expected results this week, fueled by a healthy 4% uptick in comps. The company sells brand-name apparel and merchandise at sizeable discounts through its T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores.

Some larger discounters have posted negative comps during those same three months, so you have to think the discount prices are working. After all, there has to be a good reason Dollar General filed to go public again last night.

Clearly, investors can profit from thriftiness.

5. The jacked-up five
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is celebrating its fifth anniversary as a public company this week. Anyone who has followed the market in that time can tell you that volatility has been vicious.

The scorecard still paints a pretty picture for the world's leading search engine. The stock has been roughly a five-bagger for the lucky investors who bought their shares at the $85 IPO price.

The initial buyers didn't need to be fat cats at the brokerage firms that served as underwriters. Google made it a point to offer a good chunk of shares to individual investors who participated in a Dutch auction to dictate the IPO price.

It's been a wild five years for the market, but Google investors don't seem to be complaining.