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. You've got buyout
AOL (NYSE: AOL) has been a busy shopper this week, but one of its best buys appears to be TechCrunch. The online pioneer is snapping up the popular tech blog, padding its arsenal that already includes the Engadget consumer tech site.

The price hasn't been made public yet. Reports indicate that AOL may have paid anywhere from $25 million to $60 million for the site. The important thing is that AOL is picking up a hub of tech news that likely draws a well-to-do audience of early adopters and tech executives.

2. Satellite radio is a snap
Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) is hoping to give its languishing retail subscribers an assist with XM Snap!, a new aftermarket receiver that provides "plug and play" installation simplicity for drivers and an attractive $60 price point.

Sirius XM is growing nicely -- with 19.5 million subscribers and counting -- but it's been entirely the handiwork of factory-installed car receivers. The retail end of Sirius XM's business -- those who buy portable or aftermarket solutions -- has been declining.

XM Snap! won't change the retail slide on its own, but it does provide satellite radio fans with an easy and relatively cheap way to add a subscription for cars that don't already have a built-in receiver.

Another bonus in yesterday's press release announcing the October debut of XM Snap! is that the Opie and Anthony show is singled out in its content pitch. The morning show duo's contract presumably ran out in September, and even Opie and Anthony were unsure earlier this week of what they would be doing come October.

3. Shifting this trucker into reverse
Penny-stock speculators aren't going to like it, but YRC Worldwide (Nasdaq: YRCWD) is going through with its 1-for-25 reverse stock split today.

Shortly after announcing a tentative agreement with the Teamsters that should help it avoid filing for bankruptcy, YRC revealed that it will replace every 25 shares with a single new share worth 25 times as much. It's a zero-sum game, but traders hate seeing the volatility of a penny stock go away.

It's necessary, though. YRC was set to meet with the Nasdaq Stock Exchange later this month to discuss its likely delisting come November. The stock hadn't closed above the $1 exchange minimum in several months, and it was unlikely to more than triple in price to get there organically.

Keep in mind that YRC's recapitalization efforts over the past year haven't come on the cheap. Its shares outstanding had ballooned 20-fold -- from less than 60 million to nearly 1.2 billion. Even if the less-than-truckload shipper succeeds in its turnaround efforts, its stock wasn't going to get out of the penny stock muck with so many fully diluted shares out there.

This is the right move, even if the market's initial reaction disagrees.

4. R2D2 and 3-D-PO
George Lucas is the latest believer in 3-D cinema, and he's putting his Ewoks where his mouth is.

Lucas announced that he will theatrically release all six of his Star Wars films after converting them to 3-D, beginning with The Phantom Menace in 2012.

The news helped turn attention to RealD (NYSE: RLD), the largest licensee of 3-D technology to multiplex operators. At least one analyst -- William Blair's Ralph Schackart -- likes the move so much that he's telling investors that the first few installments alone could result in $0.57 a share in incremental profits for the company.

5. Betting on Baidu
Shares of China's leading search engine hit another all-time high after Pacific Crest analyst Steve Weinstein dramatically bumped his price target on Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) higher.

Weinstein now has a goal of $140 for the stock, a 75% upgrade to his former $80 line in the virtual sand.

Yes, $80 -- or $800 before the company's 10-for-1 split earlier this year -- seems a bit out of place since the stock crept into the triple digits in September, but going in with a $140 price target is bold. It's also probably correct. If Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) continues to shrink in relevance in the world's most populous nation, there really isn't another search engine that appears to be a worthy rival. Baidu commands roughly two-thirds of the search queries originating in China, and the country's online migration -- in terms of both users and advertisers -- is just getting started.