Reuters reports that Honda’s net fell and that the company said the yen would hurt results in 2009.

Reuters writes that Microsoft (MSFT) made a final threat that it “reveal new plans” if Yahoo! (YHOO) will not negotiate a buy-out.

Reuters writest that Wall St. was disappointed by Microsoft’s numbers.

Reuters reports that results at American Express (AXP) fell.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the FHA spent $157 million last year to keep lenders from foreclosing on properties. That numbers is likely to rise.

The Wall Street Journal writes that AOL (TWX) is bringing more people to its website but not getting much greater ad dollars from the extra visitors.

The Wall Street Journal reports that banks increased their use of the Fed’s discount window last week.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the compensation for Countrywide (CFC) CEO Mozilo dropped almost 80% last year.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Delta (DAL) and Northwest (NWA) defended their proposed merger to Congress.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Motorola (MOT) handset sales fell 39% last quarter.

The New York Times writes that foreclosures are spreading to affluent areas.

The New York Times reports that Ford (F) posted a surprise profit.

The New York Times reports that inflation hit a 10-year high in Japan.

The FT writes that TPG is in talks with Merrill Lynch (MER) about putting more money into the brokerage.

Bloomberg writes that shares of Ericsson (ERIC) rallied considerably on strong results.

Shorts Stage Big Retreat From Tech Shares (AAPL)(SIRI)(MSFT)(YHOO)(INTC)(CSCO) from 24/7 Wallst.
According to Nasdaq data for the period ending April 15, short sellers moved aggressively out of tech shares. The figure compare with those posted on March 31.

The short interest in Microsoft (MSFT) fell 9.3 million to 109.1 million, perhaps on hopes that it will lower or drops its bid for Yahoo! (YHOO). Shares short in Intel (INTC) dropped 7.3 million to 55.9 million. The chip company’s results showed that PC sales were not slowing as much as has been expected. Shares short in Cisco (CSCO) dropped 6.8 million to 62.9 million. Shares short in RF Micro (RFMD) dropped 4.9 million to 28.7 million and shares short in Finisair (FNSR) fell 6.8 million to 15.8 million.

Shares sold short in Level 3 (LVLT) moved down 6.7 million to 237.2 million. When the company posted earnings a short squeeze appears to have helped shares rally.

Shares short in Apple (AAPL) fell 3.6 million to 18.4 million ahead of its strong earnings.

In the internet sector, shares short in Yahoo! (YHOO) dropped 5.1 million to 36.1 million, perhaps on hopes that Microsoft will raise its offer. Shares short in Ebay (EBAY) fell 4.9 million to 26.2 million.

Short sellers bet right on Starbucks (SBUX) moved up 4.9 million to 39.8 million on a bet which paid off when the company pre-announced poor numbers.

Some investors clearly think there is no turnaournd at Dell (DELL) coming.Short interest in the company jumped 7.2 million to 49 million. Short sellers also see another set of bad numbers coming out of Sun Microsystems (JAVA). Shares sold short in the company moved up 6.9 million to 33 million.

And, a number of investors showed that they do not think a merger will do much for Sirius (SIRI). Shares sold short in the company moved up 20.2 million to 157.9 million

Data from Nasdaq

The First Good News About Oil In Years: Brazil Discovers Oil, Could Open Sovereign Fund from 24/7 Wallst.
The prevailing wisdom is that oil prices will keep rising. One CIBC analyst recently said it will hit $200 by 2010, driving US gasoline prices to $7.

The Brazilians say they will rescue us from all of that. They claim to have found enough oil to power this hemisphere for ages. According to Bloomberg, Brazil has discovered huge deposits of crude.