WALL STREET JOURNAL

Corporate advertisers are not flocking to YouTube despite the fact that the video sharing site attracts one billion views a day, upsetting Google’s (GOOG) expectations for a strong revenue stream, according to the Wall Street Journal. Total ad revenue for Google this year will be about $200M from the site, where the company is counting on growth beyond its text ads from Web searches…A day after Microsoft (MSFT) said it would be interested in reopening talks to acquire some of all of Yahoo! (YHOO) if Carl Icahn’s proxy battle succeeds, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang accused Microsoft of “trying to destabilize” the company “without a real desire to complete a deal”…ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Comair, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines (DAL), is set to cut 300 pilots and 220 flight attendants from its staff. The paper said the layoffs will go into effect in September when Comair cuts its flight schedule as part of Delta’s capacity cuts and will affect crew members based at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport…AL-ALAM: Iran successfully test-launched a long-range version of its Shahab-3 missile, according to Iranian news service Al-Alam. The missile can reach U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf and Israel…

Iran successfully tests long-range missile-Alalam

Iran successfully test-launched a long-range version of its Shahab-3 missile, according to Iranian news service Alalam. Iran’s military fired the conventional missile, which has a one ton warhead and a range of 1,242 miles, or 2,000 kilometers, in tests conducted earlier today. The missile can reach U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf and Israel, according to Alalam.

Google has a difficult time getting ad revenue from YouTube-WSJ

Corporate advertisers are not flocking to YouTube despite the fact that the video sharing site attracts one billion views a day, upsetting Google’s (GOOG) expectations for a strong revenue stream, according to the Wall Street Journal. Total ad revenue for Google this year will be about $200M from the site, where the company is counting on growth beyond its text ads from Web searches. One drawback to advertises on YouTube is that they don’t want to be seen along with amateur videos.

Apple’s new iPhone addresses problems of the original-WSJ

In his “Personal Technology” column Walter S. Mossberg reviews Apple’s (AAPL) newly updated iPhone which releases on Friday. The second generation iPhone 3G eliminates earlier criticisms by cutting the price and adding access to faster cellular phone networks. Says he: “…overall, I found it to be a more capable version of an already excellent device. And now that it’s open to third-party programs, the iPhone has a chance to become a true computing platform with wide versatility.”

Software: Seeing first real signs of end market demand weakening in Q2@COWN

Cowen’s checks indicate company’s will achieve their Q2 guidance but they are hearing that broad weakness is impacting close rates and pipelines, which will likely show up in 2H08 guidance. The firm continues to like ARBA and TRAK in the Apps space and CHKP, MFE, MSFT, QSFT, and DDUP in Infrastructure. The firm recommends avoiding back-end-loaded models lie KNXA and EPIC along with virtualization names CTXS, VMW, CVLT and SYMC.

CMP upgraded to Neutral from Sell@GSCO
Goldman upgraded CMP citing improving pricing power and solid global fertilizer fundamentals. Target $68.

Financial Institutions: JEF, KBW, PJC 2Q EPS estimates reduced; Outperform@FBRC
The firm reduced their projections due to weak industry fundamentals for the 2Q and the possible impact of continued principal trading losses along with additional write-downs within fixed income inventories. PJC’s target was decreased to $31 from $38. As the longer-term outlook for bank and thrift recapitalization continues to be a compelling source of future revenue, KBW remains FBRC’s favored name.

GOOG: Datapoints suggest potential Q2 upside, reiterate Buy@NEED
Needham believes GOOG’s quarter paced at least in-line with expectations and may exceed projections. The firm sees as much as 17c of upside to their previous Q2 estimate of $4.65.