Next week

Next week all of the big Banks will release Q3 earnings reports. So far Goldman is the only one of the banks that has seen any sort of growth. But the big news of the day is Oracle. They are in a buying mood. T



Oracle unveiled its $17-per-share cash offer Friday, one day after BEA rejected it as inadequate, according to a letter BEA released a few hours after Oracle's revelation catapulted its stock to a new 52-week high.

BEA makes "middleware," products that help software applications run more smoothly on top of databases, while Oracle makes business management software.

Oracle's bid represented a 25 percent premium over BEA's closing stock price Thursday.

"It is apparent to our board...that BEA is worth substantially more to Oracle, to others and, importantly, to our shareholders than the price indicated," William Klein, BEA's vice president of business planning and development, wrote in the rejection letter.

Industry analysts believe BEA might be able to escape Oracle's clutches by finding a white knight. Activist investor Carl Icahn, who is using his 13.2 percent stake in BEA to push for a sale, told CNBC he believes other bids are likely.

SAP, IBM and Hewlett-Packard Co. are considered the most probable candidates to vie for BEA.