Kass: Things I Am Hearing

This blog post originally appeared on RealMoney Silver on June 17 at 7:30 a.m. EDT.

1. Despite reports to the contrary, the Fed has absolutely no present intention of hiking interest rates in a move toward monetary restraint.

2. Blackstone BX is allegedly involved in negotiations to buy an approximate 20% position in Lehman Brothers LEH.

3. Silver Lake Partners was eyeing an acquisition of Marvell Technology MRVL but no longer plans to proceed with such a deal.

4. There is no truth to the rumor that Barry Diller is considering taking Expedia EXPE private.

5. A large supporter of Microsoft's MSFT merger proposal with Yahoo! YHOO has allegedly sold its Yahoo! shares.

6. Recent gasoline consumption figures will indicate a large drop in demand.

7. Despite protestations by Apple's AAPL management, rumors regarding Steve Jobs' health persist.

8. Fox Business Network is about to announce a broad overhaul after recording poor audience ratings.

9. The fund of funds industry has taken a hit, and rising fund of funds and hedge fund redemptions at quarter's end could dampen stock prices.

10. Late spring housing traffic/sales have been disappointing, and early June retail sales have weakened from May.

11. Obama's selection of Patti Solis Doyle as the future Chief of Staff for his Vice Presidential running mate effectively eliminates the possibility of having New York Senator Hillary Clinton on his ticket in November. Indiana Senator Evan Bayh remains the early Democratic Vice Presidential favorite to join Obama, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal remains the Republican Vice Presidential frontrunner.

Doug Kass is the author of The Edge, a blog on RealMoney Silver that features real-time shorting opportunities on the market.