'RealMoney' Radio Wrap-Up: Power Plays

It's not the news that matters, Aaron Task said Wednesday. It's the market's reaction that matters.

Task, substituting for Jim Cramer on Cramer's RealMoney radio show, highlighted that Wall Street aphorism in response to Wednesday's bloodletting at Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) and Intel (INTC Quote) in the wake of disappointing earnings.

Task, co-executive editor of TheStreet.com, said both Yahoo! and Intel continue to show progress. But he said investors can't afford to ignore the vicious beating that ensued in both stocks after the companies posted slightly flawed results late Tuesday. Intel's margins are worrying Wall Street, he said, and Yahoo!'s failure to meet revenue estimates was seen as a cause for much concern.

Task pointed out that Wednesday's 10% selloff in Yahoo! doesn't bode well for Google (GOOG Quote), whose shares have more than quadrupled off last August's initial public offering price.

On the other hand, the bar is not set especially high for tech giant Microsoft (MSFT Quote), which also reports on Thursday. Task says aggressive traders may even want to short Google and go long Microsoft ahead of their quarterly earnings reports.

In response to a caller, Task said Titanium Metals(TIE Quote) is a buy due to the growth in the aerospace and defense industries.

Task also said that perhaps UnitedHealth Group (UNH Quote) is rallying because the so-called smart money is shopping smartly.

Finally, Task told another caller that he may want to consider taking profits in Sears Holdings (SHLD Quote) if he has benefited from the run-up because the next leg up may be more difficult.

Powering Up

Task's special guest was Chris Edmonds, RealMoney.com contributor and energy maven.

Edmonds advised investors to sell Unocal (UCL Quote), because the longer the takeover drama plays out, the more risky it becomes. He says no matter who wins the fight for Unocal, be it Cnooc(CEO Quote) or Chevron(CVX Quote), "it's time to take the money off the table and move elsewhere."