Expect Deal Rumors From Europe Next

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Feb. 22 at 9:03 a.m. EST. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

Another big day in Europe, driven by some remarkable earnings. Allianz(AZ Quote), Axa(AXA Quote), Nestle, BAE and BASF(BF Quote) are all on the move.

Think about it; that means you have two financial service companies, a food company, a defense company and a chemical company, all with big capitalizations, all on the prowl.

Could one of our investment banks or insurers be stolen by Allianz or Axa? I don't see why not.

How about the food companies, like ConAgra(CAG Quote) or Heinz(HNZ Quote) or Campbell(CPB Quote), that's struggling with a lack of respect? How about Kraft(KFT Quote)? They all seem natural for a hook-up with Nestle.

L-3(LLL Quote) lacks a partner; how about BAE? And there are so many chemical companies in the need of consolidation, I have to believe that BASF might want one; don't forget that the GE(GE Quote) unit is for sale.

All of these earnings reports are happening in one morning. It is no trick that these European reports tend to be better than the ones U.S. companies deliver. They benefit from better yield curves, a better tone of business, a better business climate and better sales to central Europe and other places we still don't have our teeth into the way we should.

Look for rumors involving all of these companies because they, too, fear the antitrust, pro-consumer agenda of the Democrats. No wonder those markets are, once again, beating the performance of our own markets.

Random musings: When you see this kind of outperformance in Europe, you should think NYSE Group(NYX Quote), because that's who is going to capture the lion's share of what is looking like a pro-corporate revolution on the Continent. ... When you're assessing the promise in these stocks, remember to use all the tools at your disposal, including TheStreet.com Ratings Screener. Because bad buys won't become takeovers.