Before the bell 8-9-06: EBAY, GOOG, MSFT, YHOO

It is interesting to look at yesterday's market - it remained positive until 14:15, the time of the FOMC policy statement, when it then dropped as two things affected it: The first was the fact that the pause in rate hikes was priced in. The other was the fact that it might be just that, a brief pause.

The Fed policy statement is similar to previous statements with only a few changes. Most notable was the absence of any mention regarding unit labor cost being kept in check with a larger-than-expected 4.2% increase in Q2, or 3.2% y/y, is the fastest pace in over 5 years. The other change was about inflation pressures, which now seem likely to moderate, according to the statement. Hence, the policy statement leaves room for further rate hikes later this year.

With the Fed pausing, though, perhaps investors could do the same and turn their attention to earnings. Cisco Systems reported a 20% gain in earnings, beating analysts' estimates, and gave a bullish forecast as well. Shares of Cisco gained 8% in Frankfurt. Walt Disney and Federated Department Stores are scheduled to report earnings this morning, before the bell.

Economic data: June wholesale inventories is due at 10:00 this morning. The market expects a 0.7% rise. Weekly crude inventories are due at 10:30.

Bond prices edged lower with the yield on the 10-year note rising to 4.94% from 4.93% this morning after steady trade yesterday.

Overnight Asian markets closed higher but European markets are mostly trading lower, although it seems this direction might be reversing.

Futures are positive in early morning trade (8:00 a.m.), pointing to a higher start for stocks.

Here's a look at some key Blogging Stocks:

eBay Inc (EBAY) is up 12 cents to $24.27 as of 8:19 a.m. Sony, which has teamed with eBay's Skype VoIP service, announced Tuesday a new pocket-sized gadget for instant messaging and other Internet-based communications.

Google Inc (GOOG) is up $2.61 in pre-market trading to $383.61 as of 8:23 a.m. The University of California has joined Google's bid to scan the book collections of the world's great libraries.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT) is up 15 cents to $24.49 as of 7:12 a.m. Charter Communications Inc., the cable operator controlled by Microsoft Corp.'s co-founder Paul Allen, reported second-quarter loss widened on tax and interest expenses, overshadowing gains in new telephone and Internet customers.

Yahoo Inc (YHOO) is up 23 cents to $26.75 as of 8:16 a.m. BusinessWeek Online looks at the implication, if there are any, of Yahoo losing the bid on MySpace.