Before the bell 8-10-06: EBAY, GOOG, MSFT, YHOO

As if dodging Hezbollah rockets isn't enough, I had to hear of a terrorist plot to blow up airplanes bound to the United States from Britain as well today. 21 people were arrested and London Heathrow's airport was closed to most European flights Thursday morning.

Undoubtedly, and as is already evident from overseas markets and from the Nasdaq and S&P futures, this will have a negative impact on today's session. Add to that the market's inability to sustain its early gains in yesterday's session due to concerns about growth, higher interest rates, inflation and rising oil prices, and one can only expect more selling pressure. Not to mention the effect on airlines and travel companies.

Three economic data points will be reported today: Weekly initial claims (8:30), June trade balance (8:30) and July treasury budget.

Bonds fell yesterday, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.94% from 4.92%. This morning bond prices rose, with the 10-year note yield easing to 4.91%.

Overseas, Asian stock markets closed lower and European markets are also on the decline.

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

Here's a look at some key Blogging Stocks:

eBay Inc (EBAY) is down 9 cents to $24.50 as of 8:12 a.m. TOM Online Inc, which has a partnership with eBay's Skype, reported a 14.7% rise in Q2 net profit from the previous year.

Google Inc (GOOG) is down $4.35 in pre-market trading to $372.59 as of 8:15 a.m. Google Inc. has warned investors that a sharp rise in spending on its data centers and increased cash compensation could crimp its finances.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT) is down 16 cents to $24.28 as of 8:14 a.m. A rights group accused Western Internet companies on Thursday of complicity with censorship in China and called on Microsoft, Google and Yahoo to resist Beijing's demands.

Yahoo Inc (YHOO) is down 37 cents to $26.85 as of 8:14 a.m. It would be interesting to see if Yahoo follows suit after Google announced yesterday it may soon let its search advertising customers know exactly how often their ads are subject to click fraud.