Nokia Rallies On Takeover Talk

Nokia shares are trading higher Friday morning in a move that at least one report attributes to dubious rumors that the company could be a takeover target for Samsung. Honestly, the rumor seems ridiculous. Samsung has little reason to buy a struggling handset maker given its own success in dominating the market for Android-based smart phones.
Equally silly is the increasingly tired speculation that Microsoft might buy Nokia in a desperate move to shore up its leading hardware partner for Windows Phone 7. Buying Nokia would basically torpedo the potential for widespread adoption of Windows Phone by other handset makers. I don’t believe it.
In general, beware of market rumors that crop up on Friday mornings, when a general dearth of real news often leads to random speculation.
NOK is up 12 cents, or 4.2%, to $2.95.