Here are some of the contenders for today's biggest...news...of...the...day...

• The announcement that a hormone imbalance has caused Steve Jobs' much discussed weight loss...shares of Apple Inc (AAPL) are up 3%...
• An upgrade for Amazon.com Inc (AMZN)...[note - I offered some thoughts on AMZN and analyst ratings last week...]
• The move by New York Times Co (NYT) to put ads on its front page...
• An article that says Wall Street strategists "are even more bullish than a year ago..."
• Expectations for a loss in Treasuries...
• The drop in gold...
• A new CFO for JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd (JASO) as well as a deal with Solar Power Inc (SOPW)...
• A downgrade for Biogen Idec Inc.(BIIB)...
• An acquisition for MasterCard Inc (MA)...
• A report that says Sony Corp (SNE) "may announce drastic cost cuts..."
• A management shakeup at Borders Group Inc (BGP) as the company replaces its CEO...
• Speculation that Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) may be looking to make a big acquisition...
• A report that says Pfizer Inc (PFE) may be looking at acquisitions...
• Optimism on Seagate Technology (STX), Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ), ConocoPhillips (COP), and Swift Energy Co (SFY)...
• A look into Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM)...
• Expectations for a light turnout for the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show...
• A look into lagging sin stocks...

While those are all stories worth watching, I think it is obviously clear that the biggest news is this set of stories -

• Thousands of Shoes Dumped on Miami Expressway - "...not sure where the shoes came from. There were no signs of a crash, and no one stopped to claim them..." [courtesy of Colleen]
• Mexican warlock predicts US troops on border - "...erroneously predicted last year that oil prices would be stable and that Cuba's Fidel Castro and singer Britney Spears would die. This year, he says Spears will continue to triumph..."
• Vegas beer pong competition gets (almost) serious - "...a $50,000 prize on the line...This is about a sport, it's about a competition..."

So...we start the year off with a mysterious shoe dumping, predictions of a US invasion of Mexico and the "sport" of beer pong. Looks like it is going to be an interesting year...