CNBC's Bertha Coombs - A seventh straight day of record oil prices overshadowing better than expected retail sales data. At the end of the day major indices finished mixed. The Dow Jones shed 44-points, the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq gained 5-points.

Thanks to Yahoo, which rose 4% late in the day after CNBC’s David Faber reported billionaire investor Carl Icahn is mulling a proxy battle to push the internet giant back into merger talks with Microsoft. Faber said that Icahn may have bought as many as 50 million shares last week following Yahoo’s rejection of Microsoft’s bids.

Investors are not so pleased with Hewlett-Packard's (HP) USD 14 billion deal to acquire Electronics Data Systems (EDS). They have liked the fact that Hewlett-Packard is trying to pick up more services but shares slipped 7%, some investors are calling the deal too pricey.

Financials were also a big drag on the day after influential Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney lowered her outlook for Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. 

Wall Street Action

• Dow down 44 pts, S&P 500 flat and Nasdaq gains 5 pts
• CNBC reports that Carl Icahn is mulling proxy battle to push Yahoo back into merger talks with Microsoft
• Icahn may have bought 50 m shares last week following Yahoo's rejection of Microsoft's bid
• Investors call HP's deal with EDS too pricey
• Financials drag after Oppenheimer lowers outlook for Goldman Sachs, Lehman Bros, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley