The! Biggest! News! of! the! Day! - Not the Fed, Symantec or Oracle

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

• Details about the FOMC's decision to leave rates unchanged...
• An investigation by the SEC into 27 mutual fund companies involving kickbacks....
• News that Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) is expanding its generic drug program...
• An announcement that Oracle (ORCL) will support Red Hat's (RHAT) Linux operating system...RHAT is down 20 percent in pre-open trading...
• Disappointing comments from Symantec (SYMC) that are pressuring the stock...
• Better-than-expected earnings from Affymetrix (AFFX)...
• Optimism [subscription required] on UnitedHealth Group (UNH) as analyst gush on the stock and it is said "With medical costs slowing, enrollment rising and profits climbing, United's fundamentals create a strong beacon as the fog starts to lift..."
• Word that the chief executive of IAC/Interactive (IACI), Barry Diller, was the highest-paid executive last year...
• This bit of optimism on ValueClick (VCLK), Alaska Air (ALK), Stryker (SYK), Tempur-Pedic International (TPX), and Barrick Gold (ABX)...

While those are all stories worth watching, I think it is obviously clear that the biggest story is that Exxon Mobil reported strong earnings as it is noted that this is the "second highest quarterly profit ever for a U.S. company"...wait a minute - you mean that there is big money in oil?