As Merger Activity Picks Up, Is That Good News for Stocks?

Wall Street awoke Monday to a couple of pleasant surprises on the deal front. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) said it's buying Chattem (CHTT) for a nifty 34% premium, while Bucyrus International (BUCY) said it'll pay $1.3 billion for the mining division of Terex (TEX). If it seems like mergers and acquisitions are making a comeback, well, they are, and that could be good news for share prices in the first quarter of 2010.