Suspicions that illegal insider trading may have preceded the year’s biggest and most publicized corporate takeover attempt — Microsoft’s hostile $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo — have prompted the Securities & Exchange Commission to commence a trading probe, knowledgable regulatory sources say.

The investigation is just one of nearly a dozen stock trading probes that were recently initiated by the SEC, The New York Sun has learned, and they include trading in some of the best-known names in Corporate America, regulatory sources tell me.

“It looks like some of Wall Street’s bad guys may be at it again; these guys never learn,” one source said.

Confirmations of these investigations — which are not of the companies themselves, but rather focus solely on the trading in their stocks — are clearly documented in a series of information-seeking letters (known as Bluesheets) that the commission recently sent to the brokerage community. The Sun has obtained copies of those SEC letters, which detail 11 such probes, including the one into Yahoo’s securities.

RELATED: Yahoo Will Let Google Sell Some of Its Advertisements.

Yesterday, Yahoo and Microsoft ended their talks, but a number of pros believe the final chapter in the proposed deal has yet to be written.

In addition to the SEC’s Yahoo trading investigation, the agency, based on its letters to brokerages, is seeking the names of the firms’ clients who traded in specific time periods in the following shares: Lehman Brothers Holdings, which has been experiencing some financial stress, H&R Block, Boeing, NYMEX Holdings, Zoltek Cos., Clear Channel Communications, National City Corp., Safeco Corp., Thornburg Mortgage, and Nationwide Financial Services.

The SEC, as usual, was as loquacious as a sphinx when asked about the investigations. A commission spokesman, Kevin Callahan, said: “We do not confirm or deny the existence or nonexistence of investigations.”

Yahoo did not return calls seeking comment, while Microsoft declined comment.

In the case of Yahoo, the commission is focusing its investigation on the trading that took place in the securities of the giant online portal just prior to and right after Microsoft’s February 1 offer. Specifically, the SEC is seeking trading data for two particular time periods — January 14 through January 31 and February 1 through February 8.

The SEC’s requests for such information embrace trading activity both in America and abroad, and were recently made in two separate letters it fired off to various brokerage firms. Each request covers a different time period, the documents show.

While the commission is intent on determining whether there was any illegal trading in Microsoft’s pursuit of Yahoo, some Wall Street pros argue that the SEC could be hard-pressed to make such a case because rumors of a potential bid for the online portal by Microsoft had been swirling prior to the offer.

***

The Next President? Based on new overseas odds on the presidential race — which is said to be attracting a fair amount of Wall Street wagers — London’s largest betting parlor, William Hill, has established Senator Obama as a heavy favorite to replace President Bush. Its odds also suggest he will pick Senator Clinton to be his vice president.

The odds on Mr. Obama are 1 to 2, meaning you put up $2 to win $1 for a total return of $3. The odds on Senator McCain are 6 to 4, meaning you put up $4 to win $6 for a total return of $10.

“The bettors are pretty clearly signaling they expect Senator Obama will be the next president of the United States, and our odds reflect that,” a William Hill spokesman, Rupert Adams, said.

If you want to place a wager on whom Mr. Obama will pick as his running mate, William Hill’s odds favor Mrs. Clinton at 6 to 4. Governor Sebelius of Kansas is the runner-up at 3 to 1, followed by Governor Strickland of Ohio at 5 to 1 and Mayor Bloomberg at 16 to 1.

It’s estimated that Wall Street, primarily through intermediaries, will wager between $10 million and $15 million in overseas betting parlors on this year’s presidential election.

dandordan@aol.com