I was looking into the same thing. At that price point the competition between the brands is pretty fierce. I was looking for the best optical zoom and good quality picture at a reasonable price. The standouts in this field are the Panasonic Lumix ZS8 and ZS10 because they both have 16X optical zoom with image stability. The difference is that the ZS10 has more features - it has a touch screen viewer, HD video, faster burst modes, and GPS. The XS8 has the same lenses, a slightly better processor that gives better quality still pictures in some circumstances, and longer battery life.
Here is an excellent review of the two with comparisons to the Canon and Sony competitors.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ18 / ZS8 design | Cameralabs
The best part is that both are significantly reduced price at Best Buy
Product Detail - Compare Page
The ZS8 is usually $279, now it is $148 online at Best Buy's website. If you go into the store it's $220, but they price-match it to the Bestbuy.com site. You have to ask, but they'll look it up and do it if you ask.
The ZS10 is usually $349 but is on sale for $249. Both are screaming good deals, although I think you can get the ZS10 about $20 cheaper from BH Photo in New York, if you're willing to depend only on mail delivery and are willing to wade through their upsell pitches to get to the actual camera.