HP Beats 4Q Forecasts; Carrefour Milks New CEO From Nestle; InBev Officially Closes Anheuser Buy; Home Depot Beats 3Q Estimate; Gulf Bank Loses $1.4 Billion; Mexican Tycoon Interested in Circuit City; Wholesale Prices Plummet

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), the world’s largest maker of personal computers, offered a preview of its fiscal fourth-quarter profits – reporting that it will beat market expectations and raise its fiscal 2009 outlook. “HP is gaining market share in an extremely strong competitive position. They’ve got share gains, combined with very aggressive cost reduction,” Shannon Cross of Cross Research told Reuters. Lars Olofsson, Executive Vice President of Nestle SA, has been named Chief Executive Officer of Carrefour S.A., the world’s second-largest retailer. He’ll ...

The Fed’s first credit crisis lawsuit… who’s suing and why, AmEx, Fannie Mae unload more financial follies… government “fixes” problem with more taxpayer dollars, Chris Mayer with a credit crisis byproduct (and opportunity) that could affect the entire world, China announces big stimulus plan… so why did commodities fall? A hefty chink in Dubai’s armor, Plus, Dan Amoss with a once-favored investment theme due to be back in the spotlight soon

Here’s a curious development that may be worth watching: Bloomberg is suing the Federal Reserve.

Last week, we took a look at the Fed’s bulging $2 trillion balance sheet. And if you’re a long-suffering 5 Min. reader, you know our futile recounting of the weekly Fed lending programs… all the abbreviations and acronyms: TAF, TSLF, PDCF, CPFF, TARP, etc.

Well, the folks at

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Electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) slashed its full-year outlook today, saying it was “the most difficult climate we’ve ever seen.” But Paul Moore says Best Buy isn’t likely to head the same way as mismanaged Circuit City (NYSE:CC). In fact, BBY should even get a lift from the bankruptcy of its main rival just before the holiday season.

This from Smart Profits Report:

Here in the U.S., the mess continues unabated. The government had to reshape its bailout for AIG, including forking over an extra $40 billion. But despite the floundering company’s fourth consecutive negative quarterly report, the markets reacted positively to the story.

That didn’t help avert the crisis other areas, as Detroit’s automakers repeated their increasingly desperate pleas for some financial

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Circuit City (CC) made it official on Monday and filed for bankruptcy. Only a week ago, the company announced it would close 155 stores that were underperforming. On September 29, the company reported a third-quarter loss of $239 million, which was three times larger than the loss for the same quarter a year ago.

This begs the question, why would Circuit City want to emerge from bankruptcy? Best Buy is entrenched as the leader in the consumer electronics segment. Wal-Mart, which now carries name brand HD televisions at lower prices than Circuit City, is taking market share. Consumer spending on ‘luxuries’, such as big screen televisions has collapsed with the tightening credit markets.

How about the customer experience? When I recently went into a Circuit City store on a Saturday afternoon looking for an Ethernet cable, finding a sales associate was impossible. When I finally did locate one,

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Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a week after the struggling electronics retailer announced it would close 155 of its 566 U.S. stores by Dec. 31 and slash its workforce by 17%.

“The decision to restructure the business through a Chapter 11 filing should provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our balance sheet, create a more efficient expense structure and ultimately position the company to compete more effectively,” James A. Marcum, vice chairman and acting president and chief executive officer, said yesterday (Monday) in a statement.

In the past year and a half, Circuit City has created nothing but a collection of ugly headlines. The Richmond, VA-based Circuit City has $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities, including a $119 million debt to Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and a $116 million debt to Samsung Electronics Co.,

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HIDDEN VALUE

Dear Friend,

Poor old AIG.

Turns out the government handout it got in September was a bit harsh. But things are looking up. Uncle Sam has now agreed to give it another $40 billion in taxpayers’ money and reduce the rate of interest it has to pay on the loans.

“I think the new package is a quantum improvement over the old one,” said AIG chief Edward Liddy of the new deal.

No doubt, Mr. Liddy is ecstatic.

Mr. Market also had reason to be pleased. News that China had approved a $586 billion economic ‘stimulus’ package sent stocks soaring in the first minutes of trading today.

Never mind that Circuit City has gone belly up…or that Deutsche Bank has declared shares in GM worthless.

Of course, GM is hopeful that it, too, can get its hands on some of taxpayers’ hard-earned cash.

—Special—

The Ingenious “Mammoth Hunting

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Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) will close 155, or 20%, of its 566 U.S. stores by Dec. 31 and slash its domestic workforce by about 17% as the fledging electronics retailer scrambles to conserve cash and reverse six consecutive quarters of falling sales.

In the company’s Monday release, Circuit City said it is closing stores in 55 metro areas and will exit 12 markets entirely. It also said it is reducing future store openings, “aggressively” renegotiating current leases and considering “all available options and alternatives to restructure its business.”

The release also throws a lot of blame, citing “waning consumer confidence,” a “significantly weakened retail environment” and “unfavorable macroeconomic conditions.”

Circuit City also said it is waiting for nearly $80 million tax rebate it believes the federal government owes the company.

That figure is nearly twice its shrunken market cap.

“Since late September, unprecedented events have occurred in the financial and

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HIDDEN VALUE

Dear Friend,

A new month brings a new batch of depressing headlines from the real economy.

U.S. factory activity fell to its lowest level for 26 years in October. Circuit City says it plans to close 155 stores and slash its workforce by 17%, all before the end of the year. And Fitch says credit card losses will likely surpass historical peaks in 2009.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Lacker, president of Richmond’s Federal Bank, says the government’s response to problems in financial firms may have added to market turmoil.

Still, that won’t stop it from trying to ‘fix’ things.

There are rumors of a $500 billion guarantee for distressed mortgages. There could even be another economic stimulus package in the pipeline in time for Christmas shopping. The markets are in a hesitant mood today. The leading U.S. indexes have all tiptoed around

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Retail sales slumped 1.2% in September. It was the steepest decline for over three years. This is bad news for retailers. Andrew Snyder says this means investors should avoid retail-related REITs such as Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG).

This from Today’s Financial News:

Just a few days ago, I wrote about how the housing slowdown has reached its lowest point. I told readers that some real-estate investment trusts (REITs) look downright promising. I also warned that others were in extremely dangerous territories.

Yesterday’s consumer spending figures proved my theory was right on track. The report showed that while consumer spending dropped 1.2%, healthcare spending was up by a similar amount.

In other words, REITs that specialize in healthcare properties, like National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI), will beat the markets. And their counterparts that focus on retail-related properties, like Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG), are going to under-perform.

Going

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The recent turbulent market conditions have robbed investors of their confidence, subsequently creating bargain opportunities that were thought of as impossible just six months ago. While no one knows the future of the markets or what will happen next, various valuations that have been used successfully for decades are screaming for investors’ attention towards certain stocks.

The first stock we would like to mention is Apple, Inc. (AAPL). This company has captured the attention of the media, Wall Street, and the general public the past few years with their innovative ideas and nearly explosive growth. The company was trading at over $190 a share just 5 months ago, but recently hit a low of $85.00. Apple is certainly one to keep an eye on as their management has clearly demonstrated they are capable of successfully creating new markets as well as increasing market share in established industries by outperforming competitors.

Another stock

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