• 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 join the company in at the Carrefour’s next shareholder meeting in January, MarketWatch reported.

• Belgium’s InBev NV officially completed its $52 billion, or $70 a share, acquisition of Anheuser-Busch Cos., Inc. (BUD), as it won its last regulatory approval from China. The combined company will be based in St. Louis and named Anheuser-Busch InBev, Dow Jones reported.

• The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) reported a 31% decline in earnings during its fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 2. Profit declined 31% as well, but the home retailer expected steeper loses in the face of the U.S. housing crisis, Reuters reported.

• Kuwait’s Gulf Bank – the country’s second-largest lender – said Monday that it had lost $1.4 billion (375 million dinars) as a result of trading in derivatives and other financial instruments for customers who subsequently defaulted. The bank also said its board had resigned. To allay investor fears, Gulf Bank announced a plan to double its capital base by issuing 1.25 billion new shares. Investors knew there were losses. But the amount was nearly double the original estimate of $750 million. Trading in Gulf Bank shares remains suspended for their fourth week, Forbes.com reported.

• Mexican retail and media tycoon Ricardo Salinas Pliego could be building a controlling stake in bankrupt electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. (OTC: CCTYQ), Reuters reported. Salinas already owns 28% of the company, having accumulated stock in the open market before and after the retail chain went bankrupt.

• Wholesale prices experienced the biggest one-month drop in more than 60 years in October, The Associated Press reported. Wholesale prices dropped by a record 2.8% last month, as the cost of oil and other raw materials declined.

Source: Global Investing Roundups Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

“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., Bloomberg reported.

Most recently, the fledging electronics retailer announced it would close 155, or 20%, of its 566 U.S. stores by Dec. 31 and slash its domestic workforce in an effort to conserve cash and reverse six consecutive quarters of falling sales.

The company has already slashed retail management positions, eliminated jobs at its corporate offices and laid off 3,400 retail workers.

On March 28, it was ousted from the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

The following month, Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) made an unsolicited $1 billion acquisition bid for Circuit City, offering at least $6 a share. The idea was to create a “supermedia” retailer that might be more competitive against such rivals as Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY). But that offered fizzled.

In May, the company put itself on the auction block, a day after Best Buy announced plans to open stores in Europe via a $2.1 billion, 50-50 joint venture with London-based Carphone Warehouse Group PLC.

In June, Circuit City suspended its 4 cent dividend. And in September, President and CEO President Philip Schoonover resigned on the spot.

Circuit City has lost more than $5 billion in stock-market value in the past two years, Bloomberg reported.

Circuit City Files for Bankruptcy After a Year of Falling Sales and Corporate Cutbacks