If you are looking for clues telling you which stocks have a good chance of increasing in value, you might want consider watching what insiders are doing. After all, talk is cheap, but when insiders put their own money on the line, you should sit up and take note.

Coca-Cola (KO) topped the insider-buying charts for the week ending July 9th as insiders snapped up 270,000 shares of company stock at a market value of $16,899,786. During the past six months, insiders have increased their overall holdings in the company by 3.15% and now own 0.55% of KO stock.

A slightly positive ISM report and a positive report from China kept the U.S. markets in the black on Friday. The first day of the month and quarter is on the heels of a strong September, which was the strongest September in most of our lifetimes. Unfortunately, the joint report on the "Flash Crash" does little to instill any confidence that the system is safe and does not take away concerns that the system may be rigged against retail investors.

Here were today's unofficial bell levels:

Dow Jones 10,829.68 +41.63 (0.39%)
S&P 500 1,146.22 +5.02 (0.44%)
Nasdaq 2,370.75 +2.13 (0.09%)

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As so often happens at this point in the earnings season, focus begins to shift to the results from retailers. And the world's largest retailer is among those that step into the spot light this week.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), which was aggressively competitive during the holiday shopping season and also recently announced a new global strategy, to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share, up from $1.03 per share in the year-ago period. Revenue for the three months that ended in January is expected to have risen 4.9% to $114.5 billion. The full-year forecast calls for earnings of $3.61 per share (+5.3%) on $409.1 billion in revenue (+0.9%). Walmart has not missed earnings estimates in the past five quarters.

The next month is the one that matters most to the retail sector. It will dominate the conversation when Q4 and full-year financials are reported. A strong Black Friday brought with it concerns that momentum will fade, but opportunity is not dispensed equally. Some retailers will come through the season better than others, and industry experts have already chosen their favorites.

Michael Dart, senior partner at Kurt Salmon Associates, says, "We are seeing a paradigm shift in the way consumer interprets value and what they are looking for." The winners will do more than pitch deep discounts to convince consumers to part with their hard-earned cash.

American Apparel Inc. (AMEX: APP) has always been unlike any other clothing company: a flamboyant CEO who received oral sex during a magazine interview and marketing logo- and image-free clothing that has become one of the hottest brands in the country.

And the weirdness continues. CEO Dov Charney has been a vocal proponent of immigration rights, and many of the workers at the company's Los Angeles factories were immigrants. Now 1,500 of the company's 5,600 factory workers are being fired because of documentation issues following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation.

We might be tempted to think, in this day and age, that a move as stupid as this one could not happen in our enlightened business world. However, the CEO of American Apparel (AMEX: APP), seems to think otherwise.

According to a story provided by Gawker.com; "American Apparel's ... madman CEO, Dov Charney is demanding the firing of employees he deems unattractive and thus detrimental to the "AA aesthetic."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that people (especially in America) are ultra sensitive to negative comments about appearance. It also does not take a great deal of intelligence to recognize that the firing of employees based on their looks is a stupidly discriminatory practice. So, being that this project is being undertaken at the sole direction of CEO Charney, one does not have to spend much time analyzing exactly who is the stupid one over there.

BloggingStocks is a family site, so I will simply note the Reuters headline for this story: Probe fingers 1,800 American Apparel (AMEX: APP) workers.

Now that you have had a moment to make your own joke, we continue with the news -- although I will say that when I saw this headline, I thought that CEO Dov Charney was back to his old tricks.

Anyway, a United States federal probe found that about one-third of the company's LA-area factory workers were not authorized to work in the United States.

We saw at least five directional changes throughout the day in the stock market, so the close still left people wondering what the day really was. The housing data was weaker than expected, and today marked the first day that the VIX went under 30. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 8,476.36 -27.72 (-0.33%)
S&P 500 908.34 -1.37 (-0.15%)
Nasdaq 1,734.54 +2.18 (0.13%)

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Back in April, I wrote about Wood Allen's decision to file a lawsuit against American Apparel (AMEX: APP). Woody was upset because his image appeared on company billboard that were up for less than one week, and he wanted $10 million in damages. I thought the figure was laughably high and American Apparel lawyers said they did too -- but today The New York Times reports that the matter has been resolved:

On Monday morning, as a trial was set to begin in Federal District Court in Lower Manhattan, Mr. Allen announced that he had accepted a $5 million settlement in his lawsuit against American Apparel and Dov Charney, its founder and chief executive. The settlement means that Mr. Allen, who had initially sought $10 million in the trial, can avoid a trial that could have dredged up potentially salacious details about the filmmaker and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn.

Shares of American Apparel (AMEX: APP) have been poor performers since the company went public through a special-purpose acquisition vehicle, even though the company's same-store sales numbers have been incredibly impressive.

The company's shares have rebounded recently following the announcement of a major investment by Lion Capital. Now CEO Dov Charney is making his first trades in his company's stock since it went public and guess what? He's buying: 855,000 shares for $2.67 million, including 460,000 shares purchased on margin.

American Apparel (AMEX: APP), the fashion company sporting impressive growth along with a bizarre corporate sideshow, has a new chief financial officer.

According to a press release, Adrian Kowalewski has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. He's been with the company since 2006, most recently as Director of Corporate Finance and Development. He is only 31 years old. The company's last CFO bowed out not long after CEO Dov Charney publicly blasted him as a "complete loser."

American Apparel's operational growth has been nothing short of phenomenal, but its stock price has been hurt by a lack of professionalism and faith in managerial competence. It's possible that Mr. Kowalewski will do a great job, but let's face it: appointing a 31-year old with little in the way of executive suite experience is not going to get investors breathing a sigh of relief.

Hiring a company outsider with a long track record in the industry would have been the savvier move from a PR perspective, but this is a company that marches to the drum of its eccentric founder.

In my Top 10 Stocks to Avoid in 2009, I suggested that investors stay away from stocks impacted by a handful of specific themes that will play out during the coming year.

Stocks impacted by higher fuel prices, a stronger U.S. dollar, and high defaults in the credit card space should be investment afterthoughts in 2009.

One theme that did not make the list, and probably should have, are companies with so-called debt bombs set to go off at some point during the next year. There are many businesses that have big debts coming due in 2009.

With the credit markets in disarray, the likelihood of obtaining new loans to replace old debt is difficult at best. As such, companies must obtain concessions from bond holders or run the risk of going into default. Whatever scenario plays out, the result is likely to be negative for common shareholders. With so much risk, it makes little sense to venture into stocks with these issues outstanding.

There's plenty of scandal surrounding American Apparel (AMEX: APP) since it went public but, up until now, it's consisted almost exclusively of allegations of bizarre sexual conduct by the company's founder and CEO Dov Charney.

But a new lawsuit tosses the American Apparel quandary into a whole new category. Roberto Hernandez, a former accountant at the company, is suing (subscription required) for wrongful termination alleging that, in 2006, Charney "demanded that Mr. Hernandez pad the inventory" in attempt to make the company appear more attractive to investors. Hernandez says that he "refused to participate in any scheme to potentially defraud the investors" and was fired on November 9th of that year.

This is second time this month that American Apparel has come under fire over allegations that it sought to mislead investors. On November 4th, I wrote about a lawsuit accusing the company of asking an alleged victim of sexual harassment to participate in an arbitration hearing with a predetermined outcome -- and then plotting to issue a press release declaring victory in the sham hearing.

Here's the question: With American Apparel's stock beaten down so badly in spite of incredibly impressive sales growth, does any of this really matter? Up until now, you might have been able to say that it doesn't. But many investors will want to steer clear of a company with a lawsuit accusing the company's CEO of directing an accountant to cook the books.

The shares fell yesterday after the company reported earnings that were down sharply because of stock-based compensation expenses.

UPDATE: This morning American Apparel released a statement in response to the lawsuit and media reports, calling it a "frivolous and baseless lawsuit recently filed by a disgruntled former employee." The company added that "It is unfortunate that the media continues to focus on sideshows and false allegations. It does a disservice to the 10,000 men and women who make American Apparel such an outstanding company; to our customers who love our products; and to our investors who appreciate our strong financial performance and our dedication to being a leading public company."

Update Nov. 26, 2008: See all 2008 Black Friday deals.

This week, some apparel and accessory producers and retailers offer a look at how they've been doing between early summer's economic stimulus spending and the coming holiday season. While Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) reported higher earnings last week, Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR), Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EBHI), Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (NYSE: KCP), and K-Swiss Inc. (NASDAQ: KSWS) all reported net losses as consumers pulled back on spending over the summer due to higher fuel prices and other economic worries. The expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial for such companies scheduled to report this week don't look much different; i.e., a bright spot or two among lower expectations overall.

Hip retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) is expected to post earnings 22.9% higher than a year ago, to $0.35 per share, on revenue of $475.9 million (+26.4%). The Philadelphia-based company already said that same-store sales in the quarter were 10% higher. Urban Outfitters has beat expectations in recent quarters, by 11.5% in the previous quarter, and analysts on average recommend buying URBN. Shares fell to a 52-week low of $16.61 per share on Friday, and are down 29.5% from a year ago. Other companies expected to report more modest earnings growth in the coming week include watch and accessory maker Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL), retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), and TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX), parent of such discount retail chains as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. These three companies have tended to top analysts estimates in recent quarters, and Fossil and TJX ended the week near their 52-week lows.

While Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc. (AMEX: APP) had a strong second quarter, the casual wear maker is expected to report $0.13 per share earnings for the third quarter, the same as in the year-ago period. And analysts anticipate that Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS) will report that profits fell 16.4% to $0.51 per share on revenue of $3.9 billion (+1.9%). Though same-store sales for October fell 9%, the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based company reaffirmed its third-quarter forecast. Kohl's has offered positive surprises in recent quarters, topping estimates by 5.6% in the previous quarter. The consensus recommendation remains to buy KSS. Shares have been climbing after reaching a 52-week low in late October, but are still down 32.8% from a year ago.

Even as American Apparel (AMEX: APP) posts incredible sales numbers in an incredibly tough environment, the company can't seem to shake the scandals created by its eccentric CEO Dov Charney who was settled a sexual harassment claim involving one of his female employees earlier this year.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that the company has agreed to pay the employee $1.3 million to settle the claim with one catch -- that she keep the settlement a secret "and instead participate in an arbitration proceeding, with a preordained outcome" so that Charney could publicly declare victory.

The woman refused to participate in the arbitration and the matter ended up in court. Last week, a three judge panel of California's Second Appellate District in Los Angeles said that the woman's alleged breach of the agreement should be reviewed by independent arbitrators.

However, the court added that it was concerned about the "potential illegality of the 'arbitration' clause ... with its goal of issuing a press release for the purpose of misleading journalists and the public."

With the appearance of efforts to mislead investors about the nature of the case, this fiasco moves beyond the realm of the hanky panky that has been part of Mr. Charney's behavior and his company since it went public. Now you have to wonder about integrity.