Retail websites are becoming just as important as brick-and-mortar presences for most retailers, and this is never more apparent than during the retail holiday season. For those customers who don't wish to beat each other up while standing in 6am Black Friday lines, sitting at home ordering holiday presents over the web is the preferred shopping method.

I've written many times in the recent past about how consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) gets more things right than wrong. The company's merchandise presentation, helpful employees and overall shopping experience is miles ahead of competitor Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) from my experience. But, how about the performance of its website? I'll admit that I've never ordered a single thing from Best Buy's website. Apparently, I am missing out there.

In a recent study of retail website performance over the recent holiday season, Best Buy was joined with bookseller Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) and outdoor retailer Cabelas, Inc. (NYSE: CAB) as having the highest reliability of all retailers in a field of 26 candidates. Other retailers monitored included the world's largest online retailer -- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT). In terms of specific website performance figures like page downloading and transaction completion speed, retailers Circuit City and Victoria's Secret ranked at the top.

As Doug McIntyre recently pointed out on BloggingStocks, there's really no reason to assume that the success Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) had in consummating its acquisition of Wild Oats will have any effect on other deals.

But it's still fun to to speculate, and The Detroit News is doing just that: Is a merger of struggling book retailers Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) and Borders Group Inc. (NYSE: BGP) on the way?

If so, there is only one category that such a merger could be classified under: Two drunken sailors trying to hold each other up. As for anti-trust concerns, how could consumers be effected by the merger of two companies that sell overpriced -- compared to Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) -- books at stores people don't go to anymore?

The Whole Foods deal was about a rapidly growing enterprise trying to expand its empire, and that one made it through the courts. It's hard to imagine regulators stopping the merger of two struggling companies in a contracting industry, even if they wanted to.

Whether such a deal would do anything to help shareholders of the combined entity remains to be seen, if such a deal does indeed come to pass.

I could stand to lose about 10 pounds. Some people hint that a good place to start would be right between my ears. Mom says if I swallow my pride, that might have some affect. My manager's boss says shedding some arrogance should lighten my step. Personally, I think I just need to reduce the number of ice cream servings I allow myself before going to bed each week. Couple a reduction in frozen dairy treats with an increase in physical romance (my favorite exercise), and I think a realistic weight maintenance program is possible.

In any case, I picked up some good weight loss tips on the internet. A nice blog post on Slashfood, presented to us by Bob Sassone, outlines some remarkable insight he has come upon by doing some research into the dietary self-help books offered at Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS). What Mr. Sassone has determined is that diversity is the key ingredient to successful weight loss. Diversity, and lots of it, is what the experts are calling for. At least that's the impression you get if you consider their suggestions collectively.

After reading Bob Sassone's thoughts on the matter, I have reaffirmed my own concepts for successful weight management. Don't eat more calories than you reasonably need, get off your butt to do something, eat a variety of healthy foods and have lots and lots of good lively sex.

I'll also throw into consideration the possibility of swallowing my pride and shedding some arrogance ... ummm ... well ... heck , where would be the fun in that?

Barnes & Noble on the web.

Add another log to the LBO rumor fire, because the New York Times's DealBook reports that Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is a ripe candidate to be taken private. Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter has raised his rating to "outperform" from "underperform," citing the book retailer as "one of the best positioned LBO-type candidates in our universe."

He thinks B&N's shares look pretty cheap, based on the company's consistent cash flow, and promising near-term rate of return.

Word has also surfaced that B&N rival Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE:BGP) could also be headed for an LBO, even though it's less likely. Balter has lowered his rating on BGP to "neutral" from "outperform," presumably due to valuation; the stock's had a nice 33% upside since July.

Buyout speculation has been swirling ever since Pershing Square Capital took positions in both booksmiths. Balter thinks, however, that even though Borders could rebound from its disappointing earnings news last month, B&N has a "better risk/reward level."

It's been a crazy ride for the print industry since Johannes Gutenberg invented modern printing in the 1400s.

So, it should be no surprise that many of the top companies in the industry have been around for a long time. R.R. Donnelley & Sons (NYSE:RRD), for example, was founded in 1864. Or take Banta Corp. (NYSE:BN). This company got its start in 1901.

Well, today, R.R. Donnelley agreed to shell out $1.3 billion for Banta. Last year, Banta generated about $1.54 billion in revenues. Banta also focuses on things like books and supply chain management.

But isn't the print industry dying because of the onslaught of the Internet? Maybe there is a reduction in media print. Yet, the fact remains that companies still print a lot of materials. In fact, with new regulations – such as Sarbanes-Oxley – there should be more demand for print. Also, industrialization in countries like China and India should be a catalyst.

Basically, R. R. Donnelly realized that it needs to consolidate the industry – cutting costs and adding new products.

And Wall Street agrees. While big deals like this tend to depress the stock price of the buyer, R. R. Donnelly's stock has held steady.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.

Long-time writer for Barron's, Jonathan Laing, takes an deep-dive on the shares of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS).

Books are dead, right? It's all about the Internet?

Maybe. But Laing thinks BN is an ideal candidate for a buyout.

Despite a nice rally in stocks, Barnes & Noble has been a laggard. Other problems: analysts are lukewarm on the stock; Amazon.com is a threat; there is slowing consumer spending; and there is also stock option backdating concerns.

However, smart money is moving into the stock, such as from the hedge fund Pershing Square. It holds about 8% of the Barnes & Noble.

Pershing's superstar investor, Bill Ackman, likes Barnes & Noble because: the aging population bodes well for books; BN has a massive superstore footprint, which provides a Starbucks-like social experience; there is little inventory risk (because books can be returned to the publisher); and the brand is very powerful.

Also, Barnes & Noble has taken steps to restructure the cost structure and boost cash flows, offering more high-margin products (such as wrapping paper), and providing self-publishing services.

And, with no debt -- as well as the strong cash flows -- Barnes & Noble would certainly make for an attractive leverage buyout from a private equity group.

Actually, there may not be any need for private equity financing. Given the company's balance sheet and the founding family's equity stake, the deal could be done completely with debt financing.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.