Tuesday morning was a big one for retail earnings, with Home Depot, Macy's, Sears and Target reporting good news.

Barnes & Noble (BKS) total sales came to $2.2 billion in fiscal third quarter, a 33% increase year over year. Earnings were $80.2 million, or $1.38 per share. However, same-store sales slipped 4.7% from a year ago to $1.4 billion, despite strength from BN.com due to demand for the Nook. The company expects comps to decline in the fourth quarter, and forecast full-year earnings below consensus estimates.

In his High-Income Alert financial newsletter, Mark Skousen recommends Barnes & Noble (BKS), noting, "Barnes & Noble has almost 800 stores in 50 states. It also owns one of the Web's most-visited Web sites.

The advisor suggests, "The stock has attracted heavy insider buying. In our view, this looks like a superb contrarian buy right now."

Whether the market can keep pushing higher in 2010 despite our shaky economy is anyone's guess, but we hope that this rally has helped you recoup from some of the devastating losses most people experienced in 2008.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we want to give you six more reasons to be thankful this year. So we've put together a list six trades that should lead you to some very tasty profits in the near future.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) announced Tuesday that it had adopted a so-called shareholder rights plan to ward off "efforts to obtain control of the Company that are inconsistent with the best interests of the Company and its stockholders."

The company didn't go into specifics, but it is likely a response to billionaire Ronald Burkle's recent disclosure that he had boosted his stake in the company to 17.8%. In a press release, Barnes & Noble disclosed how the rights work:

Barnes & Noble (BKS) closed at $22.50. BKS is expected to report Q2 EPS on November 24. Ron Burkle, the private equity investor, doubled his stake in Barnes & Noble to 17% from 8%. BKS is expected to give its outlook of its digital book reader, Nook, during EPS conference call. December option implied volatility is at 54, January is at 51; versus its 26-week average of 48, according to Track Data, suggesting larger near term price movement.

Ford (F) closed at $8.98. Ford December option implied volatility is at 42, January is at 43; below its 26-week average of 63, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Barnes & Noble (BKS - option chain) shares have been moving sharply higher for the past few days and are continuing that trend today. Company insider and billionaire investor Ronald Burkle reported purchasing more than 4.4 million shares of BKS in the past week alone, valued at $90.2M. When a major holder makes a big purchase like that, it is often a sign of good things to come for that stock, if only because other investors may follow his lead. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on BKS.

BKS opened this morning at $21.00. So far today the stock has hit a low of $20.86 and a high of $21.55. As of 12:30, BKS is trading at $21.43 up 93 cents (4.5%). The chart for BKS looks bearish and S&P gives BKS a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

If Amazon (AMZN) was comfortable with its spot atop the e-reader market, it just got a wakeup call from Barnes & Noble (BKS). The brick-and-mortar book retailer's e-reader, the Nook, which hasn't even hit stores yet, is in pre-order nirvana right now. The first run for the Nook occurred at the end of October (the product was introduced on October 20). These buyers were told the reader would ship on November 30. High demand resulted in backorders, so the next wave of pre-orders was scheduled to ship on December 7. Now, a third group will have to wait until December 11.

This product is on fire, and it still isn't even on shelves yet.

Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble wouldn't reveal how many of these devices have been pre-ordered, but she did say, "Demand for the product in our stores and online has surpassed our expectations." She also noted, "We are working hard to meet demand for the holidays."

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) recently announced an electronic e-reader to compete with the likes of the Amazon.com's (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle and Sony Corp.'s (NYSE: SNE) Reader.

In perfect holiday fashion, the e-reader is set to become the "must have" gadget for the gift-giving season almost upon us. The newer Nook device has a small color screen that allows easier content locating (but no keyboard), the ability to "lend" digital books to a friend and built-in wireless internet.

Albert Gonzalez faced the music in a U.S. District Court in Boston on Friday, pleading guilty to masterminding one of the biggest cases of identity theft in history. The deal he struck with prosecutors could have him turning big rocks into little ones for up to a quarter of a century.

The Miami resident compromised the computer systems of large, high-profile retailers, including TJX (NYSE: TJX), BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ), OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) and Sports Authority. Tens of millions of credit card numbers were swiped in this scheme, leading to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft -- if there are other charges ... well, you get the point.

Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) announced today that it will acquire Barnes & Noble College Booksellers -- an operator of book stores on college campuses -- for $596 million.

The hitch? Barnes & Noble College Booksellers is owned by Leonard Riggio, the chairman of Barnes Noble. In a press release announcing the deal, Barnes & Noble said that "Based on College's fiscal 2009 results, BKS would have realized incremental earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) of $115 million from acquired operations and assets. The transaction will also result in the elimination of BKS' annual royalty payments for online textbook sales, which amounted to $6 million in fiscal year 2008."

And what of the apparent conflict of interest? Don't worry: The company established a special committee to evaluate the proposed deal.

Normally a related party deal of this magnitude would sounds all kinds of alarm bells. But because it was already a partner company, it smells less bad. But still: In negotiating the deal, Mr. Riggio's loyalties had to have been divided. The special committee can ensure the fairness of the transaction, but it can't ensure that B&N paid the lowest possible price for the company. At some point Mr. Riggio was torn between his duties to B&N shareholders and his status as the owner of B&N College Booksellers. This is why related-party transactions are generally seen as something to be avoided.

This is not an abstraction: buildings large and small are showing gaping vacancies. Storefronts are empty. Entire buildings sit waiting to be occupied. In Manhattan, retail vacancies have reached their highest rates since 2001. For the second quarter of this year, vacancies hit the absurd height of 12.4%, thanks to unemployment trends that won't quit and consumers reluctant to pry open their wallets.

Retailers are being hit just like the residential market.

"Last spring, CEO Leonard Riggio of Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) purchased almost $50 million-worth of his company's stock between $27-29.50; today, it languishes on the remainder table at $17.56," says Mark Skousen.

In his income-oriented speciality service, High Income Alert, the advisor says, "Now, a billionaire has also taken a stake." Here's the advisor's update.

"Barnes & Noble is a worthy addition to our model portfolio. Trading well below the level that the CEO purchased shares, we consider the stock a bargain.

"Barnes & Noble owns the nation's largest chain of bookstores, with 800 stores in 50 states. It also owns one of the Web's most-visited Web sites, bn.com. Between its stores and Web site, Barnes and Noble sells more than 300 million books a year.

Ronald W. Burkle, the grocery magnate with a net worth estimated at more than $3 billion, has acquired an 8.3% stake in Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) through his Yucaipa American Funds, LLC investment vehicle.

The 13-D contained nothing especially interesting -- just the usual boilerplate: The shares were acquired for investment purposes, but also reserved the right to talk to other investors or management about ways to maximize value. The 13-D added that the shares were acquired because the investors believed they "were undervalued by the market at the time they were acquired."

The Wall Street Journal notes (subscription required) that while the company has seen its performance battered by economic woes, it has a strong balance sheet and competent management. If Borders Group (NYSE: BGP) collapses, Barnes & Noble could be the most direct beneficiary. The deathwatch is one, with shares of Borders trading around 50 cents per pop.

Given the high regard that the company's management is held in, this investment seems unlikely to turn into a true activist situation: So while Burkle's investment is a strong vote of confidence from a highly respected mogul, it's not likely to be much of a catalyst for anything.

One theory about a recession is that people will not buy cars or refrigerators, but they will buy beer, razors, soap and books. If you can't ride around in a new Chevy, at least you can read about someone who is.

That theory went out the window, at least in part, when Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) said its same-store sales were down -- a lot.

Last year, the nation's largest book seller made a little money in the quarter ending November 1. It was a very little, $4.4 million. This year, BKS lost $18.4 billion as same-store sales fell 7.4%. Barnes & Noble also dropped its forecast for the next quarter.

The BKS earnings news is particularly bad as the holiday season begins. Companies that sell discretionary items for under $30 have probably hoped that they would benefit, perhaps only modestly, from consumers looking for relatively cheap gifts for grandpa and the kids.

Even cheap is looking expensive this holiday. Although there is Barnes & Noble stock. It is only $12.25 a share.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), a bookseller that competes with Borders Group (NYSE: BGP), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and retailers that stock books such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), did not do well during the third quarter. Total sales decreased over 4%. A GAAP loss of $0.34 per share was reported versus a GAAP profit of $0.07 per share in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the loss of $0.21 per share missed the call by $0.05, according to this source.

Okay, is it me, or do these numbers basically broadcast loud and clear that Barnes & Noble is not worth one penny of your investment capital? Besides the above, same-store sales took a big dive of 7.4%. That should be the last nail in the coffin of the current Barnes & Noble story, one that reads like a Stephen King novel. Actually, though, it isn't. Another nail to add would be the fact that guidance has been adjusted lower by management. Now, according to CEO Steve Riggio, gross margins are doing okay. I'll skip that chapter, though, as there isn't much substance to it. Who cares about the gross margin at this point. With traffic down and probably due to get worse, a positive tale of the gross margin isn't going to make me want to buy Barnes & Noble as a value play.