Personal computer giant Dell Inc. (DELL) traded sharply lower in after hours trading following Thursday's fourth quarter earnings report.

Going into the earnings announcement, Wall Street was expecting to see the company show earnings of 27 cents per share. Excluding special items the company posted earnings of 28 cents per share for the quarter.

During the same period last year the company earned 29 cents per share.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• In an effort to increase sales in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported that Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) is in talks with a government-owned vehicle in Dubai called Tecom about establishing a joint venture.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that Washington Mutual Incorporated (NYSE: WM), which obtained a $7B capital infusion from TPG and other investors, had reportedly been working on the TPG deal while negotiating with JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), which made a preliminary takeover bid of about $7B, people familiar with the deal said.
• Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) is close to reaching a deal to sell $12B in leveraged loans at a discount to a group of leading private equity firms, the Financial Times reported. Although details of the deal were still being worked out, inside sources said Apollo Management, The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) and TPG would buy the loan portfolio at a discount that could come in at about 90 cents on the dollar.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The UK Times reported that The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is today expected to announce that its 787 Dreamliner has been delayed by 18 months, a setback which will affect all airlines that have ordered the 787, including British Airways Plc (OTC: BAIRY) and Virgin Atlantic.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Washington Post, Harvest Natural, Memc Electronic Materials and Boston Private Financial were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's exposure to the counter-cyclical education division.
• Jefferies upgraded shares of Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) to Buy from Hold and raised their target to $17 from $11 after the company received final approval in the conversion to a mixed company. They note that conversion clears the way for renewed investment.
• Friedman Billings added Memc Electronic Materials Inc (NYSE: WFR) to its Top Picks List following its Q3 report and guidance as "solar wafer contracts," not including spot poly, are expected to increase from 15% of the total to 35%-40% in CY08 and greater than 50% in CY09.
• William Blair raised its rating on Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BPFH) to Outperform from Market Perform after the better-than-expected Q3 results.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman added Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) to its Conviction Buy List.
• NTT DoCoMo Inc (NYSE: DCM) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup and to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Cardinal Health Incorporated (NYSE: CAH) to Outperform from Neutral.
• Merrill upgraded Coca-Cola Femsa SA (NYSE: KOF) and Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU) to Buy from Neutral.

Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL), the Texas-based computer manufacturer, shocked Wall Street last night with a massive 240 basis point expansion of gross margins. The stock was up as much as $2 in after-hours trading.

What was the response by sell-side analysts? Disbelieve. Merrill Lynch said sell into strength while Cowen & Co maintained its Neutral rating on the stock. However, Bernstein Research, a research firm known for sticking its neck out, had and continues to have, an Outperform rating on the stock.

Dell grew revenue year-over-year by 3%, besting estimates expecting little if any growth. Higher average selling prices and lower component costs helped results.

Dell's quick turnaround seems somewhat similar to what happened over at Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT). Dell's new head of global consumer products, Ronald Garriques, worked closely with Ed Zander to help Motorola's quick turnaround. Maybe he is doing the same at Dell. Stay with the stock for a nice ride. When Dell's model is on track, it can generate a lot of cash.