Borders Group (BGP) has been reporting losses for years. Its third quarter results showed a sharper loss and is fueling concerns about the bookstore's future, as reported by USAToday.

The company is on the defensive. It has sold off 16 stores and other assets to meet debt payments. Now creditors have cut their credit lines, forcing the bookseller to cut back further. The reason given is that Borders' inventory value has fallen.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble (BKS) is slated to take its turn in the earnings spotlight before the opening bell Tuesday, Aug. 24. It's not exactly business as usual for Barnes & Noble, though -- with a proxy battle waging between Chairman Leonard Riggio and activist investor Ron Burkle, there's going to be an unusually harsh media glare on the quarterly results.

Of course, it's not just the financial media who will be eager to get a glimpse at Barnes & Noble's performance. Investors will also be chomping at the bit ahead of the firm's annual meeting, because Burkle has proposed a slate of three nominees for the retailer's board, and Riggio's seat is among those up for reelection. As Reuters' Phil Wahba explained it on Friday, "the extent of the damage is likely to affect who shareholders vote for at next month's annual meeting."

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) followed Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) in introducing an e-reader device. The devices, meant to replace books and periodicals and lower the cost of physical distribution (or eliminate it) with a higher-quality experience, have sold well so far. Amazon.com sold out of the first Kindle device launched at the end of 2007, and the first Nook device featured a better navigation than the Kindle. Still Barnes & Noble's share price since early 2009 hasn't exactly outperformed itself, as it sits under $23 right now.

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.

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.

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.