Barnes & Noble said a special committee found "numerous" instances of improperly dated stock option grants and that the bookseller would need to make an adjustment decreasing its retained earnings by $22.8 million.
Here's one more segment from Friday night's "How To Win" program on CNBC. We hear from a couple of the bloggers--the stock pick bloggers who are giving advice--and are actually playing to win the contest. John Carney is editor at dealbreaker.com and Jeff Mishlove is from Forecastingsystems.com and wrote a "how to" manual on the contest itself.
There is a big, giant bullseye painted in bright red over the entire retail sector. Private equity firms are sniffing around targets like the Gap (which, according to Women's Wear Daily, may have a bidder in Eddie Lampert), Barnes and Noble, and Home Depot.
Shares of Barnes & Noble rose after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the stock and called the bookstore chain a strong candidate for a leveraged buyout.
How hot is the leveraged buyout (LBO) craze? Credit Suisse just put out a report upgrading bookseller Barnes and Noble. Is business improving? The main reason for the upgrade is that the company is "one of the best-positioned LBO type candidates in our universe." They note the company has consistent cash flow and a cheap valuation.