Market Wrap: Retailers Sell More in October; Wal-Mart Margins Shrink Further; Familiar Face Becomes Apple Chair

Market wrap-up for November 15th

End of the Day: Dow Jones up 17 to 12,096.16; Nasdaq up 28.98 to 2,686.20; S&P 500 up 6 to 1,257.81

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:

• Need sales? Just make cooler gadgets: U.S. retail sales increased 0.5 percent for the month of October, led by a 3.7 percent gain in consumer electronics and appliances. Data showed the gain in electronics and appliances was the largest in nearly two years. Analysts at Goldman suggested a large portion of the upside was due to strong sales of the Apple iPhone.
  
  In other economic data news, the producer price index (PPI) fell 0.3 percent in October, slightly reversing a 0.8 percent gain in September. Economists were looking for a more modest 0.1 percent drop in the month. Core PPI, which eliminates more volatile food and energy prices, came in flat for October, compared with an expected 0.1 percent rise.
  
  
• Margins pressuring retail giants: Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) shares got hit Tuesday after reporting third-quarter results that missed expectations. Earnings for Wal-Mart were 97 cents per share on revenue of $110.23 billion, mixed to views calling for earnings of 98 cents per share and revenue of $107.98 billion. Wal-Mart had relatively in-line earnings guidance for the fourth-quarter and fiscal 2011 periods, but investors might be eying continued pressure to margins as input costs for producers continue to creep higher.
  
  
• A new Chairman in town: Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) today named Arthur D. Levinson, Ph. D. as the Company’s non-executive Chairman of the Board, the position last held by Steve Jobs. Levinson has been a co-lead director of Apple’s board since 2005, has served on all three board committees—audit and finance, nominating and corporate governance, and compensation—and will continue to serve on the audit committee. Apple also announced that Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), will join Apple’s board and will serve on the audit committee.
  
  
• But they need the money: The House Financial Services Committee late Monday made a move to block about $12 million in executive bonuses at Fannie Mae (OTCBB: FNMA) and Freddie Mac (OTCBB: FMCC). According to C-SPAN, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said the bonuses were necessary to "keep experienced executives at the companies." FHFA chief Edward DeMarco said, "I have concluded that it would be irresponsible of me to risk this enormous contingent taxpayer liability with a rapid turnover of management and staff, replaced with people lacking the institutional, technical, operational, and risk management knowledge requisite to the running of corporations with thousands of employees and more than $2 trillion in financial obligations each."

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