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Wal-Mart (WMT) is getting some flak this week after firing a worker who tried to foil a shoplifting heist.

The employee, who worked at a store in Wichita, Kan., tried to stop a man from leaving the store with a computer, McClatchy newspapers reports. She was fired, she says, because busting shoplifters was not part of her job description.

Heather Ravenstein said she was at the store last week and saw a man set off alarms by carrying a computer out the door. She confronted him and asked him for his receipt, at which point he reportedly kicked and punched her. He dropped the computer and ran away. 

Consider it the Apple (AAPL)of burger chains. And it could be coming to a location near you.

 

In-N-Out Burger, a privately held West Coast fast-food chain with a rabid and almost cultlike following, has been slow to expand beyond California because of its rather unusual business practices. But the In-N-Out philosophy has also resulted in unmatched popularity that has current locations swamped. The only thing to do is open more stores.

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And if the rumor mill has any truth to it, the next In-N-Out Burger location is due for Dallas -- a sign that the company may be reaching eastward and looking to take a bite out of McDonald’s (MCD),Burger King (BKC) and other fast-food stocks.

 

By Jake Lynch, TheStreet

 

The US stock market has reached an inflection point in its attempt to price the risk of European fiscal fallout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) has fallen 10% since Apr. 26. However, its biggest laggards could offer its best buying opportunities.

 

1. Alcoa (AA) has fallen 20% since Apr. 26.

 

Quarter: Alcoa's first-quarter loss narrowed 60% to $201 million, or 19 cents, from the year-earlier loss. Revenue grew 18%. The operating margin turned positive. Alcoa has $1.3 billion of cash and $9.8 billion of debt, equal to a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.8.

 

Eureka! I think I have found out what all of the bears who talk about the destruction of Greece, Spain or the euro really fear. I think they fear Chinese growth.

 

It seems silly, but we have to remember that there are two kinds of risks that Europe poses to the world: systemic -- think Lehman -- and growth -- think commodities. Many of the people who talk about how these risks could send the Dow ($INDU) down to 8,260 -- my disaster scenario -- may need these factors to remain front and center to keep their predictions in intact.

 

They ignore the budget cuts being put through and corporate assurances that business is still good in Europe. They dismiss anything that says we aren't double-dipping because of Europe.

 

Well, not everything. They can't dismiss China.

 

 

Written by Douglas Estadt

Howard Lindzon, founder of StockTwits.com, shares news about an online trading innovation that will mean no more forgotten trades or delays in the time between you seeing a good trade and when you open another window and log in to your online brokerage account. 

 

Zap Trade, powered by Zecco Trading, is now available exclusively at StockTwits. It is a free floating movable window on your screen which at the click of a button displays a free real time quote and a trading window in which to enter your order. We think it is a true trading breakthrough that will be a boon to busy online traders.

 

They don't call these stocks cyclical for no reason.

Shares of Thompson Creek Metals (TC), the world's largest publicly traded, pure-play molybdenum producer, are down almost 40% from their Apr. 5 high on fears that the world economy, and especially China's part of it, is slowing. A slowdown would mean less steel production, lower demand for molybdenum, and falling molybdenum prices.

Thompson Creek's first-quarter earnings, reported on May 5, were solid. The company earned 17 cents a share (excluding a charge due to the Canadian company's conversion to U.S. accounting standards), up from 9 cents in the first quarter of 2009.

 

The beer industry is in full debate over the future of craft beers. Heck, even the definition of craft beer is being questioned at this point.

For example, is the maker of Sam Adams a craft brewery? The industry says a craft brewer makes fewer than 2 billion barrels of beer annually, and is not more than 25% controlled by a non-craft brewer, according to The Atlantic.

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But the Boston Beer Company (SAM), which makes Sam Adams, is about ready to surpass 2 million barrels, writes Clay Risen. Does that make it a corporate brewer?

 

The Walt Disney Co.’s (DIS) sale of Miramax to Harvey and Bob Weinstein and their group of financial backers appears to have failed.

An individual close to the talks said on Tuesday that talks had broken down a week ago. But Harvey Weinstein and his financial backer, billionaire Ron Burkle, has issued a statement last Friday saying talks were ongoing.

But on Tuesday, there was no such denial forthcoming. Neither side would comment for the record about the state of the talks.

 

Wal-Mart (WMT) is offering a screaming deal: A brand new 16GB iPhone for $97. So what's the catch?

Actually, it looks like more of an attempt to unload inventory before the phone becomes obsolete. Apple (AAPL) is likely to unveil its newest iPhone at a developers conference next month.

Wal-Mart says the sale is part of "ongoing aggressive savings announcements," but people think the retailer is trying to clear some room before the new iPhone hits the market, Digital Daily reports. 

It has been a brutal May for most investors. The Dow was down about 10% so far as of the opening bell today, the S&P 500 was down 11%, and the Nasdaq off 12%. Those figures have only gotten worse as the day has dragged on.

So where do we go now? The recent sell-off has touched all corners of the market, with even the "safe haven" of gold taking a tumble. My recommendation to you: Hide out in great blue-chip stocks with upside potential for shares and a healthy dividend to help you ride things out when the market gets rocky.

My top stock along these lines for June is Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS).

 

By Philip van Doorn, TheStreet

 

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported improved earnings at more than half of U.S. banks and savings and loan associations last week, the ranks of troubled community banks continued to swell.

 

Based on a full set of first-quarter regulator data provided by SNL Financial for the nation's 7,900 banks and savings and loan associations, 161 were undercapitalized, according to the guidelines that apply to most institutions.

 

SNL's list is sorted by state, city and name of the undercapitalized bank or thrift. The Watch List of 161 institutions is down from 163 in February, although 49 of the institutions on the previous list have already failed.

 

Is everything terrible? Is everything going bad? Or are there some self-adjustments that will make the US better down the road, despite the worries from Europe.

 

To the last, I say, dramatically, yes. Let's go back to what caused all of our downturn to begin with: a sapped consumer, declining values in housing, a rise in unemployment and a sense that our banks were not safe. We pulled in our horns, and the banks -- worried themselves -- stopped lending.

 

Now let's look at where we are.

 

The best you can say about Transocean (RIG) is that it has a tin ear for public opinion.

The company's public response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April has been to say it wasn't our fault, and we're not on the hook for very much money.

Even if true -- and there's a good chance both statements are true -- this isn't exactly how a company that gives a damn responds to what is becoming the biggest oil-related environmental disaster in U.S. history.

 

 

One upgrade getting a lot of buzz Monday: Goldman Sachs analysts have moved Citigroup (C) to a buy from neutral. They also set a $4.50 price target for the stock, which is up to about $3.90 in afternoon trading.

The analysts said Citigroup looks good as capital markets and consumer credit start to improve, DealBook writes. The analysts didn't look as favorably on Wells Fargo (WFC), which was downgraded to neutral on the suspicion that it faces more near-term risks than other banks.

New numbers for April show big improvements in consumer delinquencies and charge-offs, the analysts said. That's helped along by a better jobs market.