So, if Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) shares slipped after its fiscal-fourth-quarter earnings report, is that a bad thing?

Probably not. The company said its business is starting to look better in the United States and is terrific in China.

• Read more about Hewlett-Packard's history on Bing

In fact, CEO Mark Hurd told analysts that fiscal-fourth-quarter results would have been better if the company had been able to meet all the demand it saw.

And it is confident enough about its growth prospects that it will triple its stock-buyback program from $4 billion to $12 billion.

General Electric (GE) is leaning toward allowing an initial public offering of Vivendi's (VIVDY) 20% holding in NBC Universal as talks to purchase the stake stall, Bloomberg News reported today.

The two sides are about $500 million apart on a valuation for Vivendi’s stake in the entertainment unit, and little progress has been made in recent days, a person close to the talks told Bloomberg.

GE, which owns the remaining 80% of NBC Universal, may still agree to buy out Vivendi if talks advance, the person said.

An IPO would complicate plans to move forward with the creation of a joint venture combining NBC Universal’s film, cable-television and theme-park properties with networks owned by Comcast (CMCSA), the largest U.S. cable operator.

Updated: 8:10 p.m. ET

Stocks were higher this afternoon in one of those rallies that drive bears mad and leave bulls a bit mystified.

There was excitement about a surprisingly strong report on existing-home sales, but the gains appeared to be driven by buyers hoping to cash in on big federal tax credits.

The rally was led by energy and metals stocks. But energy shares were falling as crude oil suddenly pulled back.

Technology shares were higher and may accelerate on Tuesday because of strong fiscal-fourth-quarter earnings and guidance from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).

The Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) closed up 133  points, or 1.3%, to 10,451, a new closing high for the year. The Dow hit a new intraday high for the year of 10,496 this morning.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) was was up 15 points, or 1.4%, to 1,106 -- its fourth-best close of 2009.

The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) was up 30 points, or 1.4%, to 2,176.

The Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX.X), which tracks the largest Nasdaq stocks, rose 29 points, or 1.6%, to 1,793.

• Bing: Read more on stocks and housing

Futures trading suggests a flat open on Tuesday. U.S. financial markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, and they will close at 1 p.m. ET on Friday.

Updated: 1:35 p.m. ET

Executives at investment banks Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns made $2.4 billion from 2000 to 2008, a sign pay policies may have encouraged risk-taking that doomed the companies, a Harvard University study says.

The top five officials at Lehman, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, received $1 billion in cash bonuses and proceeds from equity sales during the period, according to the report, "The Wages of Failure."

The study was released by Harvard Law School's Program on Corporate Governance.

• Bing: Is executive compensation too high?

Bear Stearns' top executives made $1.4 billion in the years before JPMorgan Chase agreed to buy the firm in 2008.

Losses the executives suffered when the firms failed were far outweighed by payoffs in the preceding eight years, the study said.

Accelerating mobile PC shipments will drive the worldwide PC market to grow again this year, market research firm Gartner Inc. forecast today.

But cash-stretched consumers will be driving the market and will opt for computers that are only "good enough." That will continue to put pressure on computer prices. 

• Bing: Get the best deals on personal computers

Gartner's new fourth-quarter forecast predicts worldwide PC shipments will total 298.9 million units in 2009, a 2.8% increase from 2008.

In 2010, PC shipments are projected to reach 336.6 million units, a 12.6% increase over 2009.