At least those seem to be the likeliest conclusions to be drawn from the brief letter that Dell’s board sent to Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management this morning. Here’s the money quote:

Unless the Board of Directors of Dell determines that your proposal could reasonably be expected to result in a “Superior Proposal” as defined in the Company’s existing merger agreement with affiliates of Silver Lake and Michael Dell, we are not permitted to provide you with information or engage in discussions concerning your proposal.

That sounds pretty much like a “put up or shut up” challenge. On May 10, Icahn and Southeastern suggested an alternative to Dell/Silver Lake’s $24.4 billion buyout that would have paid Dell shareholders $12 a share in cash or awarded shareholders $12 a share in additional stock and allow shareholders to keep their stakes in Dell, which would remain a publicly traded company. Dell’s board asked for more information on May 13, and today’s letter repeats that request.

Dell’s stock has wobbled between about $13.50 and $14.50 a share for the past three months. The shares closed at $13.40 on Friday and have been inactive this morning. The 52-week range is $8.69 to $15.29.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.8% today, now at 84.2540. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.5% at 627.99. WTI crude oil closed up 0.9%, at $96.02 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.1% at $103.80 a barrel. Natural gas is up 3.1% today at about $4.06 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.6% today at $1,364.70, down nearly $72 for the week.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 121 points to 15,354.79 (0.80%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 34 points (0.97%) to 3,498.97, and the S&P 500 rose 0.95% or nearly 16 points to 1,666.12.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

• Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) cut to ‘sell’ and price target slashed to $85 at Goldman Sachs;
• The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) cut to ‘neutral’ at Atlantic Securities;
• General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) raised to ‘buy’ at Credit Agricole;
• United Continental Holdings plc (NYSE: UAL) raised to ‘market perform’ at Avondale Partners; and
• Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) cut to ‘hold’ at Maxim Group on a valuation call.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today (more coverage is linked to the company’s name):

• Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is down 7% at $37.00;
• Dell Inc. (NYSE: DELL) is down 0.2% at $13.40;
• J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down 3.6% at $18.11;
• Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is down 0.7% at $60.72; and
• Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI) is down 7.6% at $24.11;

Before markets open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), and Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NYSE: QIHU).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is up 19% at $2.38. The Greek bank’s shares rise following a boost to the country’s sovereign debt rating earlier this week.

Real Goods Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: RSOL) is up 98.4% at $3.48, after posting a new 52-week high of $3.63 earlier today. The solar PV installation company is finally getting some attention from investors, even though its first quarter earnings released last week were weak.

Tableau Software Inc. (NYSE: DATA) is up 62.5% at $50.38. The cloud-based, big data visualization maker held its IPO today.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Chicago Fed national activity index
• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Of the two companies, the turnaround of J.C. Penney seems least likely. After 2012, when same-store sales fell more than 20%, first-quarter results showed revenue another 17% drop to $2.6 billion. J.C. Penney has two ingredients to help it recover.

The first is a five-year $1.75 billion senior secured term loan facility from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), which buys the retailer time. The other is a promise from new (and old) CEO Myron E. (Mike) Ullman III to largely return J.C. Penney to the merchandising and operating strategy it had before disgraced CEO Ron Johnson took over the company and nearly ruined it.

Ullman said:

We are intensely focused on renewing customer excitement and loyalty through a combination of new attractions and long-beloved brands, with a promotional cadence that customers can appreciate and count on.

“Old” is the operative word. Under Ullman, J.C. Penney did not do terribly well, but it did hold its own. In 2010 and 2011, revenue was flat at about $17.5 billion. And the company made money each year. Ullman’s bet is that people who shopped at J.C. Penney once will do so again. He can revive some of the familiarity of the brand and, in doing so, bring back some portion of the old customer base. J.C. Penney’s revenue may not recover entirely to $17.5 billion, but, with judicious cost cuts, it could be profitable.

Dell’s problem is very simple. Consumers do not want to own PCs at all. However, that wisdom is flawed. Global PC sales fell 14% in the first quarter of 2013. However, experts blamed some of that on the weak launch of Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows 8. Despite these problems, Dell’s revenue dropped only 2% to $14.1 billion in the most recent quarter. And it made an extremely modest profit of $130 million. As a bonus, Dell’s non-PC businesses did extremely well. Enterprise Solutions, Services and Software revenue increased 12%.

There is a reason Michael Dell and Carl Icahn continue to battle for the company. Its PC operations have neared a bottom. Its non-PC businesses are thriving.

Investors see a financial future in Dell, even if it is because of the buyout. Its shares are 33% higher this year. J.C. Penney’s shares are off 5% over the same period, which is modest measured against its trouble. Since Ullman took over, the stock is 28% higher.

The market has called a recovery for both companies. From time to time, the market is right.

Foxconn, once one of Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) largest suppliers, says it needs additional time to cut back worker overtime. (Reuters)

Dell Inc.’s (NASDAQ: DELL) profits fall, but that may not stop the fight over its future ownership. (Reuters)

Samsung runs out of some key parts for its smartphones and may have to turn to competitors for more inventory. (Reuters)

J.C. Penney Co. Inc.’s (NYSE: JCP) new CEO says it will take several quarters to salvage the company. (Reuters)

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) will press the FCC to look at the Softbank bid for Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S). (Reuters)

EBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) could create apps for Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Glass product. (Reuters)

Northrup Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) will try to buy back 25% of its shares by 2015. (Reuters)

The Securities and Exchange Commission to charge Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) with a record fine for failing to keep track of trouble in its own markets. (WSJ)

The stock market is not hurt by an earnings season with many poor results. (WSJ)

Shareholders of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) are sent a letter supporting Jamie Dimon’s attempt to remain as both chief executive officer and chairman. (WSJ)

Wages in China rise sharply in the past year. (WSJ)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) says that consumers are “stretched” due to an uneven economy. (WSJ)

A new way to account for leases may increase the amount of debt some companies carry on their balance sheets. (WSJ)

Google says several companies, including CNN, Twitter and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), have made apps for Google Glass. (NYT)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) traders will not longer use the chat feature on Bloomberg terminals as the scandal over journalist access to data grows. (FT)

U.S. farm land prices grow sharply despite weak demand for wheat. (FT)

Monthly car sales in Europe rise for the first time in 19 months, mostly on strength in Germany. (Bloomberg)

On a GAAP basis, the company reported quarterly diluted EPS of $0.07, compared with EPS of $0.36 in the year-ago quarter.

Operating income fell 73% and net income fell 79%. That’s Dell’s story for the first quarter. The company had to cut prices in order to sell products in a highly competitive and shrinking PC marketplace. That pushed revenues higher than expected, but margins fell to below 2% on a GAAP basis.

The company’s CFO said:

[W]e have taken actions to improve our competitive position in key areas of the business, especially in end-user computing, and it has affected profitability. We’ll also continue to make important investments to support our strategy and drive long-term profitability.

Dell did not provide an outlook for the second quarter, citing its definitive merger agreement to take the company private. The consensus analysts’ estimates for the second quarter call for EPS of $0.38 on revenues of $13.94. That EPS estimate is sure to be lowered following today’s report.

As we said in our preview of Dell’s earnings, whatever the company reported would likely have little impact on investors’ reaction. Only a huge upside report would have moved the stock much. The weak earnings report makes the standing offer from Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners look pretty good right now. Perhaps we’ll get more details on the conference call later this afternoon.

Shares are trading flat in after-hours trading today after closing at $13.43 in a 52-week range of $8.69 to $15.31. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $14.20 before today’s report.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.28% today, now at 83.5980. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.1% at 624.91. WTI crude oil closed up 0.9%, at $95.16 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.2% at $103.93 a barrel. Natural gas is down 3.3% today at about $3.94 per million BTUs following a larger-than-expected addition to U.S. inventories<<LINK>>. Gold settled down 0.7% today at $1,386.90.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 42 points to 15,233.22 (-0.28%), the NASDAQ fell more than 6 points (-0.18%) to 3,465.24, and the S&P 500 fell 0.50% or more than 8 points to 1,650.47.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

• Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: ABX) was cut to ‘underperform’ at Macquarie;
• Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘neutral’ with a $20 price target at J.P. Morgan;
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $64 at Stifel Nicolaus;
• Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) raised to ‘overweight’ with a price target of $65 at Morgan Stanley; and
• SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) raised to ‘outperform’ at Cowen Securities.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today:

• Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) is up 2.6% at $91.36 after posting a new 52-week high of $92.93 earlier today;
• Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) is down 4.1% at $36.78;
• Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX) is down 3.6% at $20.64;
• E Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is up 5.3% at $5.20;
• Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is up 4.6% at $51.97;
• ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is down 14.5% at $1.89; and
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is down 2.1% at $78.21.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), and Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is up 13.1% at $23.98, after posting a new 52-week high of $24.24 earlier today. The networking equipment giant posted strong earnings last night.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is up 20.1% at $2.03. The Greek bank’s shares have risen by a third since the country’s sovereign debt rating was upgraded earlier this week.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is down 13.4% at $3.80. The chipmaker’s shares took a beating today after Goldman said that the stock was overpriced.

Stay tuned for Friday. Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota is giving a speech. We have (also) noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index
• 10:00 a.m. – Leading indicators

Thomson Reuters has a consensus estimate for earnings per share (EPS) of $0.35 on sales of $13.52 billion. Both numbers are well below results from the same period a year ago.

The date change for the company’s results is generating more interest than the actual numbers. Few observers expect Dell to meet the EPS target due to price cuts the company made to overcome the slow sales in the PC business during the first quarter.

The other issue, of course, is the buyout offer from founder and CEO Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners worth $13.65 a share ($24.4 billion) that has been challenged by activist investor Carl Icahn and Dell shareholder Southeastern Asset Management. The move to an earlier date may mean that Dell’s board has decided to accept one or the other proposal. If it does announce a decision, that will have far more impact on the stock’s price movement than the reported numbers.

If the board punts on the decision, the shares may not react much at all to the report unless the numbers are so bad that investors fear that the Icahn/Southeastern buyout offer will be withdrawn. Dell and Silver Lake would benefit from some crappy numbers — it makes their offer look less undervalued than Icahn/Southeastern claim.

Should the numbers be awful, Dell and Silver Lake, who believed the company was worth $13.65 a share yesterday, can assure shareholders that the company will be worth $13.65 a share tomorrow, just like they said all along.

Dell’s shares are trading at $13.42 in the mid-afternoon today, down 0.2% in a 52-week range of $8.69 to $15.31.

Despite the Carl Icahn efforts to force a higher price, Dell’s buyout now looks capped at $13.65 rather than floored at $13.65. You have to assume that the earnings results are going to be very weak on Thursday. Still, Michael Dell will face a serious fight on his hands if he were to lower his $13.65 share price buyout offer. His board has been in support of his offer from the start, but pulling out would almost certainly force his board of directors to stage a coup.   That being said, investors just do not expect that a higher buyout is coming here.

Carl Icahn looks like he wet the bed here thinking he could just muscle his way into Dell to force a higher buyout or to force a recapitalization that would leave a large portion of the company public. Remember when we warned you about the activist investor bubble? Now it looks like holders of the Icahn Enterprises, L.P. (NASDAQ: IEP) units under Carl Icahn could lose some of those big profits if Icahn remains unable to shake Michael Dell into working a better deal.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is still tentatively involved in a preferred share of sorts, but The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) backed away when it witnessed the decline of the trends in the PC business.

Dell shares are trading at $13.47, some 1.33% under the $13.65 per share buyout price. That leaves very little room for the so-called merger arbitrage investors who take the risk that a deal cannot close.

Dell shares are up 33% in 2013. Rival shares in Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) are up by 48% so far in 2013. H-P is in a turnaround and is too large to be acquired, yet Dell’s turnaround and buyout only have the stock up by about two-thirds as much as that of H-P.

The IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (NYSE: MNA) is betting on the Dell buyout and has about 7% of its assets in the fund. Its investors are hoping that all remains well with the Dell buyout after earnings. With a discount of only 1.3% or so, Wall Street’s vote is that Michael Dell is going to close the deal originally proposed and not for a single cent higher.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) starts to deliver the 787 Dreamliner again. (Reuters)

Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) efforts to get companies to use its cloud computing service begins to use outside consultants to make the case to corporations. (Reuters)

HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) plans to cut another $2 billion to $3 billion in costs by 2016. (Reuters)

Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) and Sharp must contend with shareholder and bond holder concerns about their futures. (WSJ)

The U.S. deficit falls below Congressional Budget Office estimates because of tax receipts, lower federal costs and dividends from firms such as Fannie Mae. (WSJ)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will start to improve safety at its Bangladesh suppliers. (WSJ)

Votes from shareholders show that Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is likely to hold both the chairman and CEO jobs. (WSJ)

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) will start a streaming music business. (WSJ)

Blackberry (NASDAQ: BBRY) targets emerging markets with its new phones. (WSJ)

T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) raises the price of the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 5. (WSJ)

Governor Jerry Brown claims California will have a $1.1 billion surplus this year. (WSJ)

Data from China prompt some economists to cut growth forecasts. (WSJ)

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) CEO Marillyn Hewson presses critics of the F-35, saying many of the development troubles have improved. (WSJ)

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is expected to report lower-than-estimated profits. (WSJ)

The European Union is looking into charges that oil firms set published prices of crude. (WSJ)

Revenue growth at Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) drops sharply recently. (WSJ)

The Justice Department claims Apple was a central player in e-book price fixing. (NYT)

China’s corporate debt market could match that of the United States in size. (FT)

Large Japanese carriers ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines are in talks with Airbus about the A350. (Bloomberg)

HSBC may cut 14,000 jobs. (Bloomberg)

The AP says the U.S. Department of Justice took some of the data held by its reporters during seizures that occurred last year. (Reuters)

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) gets a shareholder suit over LIBOR manipulation dismissed in the United States. (Reuters)

Carl Icahn and Southeastern name their director nominees for Dell Inc.’s (NASDAQ: DELL) board. (Reuters)

Sharp posts a record annual loss, again. (WSJ)

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and Twitter add to their marketing relationship. (WSJ)

Top financial officials of the European Union differ on whether they can create a regionwide banking alliance. (WSJ)

New Web browsers allow consumers to link access across many devices. (WSJ)

Activist investor Daniel S. Loeb wants Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) to spin off its entertainment division. (NYT)

More Bloomberg clients ask about reporter access to their trading data. (NYT)

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigates some energy and metal swaps. (FT)

An $11 billion bond offering by Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR) sets a record for such transactions. (FT)

China and Japan move to take roles in the Arctic now that the polar ice cap has melted. (Bloomberg)