Futures Calm After Tuesday's Big Rally

Tuesday was another strong day for stocks, as the Dow and the S&P 500 turned in their biggest gains in a month on Tuesday.

Futures this morning are flat to slightly higher.

Wall Street is still digesting the news from Citigroup (NYSE:C), where Vikram Pandit is out as CEO.  Pandit steered the bank through the 2008 financial crisis and the choppy years that followed.  He abruptly announced his departure Tuesday, along with the bank's COO John Havens. The moves shocked Wall Street; but Citi shares popped along with the broader market, up 1.6%.

Electric battery maker A123 Systems filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday. A123 was awarded $249 million in government grants, of which it has drawn $129 million so far; it was awarded another $125 million in Michigan tax credits.

A123 faced several setbacks, including delayed factory construction and defective batteries, but most of all it faced the reluctance of American drivers to embrace hybrid and electric technology.  Fewer than 50,000 electrics have been sold this year.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving further into the electric car market, launching a luxury electric Cadillac next year.  GM has not announced how much the Cadillac ELR will cost, but will likely compete with rivals by Tesla Motors and Fisker.

Meanwhile, Fisker has announced that its Fisker Atlantic hybrid is delayed until late 2014 or 2015. With a starting price of about $55,000 it would be half the price of the Fisker Karma, which is currently on sale. The Karma is designed in the U.S. but built in Finland and financed with the help of a $529 million loan from the Energy Department.

Meanwhile, the invitations are out.  Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) writes: "We've got a little more to show you" at an event October 23. Analysts are all but certain the event is for the mini iPad. RBC Capital Markets says Apple will sell 8 million mini's on top of 21 million regular-sized iPads by the end of the year.   Three days after Apple's announcement, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will launch its first tablet, the Surface, to coincide with Windows 8.  The price tag of $500 is the same as the regular-sized Apple iPad.

Even Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) is getting in on the tablet craze. According to the Facebook page of Insignia, Best Buy's in-house brand, the Insignia Flex tablet will run on Android, launch November 11, and reportedly sell for less than $260.