Since early September, shares of the major private equity firms Blackstone Group (BX) and KKR & Co. (KKR) have seen strong gains. Of course, part of the reason has been the bull move. But at the same time, the prospects for private equity are looking brighter. In fact, the upcoming year is shaping up to be strong for public offerings.

According to a report from Bloomberg.com, it looks like private-equity backed deals will account for roughly half the volume. And they will generally be massive transactions. Some that are on deck include HCA Holdings, Nielsen Holdings and Kinder Morgan.

Since the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, the U.S. IPO market has been fairly lackluster. True, there were some notable deals, such as for Google (GOOG). But they were not enough to spark a bull run.

But in 2010, things started to change. Finally, it looks like IPO investors have a new trend emerging -- that is, for Chinese offerings. According to the Wall Street Journal (a paid publication), there were 38 such offerings. The total amount raised came to a tidy $4 billion.

Some positive signs are blowin' in the wind. Maybe they're enough to underpin a real recovery. Maybe not. But they are definitely positive, and together, may be the foundation of a stock rally with some strength. Here are some of them.

Dividends: General Electric (GE), Weyerhaeuser (WY) and many other companies are raising theirs. GE's quarterly dividend went from 10 cents a share early this year to 12 cents to 14 cents. If you own it by December 27, you'll get it on January 25. GE is almost a surrogate for the economy as a whole since it has so many divisions, offering many products and services. When GE raises its dividend it means the board and management see better times ahead. Companies hate to raise or initiate dividends only to rescind them a few months or even a year later. They know some investors buy the stock for income, and if that shrinks, those investors sell, push the price down and move to another stock. Watch for more companies to raise their payouts (especially banks). It's a sure sign they see better earnings ahead.

It's the last week for the IPO market but investors don't want it to end -- at least for Chinese deals. The latest: iSoftStone Holding (ISS). This information technology services company priced its offering at $13, which was at the top of its $11 too $13 range. In Tuesday morning trading, the shares were up 30%.

iSoftStone provides its high-end consulting services to four main industry verticals, which include technology, communications, financial services and energy. No doubt, these are growing categories in China. In all, there are 71 clients.

If you missed General Motors' (GM) initial public offering, don't fret. Feelings of being "on the outside" regarding GM's big, second debutante ball, of sorts, are both normal and rational.

They're especially justified when you consider that it was you -- the U.S. taxpayer -- who helped GM continue to exist. Without the U.S. government's prudent intervention, GM probably would not be open for business today

Even so, let the IPO process play itself outside. Institutional investors came in, got their typical, large initial pieces of the IPO pie from the bookrunner, and will likely flip their shares fairly early for a $1 or $3 premium -- if they haven't already -- and make a quick killing.

General Motors is about to go public again. Speculation is that the stock will be priced between $26 and $29 a share, depending on demand and how much stock is sold. Is this a good investment for the average investor?

I don't know. I haven't seen the prospectus so I can only tell you what I've read so far. Much of what you would be buying is the future, and well, that's in the future where many things can happen.

A major business decision recently announced by General Electric Company (GE) involves the purchase of 25,000 electric vehicles from General Motors and others.

Bloomberg/BusinessWeek reports that this is the largest order of ever of its kind. The new electric vehicles shall serve as part of GE's commercial fleet, and some of the units shall be made available for lease by consumers. According to the BusinessWeek report, 11,000 of the new units are being ordered directly from General Motors.

Very early Thursday morning, General Motors filed paperwork that pinned down a price range for its initial public offering (IPO). Three of the four owners of GM (the U.S., Canadian and Ontario governments, and a union health care trust) are set to sell 365 million shares of the automaker.

This number of shares is roughly a quarter of GM's outstanding stock. The triumvirate expects to sell the shares at a per-share price between $26 and $29. Should the shares sell in this range, the IPO would pull in roughly $10 billion for the trio. Again, if the shares do sell in this range -- then the U.S. government would reduce its stake in GM from 61% to slightly more than 40%. This scenario would net the U.S. Treasury nearly $7 billion.

The long awaited General Motors initial public offering is coming. According to the Financial Times, GM shares will be priced on Nov. 17 and begin trading the next day.

GM common shares are expected to be priced at between $26 and $29 per share. GM plans to raise between $9.5 billion and $10.6 billion. If demand is strong enough GM will issue more shares.

Toys R Us announced Thursday morning that it will open 600 temporary "express" stores in malls and shopping centers around the country this holiday season, the Associated Press reported. Toys R Us is looking to capitalize on a dearth of toys stores in malls, a predicament caused when KB Toys went out of business in 2008.

"We've been very aggressive during the economic downturn, and this is another aggressive action," said CEO Jerry Storch. "During the holiday season, mall traffic ramps up, and this will allow customers to purchase fill-in toys."

In a Labor Day message to General Motors employees, his first companywide statement since becoming CEO, Dan Akerson pledged to cooperate with the United Auto Workers (UAW). "Coming from a union family, I know on a very personal level the good things that unions can do," said Akerson, GM's fourth chief executive since 2009.

The UAW will negotiate a new contract with GM next year, and it may attempt to restore losses it agreed to ahead of GM's bankruptcy. This is expected to be a challenge for Akerson, who has a reputation for telling subordinates to "stop complaining and start working."

Good News! General Motors reported a quarterly profit of $1.3 billion, up from $865 million in Q1. GM's profit report is the best since 2004. Revenue came in at $33.2 billion, up from $31.5 billion in Q1. Since GM is still a private company, It did not release forecasts for the next quarter.

The good news continues. GM reported a 47% surge in global production. North American factories are operating at 93% of capacity.

Oxford Resource Partners LP (OXF), which is a steam coal producer, launched its IPO today. The company issued 8.8 million shares at $18.50 apiece. However, the expected price range was $18-$20, which had to be reduced from $19-$21. And, as a sign of lackluster investor enthusiasm, the shares of Oxford are currently trading at $18.

The company is the largest producer of surface mined coal in Ohio. For the most part, the main customers are large utilities, which agree to long-term supply contracts.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company (KKR) is preparing for an initial public offering next week, and if you are smart, you will steer clear.

After a three-year struggle to make this IPO a reality, company founders Henry R. Kravis and George R. Roberts -- who each own 13% of the company -- are excited to see their shares actually start trading on July 15 on the NYSE. After all, they each stand to make nearly $800 million on the venture.

Individual investors, on the other hand, should avoid this IPO. Here's why.

Another Chinese bank is about to make a huge splash in the stock market, and investors in the United States should be paying attention.

The Agricultural Bank of China -- a behemoth institution with 320 million retail customers, 2.7 million corporate clients, nearly 24,000 branches and $1 trillion in deposits -- is going public, and it looks like it may be the largest IPO ever.

Currently, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China holds the title of the largest IPO, which raised $21.9 billion in October 2006. But if all goes according to plan, AgBank looks like it is going to raise more than $22 billion.