Earnings highlights: Bank of America, Merck, Mattel, Phillip Morris, AFLAC and others

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.
Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) posted a wider-than-expected loss; shares hit new low.
Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) beat Q2 estimates on strength in the managed services businesses.
Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH) beat expectations in the first quarter and raised its guidance.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) posted a larger-than-estimated Q1 loss.
Aptar Group Inc. (NYSE: ATR) posted record Q1 results and raised its Q2 guidance.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Q1 earnings plunged on further housing-related write-downs.
Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) narrowly beat earnings expectations on cost cutting.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) beat analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) reported a wider-than-forecast loss on subprime-related write-downs.
Cree Inc. (NYSE: CREE) earnings slipped while revenues soared 29%.
Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) reported worse-than-expected Q1 earnings on discontinued product charge.
Gannet Inc. (NYSE: GCI) beat low expectations as earnings and revenue continue slump.
Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings on international strength.
JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) missed Q1 expectations on restructuring and litigation costs.
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) beat EPS estimates by a penny, as revenue jumped 10%.

Lufkin Industries (NASDAQ: LUFK) beat analysts' expectations and raised its Q2 guidance.
Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) beat Q1 earnings expectations on strength in Europe.
Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) swung to a loss in Q1 on gross margin pressures.
Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) Q1 profit nearly doubled on a one-time payment from a partner.
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) posted solid results on new products and the weak dollar.
Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE: SGP) Q1 profit plunged but still beat analysts' expectations.
UnitedHealth Inc. (NYSE: UNH) lowered its 2008 outlook after missing Q1 earnings estimates.
Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) posted strong results on exchange rates and strength overseas.

Also, Jim Cramer discusses "crummy lenders" and Joseph Lazzaro considers Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) as a barometer of the economy. One analyst thinks financials may have hit bottom and it may be time to buy, and Jon Ogg looks at what short sellers are making of tech stocks. Ted Allrich discusses what to sell/what to buy.

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Joseph Lazzaro	110	0
2	Tom Johansmeyer	104	1
3	Connie Madon	49	0
4	Steven Mallas	49	0
5	Tom Taulli	44	0
6	Mark Fightmaster	35	0
7	Steven Halpern	32	0
8	Trey Thoelcke	31	0
9	Brian White	24	0
10	Paul Foster	23	0
11	Jon Ogg	21	0
12	Brent Archer	21	0
13	Jim Cramer	20	0
14	Zac Bissonnette	20	0
15	Melly Alazraki	20	0
16	Eric Buscemi	16	0
17	Michael Shulman	13	0
18	Elizabeth Harrow	12	0
19	Michael Fowlkes	10	0
20	Sheldon Liber	10	0

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