U.S. stock market futures were lower once again Monday, indicating stocks may decline at the open, extending last week's losses. Major indices were down some 4%-5% last week despite Friday's strength. This week, investors are still worried about global growth and economic outlook, especially as concerns over European debt woes persisted. Housing data due out later in the morning is also in focus.

Attention once again was turned to European debt after on Saturday the Bank of Spain said it had to step in to bail out a regional savings bank. The euro fell against the dollar on the news after recovering somewhat late last week from the four-year low it set Wednesday.

Campbell Soup (CPB) is expected to report Q3 EPS on May 24. June put option implied volatility is at 26, August at 25, November is at 26, above its 26-week average of 20, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

MSCI Spain Index ETF (EWP) closed at $34.30. The IBEX 35 Index is recently down 2.29%. EWP overall option implied volatility of 49 is above its 26-week average of 31, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is at 35.31; 50-day is at 20.57.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

ConAgra Foods (CAG), a company that produces packaged edibles for supermarkets and whose colleagues include Campbell Soup (CPB) and Kraft (KFT), didn't have the kind of quarter you look at and say, "Way to go, management!" It was a boring, steady kind of reporting period.

For the fiscal third quarter, total sales were kind of flat, down a minuscule 0.9%. Earnings from continuing operations on an adjusted basis rose 10% to 44 cents per diluted share. Compared to estimates, that 44-cent stat came in as expected, nothing more, nothing less.

General Mills (GIS), whose colleagues at the food markets include Kellogg (K), Kraft Foods (KFT), and Campbell Soup (CPB), performed well in the fiscal third quarter. On an adjusted basis, net income increased 23% to 97 cents per diluted share. This beat estimates by four pennies.

General Mills was able to expand the gross margin by keeping an eye on efficiency opportunities and optimizing the overall quality of the inventory mix. Of course, there was a little luck involved, too, as commodity costs weren't as expensive as they previously had been. It's always good when that happens.

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

• American Public Education Inc. (APEI) received an analyst upgrade following the Q4 report and guidance.
• Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) traded higher after it reported swinging to a profit in Q4, but revenue declined year over year.
• Blackstone Group (BX) reported adjusted Q4 earnings, compared to a year-ago loss, and postive renvenue too.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) higher Q2 earnings beat estimates, but shares fell on so-so revenue results.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA) lower Q4 earnings beat expectations but net income for the full year rose.
• Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) topped analysts' Q4 earnings expectations but shares fell after it warned of lower margins.

Analyst Upgrades

• Sterne Agee upgraded American Public Education (APEI) to buy from neutral following the Q4 report and guidance. The firm has a $50 target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Lamar Advertising (LAMR) to hold from underperform citing valuation and the improved ad market. The firm raised its target $30 from $22.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Wilmington Trust (WL) to neutral from sell following the company's $250M stock offering and raised its target price on shares to $13 from $10.
• AeroVironment (AVAV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.
• Scripps Networks (SNI) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• TheKnot (KNOT) was raised to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.

Campbell Soup's (CPB) second-quarter earnings weren't met with enthusiasm. At the time of this writing, shares of the food concern, which operates in the same industry as General Mills (GIS) and Kraft (KFT), were down 1.6% in afternoon trading. Although growth was achieved during the reporting period, it apparently wasn't enough to satisfy investors.

According to the press release, Campbell made 74 cents per share. This number is a penny ahead of estimates. It is also representative of a growth rate of 16%. The top line, however, was exciting not in the least. It increased 1%. Worse, the all-important U.S. soup sales category contracted by 8%.

U.S. stock futures advanced Monday morning, pointing to a higher open for Wall Street as overall positive sentiment about the economy was further fueled by a deal between oil services companies Schlumberger and Smith International, and by Lowe's upbeat results.

Investors are looking to extend last week's rally to its fifth day after last week sentiment was boosted by several economic indicators indicating the U.S.'s recovery is strengthening. There are no major economic data coming out Monday, but M&A activity usually lifts investors' spirits.

Campbell Soup (CPB) will be telling investors how well it did in the fiscal second quarter on Monday, Feb. 22. According to estimates at Earnings.com, the soup expert should serve up somewhere around 73 cents per share on the bottom line. This would be 8 cents higher than the comparable period, for a growth rate of 12%.

Campbell is a brand-name food distributor with a top priority to operate as efficiently as possible while utilizing its valuable trademarks to extract the highest monetary value from the consumer. It's not always easy, as consumers are always searching for the best deals at the supermarket. Investors will be watching for clues in the upcoming report pertaining to management's ability to execute optimal pricing strategies.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q4 earnings topped estimates and same-store sales also declined.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) reaffirmed its earnings outlook but lowered its revenue forecast for the full year.
• Daimler AG (DAI) provided guidance for the year that included slashing its dividend, sending shares lower.
• Dell Inc. (DELL) lower Q4 earnings beat estimates by a penny but it didn't offer guidance, sending shares lower.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) easily topped Q4 earnings estimates and revenue increased as well.

Bright and early this morning, Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) lowered its forecast for fiscal 2010 sales. The company now expects sales to grow 2.5% to 3.5% during the current fiscal year, down from its previous projection for sales growth of 4% to 5%. However, earnings for 2010 are still expected to rise 9% to 11% on an annualized basis from $2.21 per share in fiscal 2009.

Campbell also announced this morning that it's launching "a comprehensive plan to boost the performance of its condensed soup portfolio" in the U.S. More than 60% of the company's condensed line will be spruced up with product improvements, sodium reductions, updated packaging, and a fresh marketing approach.

U.S. stock futures advanced Wednesday, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street as investors' optimism was boosted by earnings and a strong performance Tuesday. Investors also await housing and industrial data to get a better picture on the state of the U.S. economy.

On Tuesday, U.S. markets posted their biggest daily percentage gain in three months. Better-than-expected results from several heavyweights, including some banks in Europe, as well as strength in Europe as the sovereign debt concerns subsided somewhat contributed to the strong performance. Strong manufacturing data only served to improve sentiment even more. On Wednesday, investors are looking to extend Tuesday's gains.

While most investors are fretting the markets recent contraction, you can be quite confident that "my pal Warren" has a smile on his face, as does Peter Lynch, Ken Heebner, Bill Miller, Bruce Berkowitz, and any number of fellow value investors that know now may be a time of opportunity. That is because they have the experience and understanding to pounce when they have a chance to buy things cheap.

This is the fourth installment of my series to discover just that: cheap stocks. If you would like to get on board from the beginning then review the initial post which screened for stocks with lower than market average P/E ratios, see Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks. In the second installment, I looked at yield and PEG ratios: Serious Money: Still Cheap Market -- 35 Stocks + Yields & Growth. Then I moved on to the the P/S and P/CF metrics in Serious Money: Cheapest Stocks Yet -- From 35 to 26, cutting nine stocks.

Is the market overpriced? Maybe it is cheap, or perhaps it is fairly valued. This is the third in a series examining the issue. Still, it has been my contention that it does not make any difference because no matter how the market is valued as a whole, there are plenty of cheap stocks out there to accommodate a large amount of capital allocation even this deep into a bull run.

If you would like to follow along from the beginning, the initial post screened stocks for lower than market average P/E ratios: Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks. In the second installment, I looked at yield and PEG ratios: Serious Money: Still Cheap Market -- 35 Stocks + Yields & Growth.

Let's try and reduce the gambling by examining the facts and ignoring what the bulls and bears are chatting up at the moment. We started the process by screening for lower than market average P/E ratios, see: Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks.

Two more important criteria influence today's review: the yield, a favorite of "my pal Warren"; and the price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) a focus of Peter Lynch, the retired fund manager extraordinaire of Fidelity's Magellan Fund.