Call it Christmas come early: Last week we learned that stocks posted an average gain of about 9% for March retail sales. We also learned consumer spending in the U.S. rose in March by the most in five months, and many economists are predicting continued spending acceleration as the economy adds more jobs and gets back into the groove.

Already we've seen some red hot runs in the retail sector in anticipation of the consumer's return. Several consumer-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been tearing things up on Wall Street lately -- lapping the broader market at least four times over!

There are lots of great individual retail stocks out there -- and no shortage of reasons to buy Walmart (WMT). But the fact is that blue chip retailers can often lag the broader sector, and small-cap retailers can sometimes be too volatile for many investors.

Last week's retail sales numbers were encouraging. And some shopping mall favorites take their turns in the earnings spotlight this week: JCPenney (JCP), Nordstrom (JWN), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Kohl's Corp. (KSS) and Macy's (M). Overall, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to see earnings growth from these retailers for the first quarter.

Texas-based department store operator JCPenney declared a quarterly dividend and tendered a debt offering in its first quarter. Earnings for that period are expected to have more than doubled from a year ago to $0.24 per share. Revenue for the three months that ended in April, however, is expected to have inched up 1.4% in the past year to $3.9 billion. And analysts expect to see year-over-year earnings and revenue growth in the second quarter. JCPenney's per-share earnings have come in within pennies of consensus estimates in the past five quarters, beating by two cents in the fourth quarter.

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.

Let's see now. Consumers are more pessimistic this month than last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average loses 100 points on the news. Unemployment is better in one month, worse in another. The DJIA goes up on the good news, down on the bad. Home Depot has a good quarter, raises its dividend, and forecasts a better year for 2010. The stock goes up 50 cents on a day when the market is down 100 points. Other stocks are light on revenues. They go down 10% or more.

The market always sends mixed messages. There has never been a time when all the news is good. That's impossible. If all the news is all good, it means the economy is really thriving. Then investors worry about things being too strong, afraid that inflation will come back, so they sell stocks. When things seem totally awful (see 2008 and 2009 as examples), some investors see nothing but upside potential (see Warren Buffett and General Electric (GE) purchases), and they buy stocks. Most of the time, however, the news is good and bad. There is never a straight upward or downward line for the DJIA or for any stock for a long period of time unless the stock goes out of business, then the line is flat.

If you own shares of Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN), I assume you were pretty pleased with the Q4 report. The retailer, whose mall cohorts include The Gap Inc. (GPS) and JCPenney Company, Inc. (JCP), grew the top line by over 10%. Per-share profit increased over 150% to 77 cents. Gross margin expanded, as there was a reduction in the need for markdowns. And, perhaps most awesome of all, same-store sales roared higher by 6.9%.

All of that is great, but here's the thing that is probably inhibiting a big buying response for the stock. According to our earnings preview, Wall Street was expecting a little more on the bottom line. Two pennies more, in fact. Even with all those great stats, management missed projections.

Last week, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the world's largest retailer, led off the coming parade of earnings reports from retailers by posting disappointing fourth quarter results. JCPenney (JCP), on the other hand, easily topped earnings expectations.

Many more shopping mall and strip mall stalwarts are scheduled to report results this week. The expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are high for the likes of Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) and Macy's Inc. (M), RadioShack Corp. (RSH) and America's Car Mart Inc. (CRMT), to Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. (CBOU) and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (CBRL), all expected to report double-digit earnings growth year over year. Here's a look a few of the biggest anticipated earnings winners reporting this week.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says Macy's turnaround is evident in its stores and it will soon be evident in its numbers.

Why in heck is Macy's (M) (Cramer's Take) only a $6 billion company? Here's a department store chain that's getting growth back, that's aspirational as all get out, that has a management that understands that it needs to be regional in product but not in duplicative management, and it gets no respect whatsoever.

Yet we love the strip mall guys like Kohl's (KSS) (Cramer's Take) and Target (TGT) (Cramer's Take) because they are still throwing stores up all over the place and have perceived growth characteristics. We are willing to pay twice Nordstrom's (JWN) (Cramer's Take) growth rate for a company that's not that much better than Macy's, if at all. Twenty-three times Nordstrom's 12% growth vs. 15 times Macy's 10% growth makes no sense to me when I expect Macy's' growth to accelerate because of the My Macy's localizing initiative.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says there is as extreme an aversion to discipline as he can recall.

If you want to know why it is so frustrating to be buying stocks up here think no further than the Goldman Sachs (GS) (Cramer's Take) push into the high-end retail stocks, a push that, even as flexible and chameleon-like that I am, I find flabbergasting.

All year the trade has been to be buying the recovery stocks, the companies that sell the most expensive goods, and abandon the dollar stocks which peaked last year in the midst of the worst recession since the 1930s. It was plain as day.

Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Sprint Nextel (S) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $6 from $4. The firm believes Sprint Nextel's core business is turning and that valuation is attractive. Credit Suisse also added Sprint Nextel to its Focus List.
• Goldman expects Nordstrom (JWN) to benefit from a recovery in the high-end consumer. The firm upgraded shares to buy from neutral and raised its target to $41 from $39.
• Deutsche Bank remains cautious on the Dry Bulk sector long-term but expects increased Q4 day rates. The firm upgraded Genco (GNK) to buy from hold and raised its target to $31 from $24; the firm also upgraded Eagle Bulk (EGLE) to hold from sell.
• Steelcase (SCS) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• United Rentals (URI) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• GLG Partners (GLG) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Ladish (LDSH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.

There's a chill in the air and a slight up-tick in confidence. Holiday discounts are coming a bit earlier, too. For retailers, this has been a great combination, leading to the second consecutive month in which retail sales increased.

This follows more than a year of drops. Consumers aren't going crazy, but they are loosening their wallets a little bit. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy, and the coming holiday season is where the action is -- for the retail sector and, consequently, for everyone else.

We saw the first signs of the "Obama effect" with the hype of her inauguration gown. The designer of that stunning dress was Jason Wu.

I can imagine that many women looking to wear a stunning dress to their own special occasion might head to Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) -- which carries Wu's collection.

In this recession, department stores need all the help they can get, and selling a hot designer is a great leg up on the competition.

We all know the impact that celebrities have on businesses. One of the most obvious instances of this phenomenon comes from the Oprah Winfrey Show. For example, when a title makes it into her book club, millions of loyal followers immediately take action, and sales follow.

These days, Michelle Obama is giving Oprah a run for her money. The First Lady is being closely watched by millions, and she too has a loyal following. She also appears to have a fashion sense that resonates with consumers around the globe. We all saw the number of stories and speculation about her gown during the inauguration.

Things aren't looking so luxurious for the shareholders of Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) and Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) today. Shares of both of these upscale department-store chains are seeing red today following negative words from Wall Street.

As Eric Buscemi noted this morning, JWN was cut to "underperform" from "neutral" at Banc of America/Merrill Lynch. Nordstrom was also sliced to "neutral" from "outperform" at Credit Suisse, citing valuation and concerns about the environment for mall anchors. Credit Suisse did maintain its price target of $22.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Buy from Neutral and raised their target to $22 from $16 citing the renegotiated royalty agreement with Samsung.
• Goldman also upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) to Buy from Sell and raised their target to $27 from $11 citing strong operating leverage as RevPAR recovers.
• KeyBanc upgraded Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) to Hold from Underweight citing a recent improvement in freight demand.
• J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) was upgraded to buy from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.
• Savvis (NASDAQ: SVVS) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was upgraded at Citigroup to Buy from Hold.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) reported dismal Q1 numbers as same-store sales plunged.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) dismal Q2 results were in line with analysts' expectations.
• Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) reported lower earnings and revenue for Q1 and offered no guidance.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) earnings, revenue, and same-store sales all fell in the first quarter.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) Q1 earnings declined but still topped analysts' expectations.