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

• Coinstar Inc. (CSTR) shares surged following stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings driven by DVD rentals.
• Humana Inc. (HUM) shares traded lower despite the report of better-than-expected earnings for Q1.
• IMAX Corp. (IMAX) reported strong Q1 results that easily topped consensus estimates, but shares declined.
• Kellogg Co. (K) topped Q1 earnings expectations and announced a share buyback program.
• Office Depot Inc. (ODP) Q1 earnings fell short of consensus estimates and same-store sales declined.

I'm going to take a quick look at two companies that released earnings on Thursday. First up is Eastman Kodak (EK), but I'll tell you this: EK was anything but up. The stock closed off 16.9% by the end of the session. Volume was exceptionally high. But does this mean Kodak is a buy or a sell?

Back in January, Kodak rallied on its Q4 numbers; at that time, analysts and their projections were destroyed by the strong report. I, however, remained bearish on the company because of its turnaround status, preferring to focus on the risk of the situation instead of the forward-looking potential.

Hershey (HSY) stock rallied after the company released first-quarter earnings Thursday. By the end of the session, the stock had climbed over 7% to close at $48.08. A new high was reached at one point: $48.23. As can be seen, the market is solidly behind the famous confectioner and its quarterly report.

The top line increased just under 14%. The bottom line, on a GAAP basis, came in at 64 cents per share, nearly 100% better than the 33 cents per share earned in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, net income growth was 68% because of some charges added back to that 33-cent profit stat. This was, nevertheless, a great performance: The analysts were only expecting somewhere around 47 cents per share.

Breakfast giant Kellogg (K), first discussed here on April 13, 2009 at a price of $40, will benefit from the new, budget-conscious era of U.S. consumer activity.

Look for Kellogg's FY2010 revenue to increase a decent 4-6%, aided by tolerable commodity cost increases, modest pricing power, and strategic/prudent new product launches.

Analyst Upgrades

• Stephens upgraded Schlumberger (SLB) to overweight from equal weight with an $80 price target, citing valuation and the company's international activity.
• Roth Capital upgraded Synutra International (SYUT) to buy from hold, citing the company's improved outlook, increased market share and valuation. The firm has a $27 target on shares.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Progressive (PGR) to perform from underperform as it believes the company's focus on growth could move shares higher in the near-term.
• Inergy Holdings (NRGP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Vale SA (VALE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.

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:

• Aol Inc. (AOL) reported a better-than-expected Q4 profit and said its revenue also topped estimates.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) higher Q2 earnings topped analysts' estimates but same-store sales fell.
• Clorox Co. (CLX) higher Q2 earnings beat expectations and it lifted its full-year earnings guidance.
• Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) Q4 earnings more than doubled and beat Wall Street expectations, but shares fell.
• Gap Inc. (GPS) shares jumped after it forecast earnings above analysts' expectations, boosted by January sales.

This week brought earnings results from three pantry stocks -- Clorox Co. (CLX), Kellogg Co. (K) and Unilever (UL). While Clorox's strong second-quarter earnings beat the consensus estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, Kellogg's lower fourth-quarter earnings fell short of expectations, and Unilever's earnings fell as well.

Clorox said net income totaled $110 million, or 77 cents per share, up from $86 million, or 61 cents a share, a year earlier. That was a penny per share better than the Street view. Revenue climbed 5% to $1.28 billion. Results benefited from fears over the H1N1 flu, favorable foreign exchange rates and lower commodity costs. Clorox, whose brands include PineSol, Hidden Valley, Glad and Kingsford, also raised its outlook for full-year earnings to a range of $4.10 to $4.25 per share, which is in line with expectations.

Kellogg Co (K) is a U.S. "frugal consumer" era survivor, hence I'm obviously
reiterating my buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on April 13, 2009, at a price of $40. If you bought K in April 2009, you're up about 35%.

Look for Kellogg's FY2010 revenue to increase a decent 4% to 6%, aided by tolerable commodity cost increases, modest pricing power, and strategic/prudent new product launches.

General Mills, Inc. (GIS), a food company that competes in the cereal aisles with Kellogg Company (K), performed well in the second quarter. The top line didn't budge too much, but the bottom line moved up 13% to $1.54 on an adjusted basis. Cash from operations really stood out. For the six-month period, over $980 million was generated from business activities. In the comparable frame, over $360 million was booked.

According to our earnings preview, the market was expecting $1.44 per share in net income. What drove the very positive results? I think you can definitely allocate a fair amount of praise to execution. But you can also credit brand power and a more favorable commodity environment as fiscal drivers.

Leggo my Eggo. No, seriously! There's a shortage on the familiar brand of frozen waffles, spurred by problems at Kellogg (K) bakeries in Atlanta and Rossville, Tennessee. The former plant saw flooding last month and had to halt production, while the Tennessee location needs extensive repairs, which has shut down several lines for the time being.

There will be a shortage of the baked good through 2010, according to reports from the cereal giant. Other Eggo-branded products, such as syrup, pancakes, and other breakfast items, will be impacted as well.

Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) is another one of those sleep-well-at-night consumer non-cyclical stocks, hence it goes without saying that I'm reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended on April 13, 2009 at a price of about $40. If you purchased K at that time, you're up 15%.

Look for Kellogg's FY2010 revenue to increase a decent 4-6%, aided by tolerable commodity cost increases, and modest pricing power.

What a week it was and it is starting off with more of the same! The day before Halloween the market gets spooked. The Dow drops 200 one day, rises 200 the next, and falls 250 to close the week. Yes, financial pundits could point to meaningful stories about the dollars rise, consumer spending sagging, the recession ending and so forth to explain market reactions but there is more to it than that.

Even among the 15 positions discussed in Where should granny put $50,000? only the Vanguard Total Bond Market exchange-traded fund (NYSE: BND) and the Kellogg Co (NYSE: K) were up last Friday. Good thing I advised "granny" to put half her funds in the ETF.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer wonders whether the big selloff was caused by anxious managers locking in profits.

What happens if it is was mostly lock-in action? What if the big themes that everyone so feared weren't so big, and that the selloff -- so ugly, with so much damage -- was just technical and remains that way?

Besides my oft-repeated statement that I don't expect a pullback to exceed 7%, I think this market didn't make a lot of sense last week.

Here were the big themes: dollar getting stronger, causing a decline in minerals and resources; industrials faltering; recession stocks roaring back.

Consumer spending had its largest fall this year, thanks to the end of the "Cash for Clunkers" program. And, incomes were flat. No change to the money coming in and a drop in the cash going out translates to an impediment to economic recovery.

In September, consumer spending fell 0.5%, the first decline in five months and the worst in nine. Wages and salaries dropped 0.2%, effectively offsetting the 0.2% up-tick in August. The economy did grow in the third quarter of 2009, hinting that the worst recession in 70 years may be coming to a close, but the tough September suggests we still have some work in front of us.