The global recession has taken its toll on many companies, as have cheap knockoffs of products. When you can get a comparable product for half the price, why wouldn't you purchase the cheaper product? While such practices may not take a major bite out of the profits of athletic apparel companies like Nike (NKE) or Under Armour (UA), it is having a devastating impact on Russian company OAO Izhmash. Haven't heard of OAO Izhmash, if you haven't, I can almost guarantee that you have heard of its major product: the AK-47.

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

• Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) said its profit fell due to higher expenses and warned the trend may continue.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) topped Q2 earnings expectations, which sent shares higher.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) lower Q2 earnings topped expectations, but revenue was also down.
• DreamWorks Animation Inc. (NYSE: DWA) posted flat Q2 earnings as it waits for the next big DVD release.
• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) posted a better-than-expected profit but guidance sent shares lower.
• Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) Q3 revenue missed estimates and it lowered its outlook.

Solid performance in the earnings spotlight from Under Armour (NYSE: UA), as the company reported a surprising profit of three cents per share. Under Armour's earnings topped the consensus estimate for a loss of two cents per share and matched the company's year-ago results. Quarterly revenue increased to $164.6 million from $156.7 million a year ago.

The results were driven by a 16.5% increase ($112 million) in clothing revenue, which compensated for an 18.4% drop ($37.5 million) in footwear from a year ago. Looking ahead, Under Armour forecast 2009 earnings between 80 and 82 cents per share, better than the consensus estimate for earnings of 79 cents per share. As far as revenue is concerned, the Maryland-based firm expects $810 million compared to $804.9 from the Street.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's near-term liquidity profile is improved following the $400M debt issuance. The firm raised its target price to $12 from $11.
• Jefferies upgraded Rowan Companies (NYSE: RDC) to Buy from Hold as it believes jack-up drillers will continue to outperform deepwater names. The firm raised its target price to $27 from $20.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded First Financial (NASDAQ: FFIN) to Market Perform from Underperform to reflect more positive loan data for the Texas banks. The firm raised its target price on shares to $44 from $38.
• MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.
• Brinker (NYSE: EAT) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

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

• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) Q1 profit fell despite strong sales of Plavix and Abilify.
• Check Point Software Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CHKP) was downgraded based on its guidance.
• Domino's Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) strong Q1 results were boosted by early debt retirement.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) strong Q1 results were driven by Madagascar 2.
• Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP) Q1 results led to an analyst's downgrade.
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) widened its Q1 loss, sending shares sharply lower.

Earlier this week, Under Armour (NYSE: UA) issued what could be a very painful recall for both its customers and the company itself. The company voluntarily recalled more than 200,000 of its athletic cups on fears that they could break if hit -- which could then cause injury to the athlete. Last time I checked (and it has been years since I have had to use a "cup") these things were actually supposed to protect the most sensitive area of male athletes, right? If these things aren't doing their jobs, get them off the shelves. Millions of men will agree with me (I think). These cups were manufactured in China according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and noted that UA received (brace yourselves men) "five reports of cups breaking, including an injury involving cuts and bruising." Yipes!

Athletic apparel maker Under Armour (NASDAQ: UA) has been heroic of late, with strong earnings on its increasingly ubiquitous polyester tough-guy sports apparel, and sneakers that defied the crushing consumer spending slowdown.

But even tough products can crack. Apparently that was the fault the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission found with Under Armour's athletic cups when it issued a recall for over 200,000 protective cups bearing Under Armour's logo. Manufactured in China, the cups could shatter if hit, potentially resulting in serious injuries to cup-wearer.

Under Armour (NYSE: UA - option chain) shares are soaring higher today after the company reported a first-quarter profit of $3.96 million, or 8 cents per share. Analysts were expecting a profit of only 3 cents per share. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on UA.

UA opened this morning at $23.94. So far today the stock has hit a low of $22.79 and a high of $25.34. As of 11:25, UA is trading at $24.00, up 2.30 (10.0%). The chart for UA looks bullish and S&P gives UA a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

It has become customary to receive "swag" when there is a big event. The Emmys, the Oscars, the MTV Awards, they all give away what is called a "swag bag" -- now Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is getting in on the action.

First off, swag is defined as promotional merchandise that is given away to garner a following for a product. I'm not quite sure when this practice came to pass, but it is now an accepted practice to give away your stuff to celebs. I'm not going to get into how wrong it is for Brad and Angelina to get free stuff just for showing up on a red carpet, but this practice has infiltrated the sports world, too.

In the News:
Here Come the Tax Cuts
The new Congress will hit the ground running on tax cuts. House taxwriters have already approved a big package to help jump-start the economy and get extra money into taxpayers' wallets, and the Senate will follow soon, with the goal of getting a bill to President Obama's desk by mid-February. Here are the tax breaks individuals can expect if the bill passes.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/26/news/economy/stimulus_101/index.htm?postversion=2009012617

Perhaps this is a post-season tilt that the Cubbies may actually be able to win. Sorry Chicago, but this blogger is a dyed-in-the-wool Cincinnati Reds fan ... and I love to take cheap shots at the competition whenever I can.

You see, the Cubs are suing Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) for breach of contract (check out SportsOneSource Media for the heads up). The UA logo is emblazoned on the left-center and right-center field doors embedded in the iconic ivy walls of Wrigley Field.

If you made a bet on the specialty retailers leading up to the first $600 taxpayer rebate stimulus package, you got hammered.

Talk about a government plan backfiring big time.

That $300 billion in checks that fell out of the sky from government helicopters back in the March to May timeframe didn't find its way to the malls at all.

Instead, people paid down credit card debt, and tuition, medical and other bills, leaving little for spending on non-essentials.

The result was a litany of store closings nationwide, with several old-line, brand-name retailers going out of business.

It's game over for names like Circuit City (OTC: CCTYQ), Cache (NASDAQ: CACH), Talbots (NYSE: TLB), J. Jill, Wickes Furniture, Levitz, Bombay, Linens 'n Things, Movie Gallery, Wilson Leather, KB Toys and The Sharper Image.

Traders that leveraged into darling names, like hedge fund idol Eddie Lampert's Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), got smoked. Shares of SHLD were trading at $105 when the checks when out. Today the stock is around $40.

Even Costco (NASDAQ: COST) -- the obvious slam dunk, aside from Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) -- got slammed, falling from $75 to $45 following the so-called stimulus package.

If you were depressed about more than 500,000 jobs being destroyed and over a 6.7% unemployment number, it seems that technical trading buyers came in to your rescue today. Home delinquencies rose in every single market but that is expected by now. The late day rally came on strong and bailed out the bulls today. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA 8,635.42 +259.18 (3.09%)
S&P 500 876.07 +30.85 (3.65%)
Nasdaq 1,509.31 +63.75 (4.41%)
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is expected to win control over Merrill Lynch as today is the shareholder vote on the merger. Shares rose over 7% to $15.35 on the news.

Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is recently up $1.49 to $31.72. UA is scheduled to report Q2 EPS on July 29. Wedbush Morgan says "Expect in line Q2 results; checks suggest brand continues to perform despite challenging retail environment."

UA August call option implied volatility is at 75, puts are at 86, above its 26-week average of 54 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement. UA put volatility is higher than call volatility because UA is difficult to borrow.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.