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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) shares rose even though it reported a wider loss for the quarter.
• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) posted better-than-expected Q1 results but warned of challenges.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) reported a net loss and slumping revenues for the first quarter.
• Center Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CLFC) was downgraded following its Q1 earnings report.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) posted lower Q3 earnings that still topped analysts estimates.

Fed Chairman Bernanke gave an outline of regulation for banks and financial institutions today, and the weekly jobless claims gave some hope that tomorrow's unemployment might come in under expectations. There is a "sell the news" mentality that is going around ahead of the stress test and there was some tech profit taking after John Chambers was less optimistic. It looks like at least some profit taking is actually possible to see again.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 8,376.64 -135.64 (-1.59%)
S&P 500 907.28 -12.25 (-1.33%)
Nasdaq 1,716.24 -42.86 (-2.44%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

U.S. stocks were set for a lower open Thursday morning as futures declined ahead of the release of January retail sales and weekly employment statistics. Read more: Before the bell: Stocks set for lower open ahead of retail sales numbers

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) will get a much needed $19.5 billion investment from Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers. This would help debt-laden RTP pay some of its debts. As part of the deal, Chinalco agreed to invest $12.3 billion in joint ventures in aluminum, copper and iron ore mining.

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) also sold its stake in Rio Tinto to Chinalco for $1 billion, well above its $300 million current value. Mind you, RTP shares declined 67% since the acquisition was made.

For the first time in a long time, the future at Vonage (NYSE: VG) is brightening. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Vonage said Thursday that it had entered into a commitment letter with hedge fund Silver Point Finance LLC for as much as $215 million in financing." The company is about to bring in a new CEO to replace founder Jeffrey Citron.

The new money will allow Vonage to pay down a significant part of its debt.

A better balance sheet does not necessarily make for a better operating business, but it does buy the company time to prove that there is room in the market for an independent VoIP company. Fortunately for Vonage, there probably is.

While cable companies now dominate the voice-over-IP market because they can deliver the product as part of their broadband and TV offering, not all customers want their eggs in one basket. Cable companies often score low on customer satisfaction surveys. Vonage can use this to its advantage.

By positioning itself as the better service alternative, Vonage has a reasonable chance to build a decent business. Over time, that should get the stock up from $1.59.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Vonage (NYSE: VG) is up 4% on a narrowed loss in the most recent quarter.

Applied Material (NASDAQ: AMAT) is up over 5% on an upgrade from Citigroup.

E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) is up over 2% on news of good January results.

Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) is off 24% on bad earnings.

First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) is up 20% on strong earnings.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

The CEO Shuffle 2007
It's not a question of what's tougher--to climb to the top or to stay there. Without a doubt, it's job security that should be concerning the modern CEO. We've learned this much in 2007. Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Motorola, Yahoo, Home Depot, UBS, Time Warner, HBO, Vonage, NY Yankees are just a few top organizations to say goodbye to the top guy this year.
Bye-Bye, Boss - Forbes.com


A Holiday Bonus With a Catch
Since their holiday party, State Bank & Trust employees have been buzzing - not about which colleagues consumed too much eggnog, but about which worthy individuals or causes will receive the money each worker was given with instructions to "pay it forward." The bank gave each full-time employee $1,000 and part-timers $500 each to donate to someone else.
A holiday bonus with a catch: You can't keep it - USATODAY.com


Home Spiff-Ups for All Seasons
To prevent budget-busting repairs, you've got to invest a little time. But how do you keep track? Just use our home maintenance checklist.
Spiff-ups for all seasons - Money Magazine

Vonage (NYSE: VG) must has 100 people in its general counsel's office. The company only has 1,600 people.

The comment may be fanciful, but the Vonage patent problems are not. Nortel (NYSE: NT) has now become one of a long list of companies to sue the VoIP company, which went public at $17. Vonage shares now trade for $2.

The Wall Street Journal writes (subscription required) that "the patents relate to technology that forms the basis of Internet-based voice service, as well as features such as 911 and 411 calling and click to call, according to Nortel spokesman Mohammed Nakhooda."

Investors in Vonage had hoped that the company's intellectual property problems were behind it. The company has already lost legal actions to several large U.S. telecom companies, including Verizon (NYSE: VZ).

And, Nortel needs to be careful. The Canadian company may be better off with a quick settlement than with a lengthy lawsuit. Vonage is already crippled by lost legal battles and negative cash-flow. On its last balance sheet, the company had $350 million in cash and investments and $275 million in long-term.debt. Payables were $332 million.

Nortel could win the suit and end up with nothing to show for it.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

PeopleSupport (NASDAQ: PSPT) provides business process outsourcing services from facilities in the Philippines. Company personnel handle customer service calls, technical support questions, marketing campaigns and collections. The firm also transcribes voice recordings and captions television content. Services are offered via telephone, e-mail and Web chat. Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) and Vonage Holdings (NYSE: VG) are major customers.

The firm surprised the Street earlier in the month, when it reported Q3 EPS of 27 cents and revenues of $36.9 million. Analysts had been expecting 6 cents and $34.7 million. Management also guided Q4 EPS to 28-29 cents (4 cent consensus), Q4 revenues to $35.7-$36.5 million ($34.8M consensus), FY07 EPS to 84-85 cents (42 cent consensus) and FY07 revenues to $140.6-$141.4 million ($137.5M consensus). The stock popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

The Vonage (NYSE: VG) saga continues. Douglas McIntyre reported recently of a "sucker rally" in Vonage stock as Vonage tried to fight off a patent lawsuit brought against the company by Verizon (NYSE: VZ). Friday brought with it a refusal of an appeal made by Vonage and slapped the voice-over-IP telephony firm with a $120 million lawsuit.

Legal costs have hurt Vonage and may increase its risk of bankruptcy. The company said that it may not have enough money to pay $253.5 million in debt due as early as December 2008.

The firm had a first-move advantage and created an innovative service. Unfortunately, the legal issues and commoditization of voice-over-IP technology has severely hampered the prospects for the young company. I would expect the company and its customer-base would not be a standalone business a year or two from now.

Zack Miller is the lead equity analyst for America Israel Investment Associates, LLC., the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund. Author holds no positions in the stocks mentioned above.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) joined a growing list of financial companies in booking losses on subprime mortgage- related assets and said the outlook for credit markets is bleaker than in September. Morgan Stanley said it lost $3.7 billion in the two months through Oct. 31. After dropping over 6% yesterday, MS shares are gaining over 4% in premarket trading.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) shares are gaining around 5% in premarket action. The second-biggest U.S. automaker reported a third-quarter loss that narrowed to $380 million after it managed to lower costs through plant closings and job cuts. Excluding one-time costs, the company lost $24 million, or 1 cent a share, beating analysts expectations of a loss of 47 cents, according to Bloomberg.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) issued preliminary fourth-quarter results this mornings, showing a sharp drop in the number of new homes sold. As buyers canceled orders for more expensive homes, Toll also saw a deep plunge in the average price of the home it was able to sell.

Vonage (NYSE: VG) settled its big patent dispute with Verizon (NYSE: VZ). After hours yesterday, shares in the VoIP pioneer were up over 70% to $2.61.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Vonage agreed to pay Verizon either $80 million or $117.5 million, depending on the outcome of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit." The company has settled a suit with Sprint (NYSE: S) and has another legal fit pending over patent matters with AT&T (NYSE: T).

The rally in the stock misses the point that Vonage is still losing a lot of money and its cash balance drops with each settlement. At the end of the June quarter, the company had $275 million. But, operational deficits and settlements have probably cut that considerably. Vonage had an operating loss of $33 million during that quarter.

The market is also moving away from Vonage. Fiber products from the large telecom companies are encouraging customers to stick with them by offering the "triple play" of TV, voice, and broadband. Cable stock prices have been pulled down sharply by the ability of old line phone companies to offer competing service. So Vonage may no longer have an easy leg up in taking customers from traditional land-line users.

Vonage is facing the classic problem of the small innovator. The market has been able to copy its services and bleed off its cash. The company may not be around in a year.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Main market news here: Microsoft's upbeat earnings should boost techs

Vonage Holdings (NYSE: VG) shares climbed in after-hours trading on news the internet phone company has agreed to settle its lawsuit with Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ). Vonage will pay as much as $120 million to end the patents-infringement case.

In its pursuit of BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS), Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) has rejected as "impossibly high" a $21-per-share counteroffer from BEA's board of directors. Oracle is firmly standing by its original $17 bid, saying the offer will expire Sunday evening.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Macy's (NYSE: M) will be the exclusive department store retailer of Tommy Hilfiger sportswear beginning next fall. Tommy Hilfiger is held by Apax Partners.

Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) continues to pay big bucks to settle patent infringement cases.

The Internet phone company today settled its long-running dispute with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ). In March, a jury awarded Verzion $58 million and issued an injunction that basically would have forced Vonage out of business. That decision was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Vonage will pay Verizon up to $117.5 million, depending on the outcome of pending appeals, the Holmdel, NJ-based company said in a statement. It will also give $2.5 million to charity. This settlement isn't surprising. Patent litigation is really expensive and takes forever to wind its way through the courts which is why companies are eager to settle these cases before trial.

Earlier this month, Vonage settled a patent dispute with Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) for $80 million. It faces a separate legal action from AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). With all of these huge companies wanting a piece of it, it's a wonder that Vonage is still standing.

Absent the patent issues, Vonage's future remains bleak. It competes to offer what is basically a commodity service against much larger rivals. Once these patent cases are settled, my suspicion is that one of them will try to snap up Vonage while the stock continues to trade well-under its $17 IPO price. It closed today at $1.53.

Deaths come in threes and the latest lawsuit against Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG), the VoIP pioneer, may just put it under. It is the third such suit by a major telephone company.

Vonage has now lost or settled patent infringement suits brought by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S). Each loss has brought a one time payment and royalties on future revenue.

An SEC filing by the VoIP company disclosed that an action has been filed buy AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), which accuses Vonage of "violating a single patent that lets users access an Internet phone system using a standard phone device," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Vonage opened at $17 on its IPO in 2006. The stock is lucky to hold $1 now. And, the AT&T suit may be the end of the line. In the June quarter, the company had an operating loss of $33 million on $20 million in revenue. The company's cash was down to under $350 million.

It is Chapter 11 time for Vonage. One of the large cable companies would probably be willing to pay enough for the company to pay off lawsuits and, perhaps, leave a few pennies for the shareholders.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) has escaped the hangman's noose for now, settling a patent dispute with Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) for $80 million that threatened to sink the company. Shares of the Internet phone service provider surged on the announcement.

Hold the applause for a second.

Remember, the Holmdel, NJ company recently was ordered to pay $58 million with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) to settle another paent dispute. Though the company say it can "work around" the disputed patents, it has other serious problems.

The company is locked in a competitive struggle against much bigger competitors such as Verizon and Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) that over time it will lose even as more telephone service migrates to the Internet. Yes, I know Vonage has a cadre of customers who are just crazy about it and even liked those annoying commercials that thankfully have disappeared but I don't see how the company will survive over the long term.