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

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q4 profit rose on higher prices, and its forecast matched expectations.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Q4 earnings grew on cost cutting but revenue remained flat.
• Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE: BDK) shares tanked after the dismal Q4 report, and it announced job cuts.
• Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE: CRS) Q2 numbers resulted in a downgrade from one analyst.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) reported a Q4 loss due to writedowns from recent acquisitions.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) swung to a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss and its revenue fell as well.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) swung to a Q4 loss on acquisition costs but reaffirmed its guidance.

Toro (NYSE: TTC), maker of lawn and snow-throwing equipment and competitor of Deere (NYSE: DE) and Black and Decker (NYSE: BDK), seems to be hitting a rough patch because of the weakened economy. The top line decreased to about $639 million in net sales for the second quarter. Earnings per share skidded almost 10% to $1.60. That was good enough to beat expectations by a penny, as Briefing.com pointed out, but make no mistake about it this was not an impressive quarter.

The company also sported negative operational cash flow. Although Toro used less cash, it still needed $111 million to keep corporate activities going. A look at the most recent 10-K shows that Toro has been generating positive annual cash flows over the last few years, so I wouldn't necessarily worry about this cash-flow statement for now, as it most likely will improve as the year goes on. As a matter of fact, management said in the earnings release that it was confident about the cash flow and intended to repurchase more shares.

But Toro doesn't expect much in the way of growth for the coming year. Guidance calls for flat top-line growth in fiscal 2008 and for net earnings per share to either be flat or to fall 5%. Not an inspirational forecast, let me tell you. With the stock pretty near a 52-week low and with the dividend yield not as high as I'd like, I don't see a reason why an investor should be fooling with Toro right now.

Yes, I do see that management seems confident in the future, and who knows, you could be getting a value here since this is a powerful brand, but I think the shares might be pressured in the coming months if energy costs continue to rise and inflation remains a concern (interestingly enough, Toro shares did rebound in the after-hours session on Thursday after being sold throughout the day in regular trading). No, this isn't the end of Toro, but for me, I'm not inclined to put money to work here until I see at least some strength in the stock.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says these are the stocks that you should watch.

Some stocks have just been totally given up on, as if nothing good can ever happen to them. Check out Masco (NYSE: MAS) (Cramer's Take) , for example. Masco's a great company, always has been -- a dominant supplier to the housing industry, both remodel and original. This company, which MAKES money, is selling at almost a 5% yield and no one cares.

Or how about Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO) (Cramer's Take)? It has a terrific housing component -- dominant player -- and one of the best spirits businesses. We found out from Diageo (NYSE: DEO) recently that they have a great business in spirits, and the company may be on the verge of getting Absolut, a fantastic brand. The stock trades at an amazingly low multiple. Or consider Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) (Cramer's Take) , one the great innovators with a classically pro-shareholder bias.

These companies are making good money in the worst environment imaginable. They have decent balance sheets. When this period ends, they will be dominant players, taking share from everyone.

The earnings crunch is in full swing, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) reported a slip in profits and warned of slow growth in 2008.
• Alberto-Culver (NYSE: ACV) returned to profitability after a spin-off and restructuring.
• Avnet Inc. (NYSE: AVT) beat expectations and offered a revised forecast.
• Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE: BDK) beat expectations but lowered its outlook due to the housing slump.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) fell short of earnings estimates, sending shares lower.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) responded to disappointing results by announcing price increases.
• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) fourth-quarter profit fell on higher costs for raw materials.
• Lenovo Group Ltd. (OTC: LNVGY) nearly tripled quarterly earnings on strong demand for PCs in Asia.
• MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) beat expectations, even after excluding a one-time investment gain.
• McCormick & Co. (NYSE: MKC) posted solid results on strength in international markets.
• McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) beat expectations, but reported flat same-store sales in December.
• Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) reported strong second-quarter results on strength in emerging markets.
• SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) reported a profit but missed revenue expectations.
• Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW) missed estimates and lowered expectations for the next quarter.
• 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) beat expectations despite a decline in profits.
• Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) profits fell and it announced a plan to raise prices.
• Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) met earnings estimates but fell short of revenue expectations.

For additional BloggingStocks earnings highlights, see Yahoo!, Google, Amazon, Countrywide, Merck, UBS and others and Exxon, Boeing, Halliburton, Sony, UPS, Honda and others.

Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE: BDK) posted this morning a fourth-quarter profit, excluding items, of $67.4 million, or $1.06 a share, ahead of analyst estimates of $1.03 per share. BDK shares are trading lower today, however, as the company also projected lower earnings for 2008, saying it doesn't expect a housing recovery in 2008. BDK now expects earnings of $1.10 to $1.20 per share for the first quarter, while analysts were expecting $1.40 per share. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on BDK.

After hitting a one-year high of $97.01 in July, the stock hit a one-year low of $63.35 earlier this month. This morning, BDK opened at $65.65. So far today the stock has hit a low of $65.65 and a high of $68.54. As of 10:15, BDK is trading at $67.80, down $2.18 (-3.1%). The chart for BDK looks bearish but improving slightly, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the poor outlook for this economy has stemmed the flood of takeovers from abroad we'd normally see in this kind of market.

Where are the Europeans? Where are the Asians? Where are the Middle Easterners? Are they all cowed into not buying our companies despite the decline in the dollar?

Consider that there have been only two deals above $10 billion this year: AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) (Cramer's Take), which bought Medimmune for $15 billion, and Saudi Basic Industries, which purchased GE Plastics for $12 billion. No one has taken advantage of the astounding decline in the U.S. dollar to buy up enterprises.

Take two that seem absurdly low: Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) (Cramer's Take) and Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) (Cramer's Take). Both companies have bought in an immense amount of stock. Both companies now trade at $5 billion in value. Give them a 25% haircut and you can see how much these name-brand companies are marked down.

But nobody cares.

If you had purchased Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) when housing was booming and comp sales were accelerating, you would have lost money.

However, with the decline in same-store sales hitting its nadir, it might be a good time to chip away at the home-improvement retailer. For the March quarter, management expressed confidence that the worst was behind it, although providing little color on why. But surprisingly strong results from Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) might portend better days are ahead for the retailing giant.

Home Depot has a number of other things going for it: has new management, will be less acquisition oriented and is exploring options for its HD Supply business, which could bring in $10 billion.

The old adage that investors should "buy low and sell high" certainly holds true here. After selling for 30x to 40x earnings for most of its existence, you can now buy this retailer for around 10x earnings. In my eyes, that is too cheap a valuation to pass up.

If you extrapolated the awful results from homebuilders and construction suppliers and applied it to The Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK), you were wrong -- BIG TIME.

Black & Decker's stock was up over $5 in after-hours trading on blow-out earnings results last night. How did this happen?

Nolan D. Archibald, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The Power Tools and Accessories segment benefited from strong international performance and favorable order patterns in the U.S. As a result, we expect to report first-quarter sales and earnings significantly above the guidance we issued in January."

Black & Decker cut its earnings forecast a number of times last year as slowing construction dampened demand for its products. In January, Black & Decker said it expected sales and earnings to decline in the first half of 2007. However, its orders have stabilized and large customers began a modest restocking of its products. Very Interesting!

Black & Decker's result might portent good things for the two big box retailers -- Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies Inc (NYSE: LOW). In the most recent conference call for the do-it-yourself companies, despite reporting horrific results, management suggested the worst of the downturn would end in the first half of 2007. Black & Decker's results might support their claim.

"However, we continue to anticipate a challenging economic environment. Therefore, we only expect to increase our full-year EPS guidance slightly when we report first-quarter results later this month," Archibald added. Sounds like a cover your bases type of statement.

Home Depot and Lowe's have become very cheap stocks. Black & Decker stock had a big run last night. Maybe the big-box retailers are set to do the same.

There is no housing bubble. That is a stupid term promoted by journalists and analysts fighting the last war like an old general. The stock market "bubble" burst sending the NASDAQ plummeting from 5000 to 1200. Anybody foresee housing for sale at an 80% discount let me know and I might be able to help you with that problem. It's not going to happen!

If and when certain markets collapse 20% to 30%, it should not be deemed a bubble. It will happen in some markets and has happened in over-built condo markets. But these units will be absorbed in the next few years. The greatest pain will be felt by the biggest speculators and the most overzealous people participating in unorthodox loan programs.

How many stocks move up and down that much in a year? Plenty! Think Google, or Merck, or Black and Decker. Even I, who have been trying to add some sanity to GOOG's valuation through numerous posts, never said GOOG was a bubble stock.

There is a need for more housing, period! As a current investor in four different housing projects -- three in Southern California and one in Phoenix --I can testify that all will sell at considerable profits. We have seen no let-up in demand. Each one is different: One is an infill project of 150 single family homes. Another is a new development of 200 homes in a growing community, a third is a mixed use project of 60 condominiums over retail stores and the fourth is a unique town home project surrounding a parking structure that is commercial adjacent.

The only problem we see is getting entitlements and building permits. This process has become excruciatingly painful in many parts of the country and just about everywhere in California. My home town of Santa Monica being one of the worst offenders, used to be referred to as "The People's Republic of Santa Monica." That was too long a nickname so some just started calling it "Soviet Monica." I love this community but there are times I think we are all over-indulgent meddlers.

The subject of "naked puts" has been mentioned in several of my posts (most recently Keep your eye on Black & Decker and Black & Decker follow-up -- a few more thoughts), and I have received some inquiries about this trading option. Again I emphasize that this is a very risky proposition. I have only made these trades five times in my decades of investing all in the last few years after gaining a lot of knowledge and experience, with mixed results. Here's a definition from the Investopedia:

• Meaning: A put option whose writer does not have a short position in the stock on which he or she has written the put. Sometimes referred to as an "uncovered put."
• Caution: Naked puts are very risky since the writer can lose big if the underlying asset moves opposite to the desired direction. But, profits are huge if the underlying asset moves in the right direction.
• Still more discussion: TheStreet.com: Naked Puts Are a Dangerous Game

Why?: I have only one open option 'naked put' at this time and chose a very conservative position. About eight weeks ago I was looking at the Southern Company (SO) which I own in my Roth IRA for inclusion in our investment company portfolio. It was trading around $32. I was interested in getting a bargain and would have liked to buy it at $30. It has not traded at this price for quite some time and may not.

Since posting Keep your eye on Black & Decker last week I have had some discussion among other investors and business associates on-line and off about Black & Decker (BDK). There seems to be a general consensus that it is a solid company with strong fundamentals that has cyclical tendencies. This will be weighing on future earnings and no doubt is reflected in the decline of the stock price and the recent earnings report.

I do not own the stock but have been watching it for several months. It came to my attention through reading various business publications and I thought there was some merit to the positive commentary so I put it on my watch-list $25 dollars ago.

On rare occasion I trade options, (puts or calls), and usually have at least one option outstanding. In my original post I had concluded that BDK may be very close to fair value from all the data I had examined. I was thinking out loud that I may want it $10 cheaper seeking a deep value perhaps around $60 per share so I reviewed CBOE cboe.com/delayedquote/QuoteTable.aspx to get a look at options opportunities.

Since I might be willing to buy shares at $60, could I get paid to do so by selling naked puts (TRADING NAKED PUTS CAN BE VERY HIGH RISK!!) at that strike price. Well two things I learned. First, even with the large 25% decline in stock price of the past few months there was not much money in these options. The second is that there is very little "open interest" at all in doing this trade. There was opportunity at $65, $70 and up, but almost none at $55 & $60. To me this indicates that consensus has developed in the options picture supporting my thesis that we may be at fair value for BDK in the $65 to $70 range in the current market... and that I should keep tracking it for that possible deep value.

BTW, Black & Decker is not a must own stock, nothing is. So I can wait forever, buy something of better value, or do nothing. Patience absolutely pays off.

"You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing." -Warren Buffett

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for Design and Research of an Architecture & Planning firm.