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

• Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported strong Q3 results, declared a dividend, and offered guidance for Q4.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Q3 earnings slumped and revenue was hurt by currency translations.
• BP (NYSE: BP) shares leaped higher after it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
• Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) reported that it returned to profitability in Q3 but warned of decreasing revenue.
• General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) Q3 earnings beat expectations and it lifted its earnings outlook.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) posted strong Q3 earnings and expects full-year earnings ahead of forecasts.

Tuesday, Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) reported that it returned to profitability in the third quarter of 2009, and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) posted much lower fiscal second quarter earnings, but which were better than the loss the company had earlier expected.

In line with previously released preliminary results, Daimler posted a net profit of 56 million euros ($83.2 million), or 0.04 euros per share, down from 213 million euros ($316.5 million) in the same quarter of 2008. And it said revenue fell to 19.3 billion euros ($28.7 billion) from 24.5 billion ($36.4 billion) a year ago. The slump in sales was most substantial in its Daimler Trucks and Mercedes-Benz Vans units.

Even with the cash-for-clunkers program in full effect, demand for new automobiles is the lowest it's been in years. This has heightened competition among automakers, who are being forced to both improve their products and discount their prices. Consumers in the market for a new 2010 vehicle may be treated to a discount.

Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM), for example, plans to introduce a less expensive Prius, and the 2010 Nissan (OTC: NSANY) Sentra will see its sticker price drop by anywhere from $130 to $1,080, based on the features the buyer opts for. Other vehicles that will hit the showroom floors at a discount include the Mercedes-Benz E350 mid sized sedan and the Lexus RX 350, discounted by $3,300 and $700, respectively.

There's new boss at Chrysler, and his name is Sergio Marchionne. On the job just a few days, Mr. Marchionne has shown that he plans to run a tight ship at Chrysler. His first move was to appoint powerful divisional heads with profit and loss accountability.

He has initiated a top-to-bottom shake-up, naming 23 executives who will report directly to him. Some of the 23 are from Fiat and others were promoted within Chrysler.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT), Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) and Marriott (NYSE: MAR) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and indications that negative sentiment has reached a bottom.
• Citigroup upgraded Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) to Buy from Hold as they find the valuation attractive and think management can grow earnings and book value in 2009/2010. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered their target price to $37 from $45.
• ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) was upgraded at Natixis to Buy from Hold.

Though our attention has been on the hair-raising problems in the financial sector over the last few weeks, the important (and ultimately deeply related) story about job loss in the American industrial sector needs at least as much attention.

Today, another producer of actual things (rather than just inflationary paper) announced the elimination of thousands of jobs. Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) said that it will terminate Sterling Trucks, which accounts for 15% of Daimler's truck sales in North America. Daimler is the world's largest producer of heavy vehicles.

Sterling is a subsidiary of Freightliner, the largest heavy truck manufacturer in the U.S., which Daimler has owned since 1981. Originally Ford Motor's (NYSE: F) heavy truck division, Ford/Sterling was bought and re-branded as Sterling in 1997.

Daimler stated that Sterling had never met expectations, and that the ongoing recession made it clear that the division needed to be put out of its misery. Plants in Portland, Oregon and St. Thomas, Ontario will be closed, resulting in the loss of 3,500 manufacturing jobs. Daimler stated that it will proceed with the planned opening of new Freightliner plant in Mexico.

While there's no doubt that there is excess capacity in the truck-making industry and that the elimination of manufacturing plants is economically rational, Daimler's move raises once again the larger question of the health of the manufacturing sector in the U.S. As many critics have argued, the ongoing loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs -- a process that has been going on for years -- will make it that much harder for the American economy to recover.

I am the Global Editor at MoneyShow.com and each week I interview an investing expert. This week, I spoke with Christoph Scherbaum, editor of the German edition of Personal Finance, who says German investors are cautious, but optimistic about their market.

Q. Christoph, some experts predict the beginning of a prolonged slowdown that will push consumer price inflation in Germany to as low as 2% next June. What do you think?

A. Consumer prices are not really a problem. August inflation was less than 4% and is estimated at 3% until year-end. The delayed effects of rising commodity prices will have a steeper decline. In addition, second-round effects through higher wage developments are now more visible. Therefore, the European Central Bank-despite poor economic data-will wait for a reassessment of its inflation target for 2010 until the second half of 2009

Q. To what extent do you think the US's financial worries are extending to German financial institutions?

A. It's a difficult question, but we have no big problem with our banks. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck recently stated: "Although this financial crisis undoubtedly is the biggest economic risk for the German economy, I think the potential impact on us-after inquiries and interviews with the Bundesbank president-to be limited". He also reaffirmed the intent of a balanced federal budget in 2011.

Reports that Britney Spears was in a minor accident over the weekend with her Mercedes is another in a long line of mishaps for the pop star. Why this qualifies as news is beyond me, and it's my feeling that Britney should just be left alone. The media have succeeded in driving her into a virtual nervous breakdown, for what? To sell a few more papers, or attract a few more viewers. Should the media be in the business of ruining people?

According to the AP report: "Spears was in stop-and-go traffic when her car struck a 2006 Nissan in front of her that had stopped. The Nissan then pushed forward into another vehicle. No damage was noted to any of the vehicles."

The one winner in this latest Spears' episode may be Daimler AG (NYSE:DAI), maker of the famed Mercedes. As with most automakers the company has been struggling, and sales have been sagging. There is no question that they could use the free PR. After all, Britney drives the car, and it escaped the crash without a dent.

Despite recent troubles, investors looking for a contrarian play may want to take a look at Daimler. Their new strategy of trying to gain market share in Russia and in China to help offset US weakness, seems to be a smart move. With a growing upper middle class in both of these countries, the need to own a Mercedes will be strong, as it will be perceived as a status symbol.

Maybe the media can start focusing on global wealth creation, and leave Britney alone.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 4/14/08.

Chrysler has been the No. 3 automaker in the U.S. for decades. It bought Jeep and American Motors along the way, and for over a decade was part of Daimler (NYSE: DAI). Over the last two years, the company fell on hard times and hedge-fund Cerberus was willing to take a chance on it.

Cerberus has done a couple of things to improve the odds that Chrysler may actually be rebuilt. Hiring former General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) executive Bob Nardelli was an odd choice. But, under him the company has brought in the former head of Toyota's U.S. operations, as well as the former chief of GM in China. Neither executive could have come cheap.

A stronger Chrysler is probably a bigger threat to General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) than it is to any of the overseas auto firms. Chrysler still sells almost all of its cars in the U.S. It has aspirations of building beachheads in Latin American and China, but that could take a number of years.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC), and Nissan are already squeezing sales from the two largest U.S. car companies. If Chrysler is going to regain sales quickly, it will have to do what it did under Lee Iaccoca, which is hurt its cross-town rivals.

Chrysler says it will keep all of its brands but cut back some of its models. The devil is in the details on that set of decisions. But, Ford and GM may have something new to worry about.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Due to potential safety problems, Toyota (NYSE: TM) has decided to delay the launch of new high-mileage hybrids with lithium-ion battery technology by one to two years, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the strategy. The decision destroys any chance of Toyota meeting its goal of selling 600,000 hybrids a year by early next decade, up from almost 200,000 in 2006. The move allows General Motors (NYSE: GM) and others the opportunity to narrow the gap of future vehicle technology.

Toyota has also postponed its plans for the hybrid versions of the Sequoia SUV and the Tundra pickup until 2013-2014. That puts Toyota way behind General Motors and Chrysler's plans to launch hybrid SUVs in 2008.

The "potential safety problem" Toyota says, is the development of lithium cobalt oxide particles in its batteries, which have a tendency to overheat, catch fire or even explode. According to the company, similar problems have been seen in Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) lithium-ion batteries in laptops -- mostly because the chemistry of Sony's batteries was similar to that of batteries they were attempting to use in future hybrids.

The next-generation Prius will instead use the conventional nickel-metal-hydride batteries for its launch in early 2009. The first Toyota hybrid with lithium-ion battery technology will not arrive in the U.S. until 2011.

GM will have an opportunity to launch its first lithium-ion hybrid, the Saturn VUE Green Line model, as soon as late 2009, and before any competitors. Toyota's delays also give Honda Motors (NYSE: HMC) the opportunity to highlight its launch of a subcompact hybrid with improved nickel-metal-hydride batteries in 2009. Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY), BMW and DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DAI) all plan to create clean diesel engines for U.S. cars starting in 2009. The automakers say they now have obtained the technology to meet tough American clean-air standards.

Regardless of which company produces the first lithium-ion hybrid, Toyota's delays push back J.D. Power's estimates on future hybrid sales. Hybrid sales totaled 2.3% of all auto sales this year and were expected to reach 5% by 2010.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: DaimlerChrysler (DCX), Omniture (OMTR), Convergys (CVG), Expedia (EXPE) and Baidu.com (BIDU) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• WestLB upgraded shares of DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) to Buy from Add after the company raised the profit margin forecast for its Mercedes unit.

• Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) was upgraded by Piper Jaffray to Market Perform from Underperform to reflect the company's strong revenue momentum and expanding margins.

• Wedbush upgraded Convergys (NYSE: CVG) to Hold from Sell on valuation.

• Citigroup raised shares of Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) and Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU) to Buy from Hold on valuation...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of Ryder System (NYSE: R) to Outperform from Underperform.

• Lehman raised EnCana Corp (NYSE: ECA) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

• USG Corp (NYSE: USG) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Buckingham.

• Morgan Keegan upgraded shares of Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Citigroup raised Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE: CFR) to Hold from Sell.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Brocade Communications Systems, Inc (BRCD), AT&T Inc (T), DaimlerChrysler (DCX), AMR Corp (AMR) and Continental Airlines, Inc (CAL) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgrade shares of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Overweight from Neutral, citing positive trends in networked storage; shares were also added to the firm's Focus List.

• Matrix believes improving product mix and demand for new products is driving strong fundamental trends in AT&T (NYSE: T). Matrix upgraded T shares to Strong Buy from Buy and sees upside to their intrinsic value of $56.

• Bernstein believes the divestiture of Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) is a positive for the company and upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Soleil upgraded shares of AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR) to Buy from Hold on valuation and Continental Air Lines Inc (NYSE: CAL) to Hold from Sell based on a more constructive industry outlook...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded NTT DoCoMo, Inc (NYSE: DCM) to Overweight from Equal-Weight.

• Bear Stearns upgraded TiVo Inc (NASDAQ: TIVO) and Paychex, Inc (NASDAQ: PAYX) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

• Goldman upgraded Forest Oil Corp (NYSE: FST) and CommVault Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CVLT) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: General Motors Corp (GM), DaimlerChrysler (DCX), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Lehman upgraded shares of General Motors (NYSE: GM) to Equal-Weight from Underweight with a $30 target following the Chrysler sale as the firm believes GM will now take a tougher stance on its labor negotiations.

• UBS upgraded shares of DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) to Buy from Neutral on the Chrysler sale and valuation. The broker believes the core Daimler unit looks inexpensive.

• Mattel Inc (NYSE: MAT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Matrix USA to reflect increasing sales growth.

• ThinkEquity upgraded shares of Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) to Buy from Sell as the firm believes AMD could beat expectations for the next several quarters, likely affecting NVDA's chipset business and driving shares higher.

• ThinkEquity upgraded shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) to Buy from Sell citing strong Dell Inc (DELL) orders. Following Nvidia's comments on its quarterly report and channel checks, the firm now believes AMD is poised to beat expectations for the next several quarters and is truly a going concern...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Citigroup upgraded EnCana Corp (NYSE: ECA) to Hold from Sell.

• BMO Upgraded Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE: LVS) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Banc Of America raised Marathon Oil Corp (NYSE: MRO) to Buy from Neutral with a $125 target.

• Newfield Exploration Co (NYSE: NFX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

• Credit Suisse upgraded Ralcorp Holdings, Inc (NYSE: RAH) to Outperform from Neutral.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Yesterday, car parts company Magna International (NYSE: MGA) said it should be the winning bidder for DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler unit.

Magna's CEO, Frank Stronach, told the Globe and Mail: "It's a big sum we would allocate. [...] We would make a big commitment."

Magna is really not a very big company. It has a market cap of just over $8 billion. Its income last year was just over $22 billion. Daimler's market cap is $85 billion and Chrysler's revenue is almost 35% of its $200 billion in revenue.

The union members on Daimler's board do not want Chrysler sold to private equity interests as they believe this would lead to a break-up of the company and tens of thousands of lay-offs. Regardless, it is hard to imagine that Magna can manage a company so much larger than itself, and manage its own business at the same time. If a merger with Chrysler fails, the job loss could be just as terrible.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Fellow AOL bloggist Douglas McIntyre wrote an elegant piece titled is DaimlerChrysler (NYSE; DCX) worth 40% more without Chrysler? The categorical answer is yes and then some. Investors want stability and predictability of earnings, not surprises. The name Chrysler emotes an emotional feeling in many Americans as it is an icon of America's past glory in the automotive world.

Chrysler has an illustrious history and those of us old enough to remember can still see CEO Lee Iacocoa saving this company back in the late 1970's. President Carter had to approve a government bail -out of the near bankrupt company. Iacocoa went on TV and did several popular commercials. The end result was Chrysler was saved and allowed to go on and Iacocoa became a celebrity.With that, he claims his golf game has not improved however.

In 1998, Daimler decided to expand its base and distribution power. They had a solid foothold into the United States with the Mercedes Benz line-up, but picking off Chrysler gave them an entree into "mainstream America". For $36 billion, they were granted a seat at the table. It did not work out for a variety of reasons including cultural conflicts.