Analyst upgrades:

• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Canaccord, which cited the company's strong Q1 results.
• Pali Capital raised T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) to Neutral from Sell following the company's better-than-expected Q3 results.
• Under Armour (NYSE: UA) was upgraded to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna following positive checks ahead of the company's Tuesday's Q3 report.
• Stifel Nicolaus raised American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Buy from Hold, as the firm thinks the company is close to reaching "normalized" earnings.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) to Sell from Conviction Sell.
• RBC Capital upgraded Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL) to Outperform from Sector Perform.
• American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform by Pacific Crest.

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

• Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) posted better-than-expected Q3 earnings due to higher enrollments.
• Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) expected earnings growth resulted in an upgrade from one analyst.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) shares soared after Q1 earnings topped analysts' expectations.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) profit doubled in Q4, beating estimates, and annual sales also rose.
• H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) reported earnings growth for the fiscal year but essentially flat revenues.
• Schnitzer Steel industries Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHN) surprised analysts with a Q3 loss, sending shares lower.
• Sealy Corp. (NYSE: ZZ) Q2 earnings fell short of expectations and revenues declined due to the recession.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), a tax-preparation company whose colleagues include Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (NYSE: JTX), was up in the after-hours session on Monday because the market approved of the company's Q4 earnings report. At one point, shares had gained almost 5.8%, and that was on top of 1.6% gain during the regular session. Volume was okay during the regular session, not overly spectacular.

H&R Block did pretty well considering revenues declined almost 3%. Earnings from continuing operations were flat at $2.09 per diluted share. This was enough to beat estimates of $2.05 per share according to this source.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) turned in strong numbers for its last fiscal year, which ended April 30, 2009. Income from continuing operations climbed 15% to $513.1 million ($1.53 per share), compared to $445.9 million ($1.36 a share) the previous year. But, the income growth came on basically flat revenues of $4.1 billion.

The Tax Services division saw revenues grow 1.5% to $3 billion, with pretax income up 13.7% to $893.8 million. H&R Block prepared 5.8% fewer returns, though the average fee per returned was up 7.2%. The up-tick in fees resulted from increased tax return complexity and an increase in clients with higher adjusted gross incomes.

Things will be pretty quiet again on the earnings front during this holiday-shortened week, so not much chance of fireworks there.

The one report analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters seem to have the highest hopes for is that from Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), as people look to education to better position themselves to survive the economic slump. For its fiscal third quarter, during which a new co-CEO was named, the Phoenix, Ariz.-based educational services provider is expected to report a profit of $1.12 per share, which is 24.1% higher than a year ago. Revenue is expected to be 24.3% higher to $1.0 billion. The full-year forecast is currently for $3.97 per share (+28.5%) on sales of $3.9 billion (+24.4%). Earnings have topped expectations in the past four quarters, by as much as 13 cents per share. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 15.9%, which is double the industry average, and the forward PE ratio estimate is 15.0. The First Call consensus recommendation remains to buy APOL; InvestorPlace calls it a stock you can trust. At $68.50, shares are down 10.6% since the beginning of the year, but they peeked above the 100-day moving average at the end of this week for the first time since March.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) closed at $15.38. HRB is expected to report Q4 EPS on June 29. HRB July option implied volatility of 42 is below its 26-week average of 47, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

General Mills (NYSE: GIS) closed at $54.72. GIS is scheduled to report EPS Q4 on July 1. GIS pre-announced EPS on June 8. GIS June option implied volatility of 25 is near its 26-week average of 27, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

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

Back in college, I took a tax course from H&R Block (NYSE: HRB). It was a great learning experience – and also meant I could earn some extra bucks (at least during the first quarter of the year).

Well, even though the web has become a competitive threat for tax preparers -- such as from Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) -- there is still lots of opportunity for the human touch. After all, the U.S. tax system always seems to get more complicated (especially lately). In fact, with the incoming Obama Administration, there are some new deductions and credits, so it's a good idea to have a pro help out.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) closed at $15.86. HRB May option implied volatility is at 53, July is at 51; below its 26-week average of 56, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) closed at $25.39. INTU May option implied volatility is at 41; July is at 42; below its 26-week average of 49, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

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

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (NYSE: JTX) has approximately 6,800 offices. JTX closed at $8.24. JTX is scheduled to report Q3 EPS on March 3. JTX March and April option implied volatility of 79 is above its 26-week average of 58, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) closed at $20.14 HRB is scheduled to report Q3 EPS on March 6. HRB March option implied volatility is at 64, April is at 55 above its 26-week average of 54 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement into EPS.

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

• Analogic Corp. (NASDAQ: ALOG) Q1 earnings plunged well below expectations due to costs.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) solid Q3 earnings were in line with analysts expectations.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) beat Q1 expectations and same-stores sales increased.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) lowered its guidance and announced layoffs and factory closings.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) withdrew its guidance due in part to weak consumer spending.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) lowered its outlook due to weaker-than-expected holiday sales.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) offered a full-year profit forecast that missed analysts' expectations.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) lowered its earnings guidance and announced price increases.
• FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) reported a deeper-than-expected loss but topped sales estimates.
• H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) Q2 net loss was in line with expectations but revenue fell short.
• Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG) raised its full-year forecast, doubling the share price.
• Hooker Furniture Corp. (NASDAQ: HOFT) shares sold off following disappointing Q3 results and outlook.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) reported a deeper-than-expected Q3 loss on increased costs.

This week started with a positive momentum as the auto industry bailout seemed to have a chance of passing, and President-elect Obama announced a huge stimulus plan, including infrastructure investment that could boost the weak job market.

For a few days, things seemed like they were almost back to normal. Until Thursday -- when the Senate failed to pass the bailout. This was aggravated by news of the ex-Nasdaq chair being accused of a massive $50 billion 'Ponzi scheme,' and economic indicators that actually were not as bad as expected.

Still, if the automakers manage to get assistance from somewhere else, we might see some sort of stabilization. If that happens, some investors may choose this time to return to the market. This week's theme among BloggingStocks contributors seemed to revolve not just around 'cheap' but also on yield. Competent management also plays a bigger role these days when picking stocks.

Here are some picks from this week:

Jim Cramer took a hard look at these high yielders: Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Du Pont (NYSE: DD) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). He cautions against jumping in without considering "which companies have gone into survival mode to get there? Which companies will even make you money if they cut the dividend?"

Tax specialist H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), whose colleagues include Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) and Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX), prepared its Q2 earnings report for investors on Monday after the exchanges had closed. According to this article, the company met expectations for the bottom line. H&R Block saw a net loss of $0.40 per share from continuing operations. That was an improvement of two cents when compared to Q2 2007.

While the bottom line met expectations, the top line came in below what Wall Street was hoping for. The call was for a little over $397 million in sales revenue. H&R Block actually delivered $351.5 million. So, when you add it all together, you come up with something of a lukewarm quarter, in my opinion.

But you have to remember something about this business: tax season is coming up. So, even though we're talking about a loss right now, we should be talking about a profit once the fiscal year concludes. In fact, analysts are calling for H&R Block to earn around $1.63 per share. Management believes that somewhere between $1.60 and $1.70 per share is conceivable. That leaves room for a beat. And, at the stock's current price, H&R Block may be cheap.

Even as the holiday season ramps up and the calendar quarter begins to wind down, earnings reports continue to dribble in. Among the companies scheduled to release quarterly results this coming week, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting BWAY Holding Co. (NYSE: BWY), Powell Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: POWL), and Esterline Technologies Corp. (NYSE: ESL) to be among the biggest earnings gainers.

Atlanta-based packaging and container producer BWAY is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter profits that are 65.6% higher than in the same period of last year, or $0.32 per share on revenues of $265.2 million (+4.9%). BWAY topped estimates in the previous two quarters -- by 44.9% in the third quarter. Those results sent shares to a new 52-week high. But shares have fallen 62.7% in the past three months, and they are now trading near a multiyear low of $4.11 per share.

Houston-based energy equipment maker Powell is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter profits that are 62.7% higher than a year ago, or $0.59 per share. Revenues are forecast to be 14.2% higher, or $171.8 million. Powell beat expectations in the past three quarters -- by 20.2% in the third quarter. The share price has fallen 47.7% in the past three months, and the consensus recommendation is to buy POWL.

Stock futures were lower this morning as investors digested the decline in commodity prices and awaited a slew of economic readings. Data on employment, manufacturing and auto sales will be reported during the morning and throughout the day. At 2:00 p.m., the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which gives an overall picture on the economy will be released.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) said it is offering $2.4 billion for China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd., triple Huiyuan's market value. This is Coke's largest acquisition by value to date in China and gives the company a leg in the fast-growing and dynamic Chinese juice market. Coke also said that it expects to buy back a total of $1 billion of its stock for the full year.

The Boeing Co.'s (NYSE: BA) workers are prepared to vote Wednesday. Union members are scheduled to cast two ballots: one regarding Boeing's latest offer, which union leaders are recommending to reject, and another on whether to begin a strike. Results of the vote are expected Wednesday night.

More information is coming out regarding Korea Development Bank interest in Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH). According to reports in The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest mass-circulation daily, state-owned KDB has made a proposal to acquire 25% of U.S. Lehman for as much as 6 trillion won ($5.3 billion). HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) and an unnamed Chinese bank are said to be vying with the KDB for the Lehman stake.

While the earnings crunch for this quarter is all but over, there is still plenty of action in the earnings arena this coming week. For instance, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting America's Car Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) and Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) to be among this week's top earnings gainers.

Bentonville, Ark.-based America's Car Mart is expected to post net income of 38 cents per share (up 52.6% from the same period a year ago) on revenue of $73.8 million (up 25.8%). The used car dealer chain has tended in recent quarters toward positive surprises -- by 21 cents per share, or 73.5%, in the previous quarter. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 15%, about the same as the S&P 500. The consensus recommendation of analysts is to buy CRMT.

Campell is tentatively scheduled to report this week, and the world's biggest soup maker is expected to post net income of 25 cents per share (up 44.0% from a year ago) on revenue of $1.7 billion (up 7.5%). The Camden, N.J.-based company has just missed earnings estimates in the past three quarters. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is 7.5%, which is less than the industry average, but about the same as rivals Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) and Heinz (NYSE: HNZ). The analysts' consensus recommendation is currently to buy Campbell.

Other anticipated double-digit earnings gainers scheduled to report this week include brand name apparel maker Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES), mining equipment maker Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG), and chip maker National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM). And Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) is expected to swing to a profit.