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

• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) posted better-than-expected Q3 results, sending shares higher.
• AutoDesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, sending shares higher.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) had another disappointing quarter as same-store sales declined.
• CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) delayed its Q3 report due to ongoing debt restructuring and a possible bankruptcy.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS) Q2 earnings came in well ahead of Wall Street expectations.

This morning, ING (NYSE: ING) announced that its quarterly profit dropped as a result of falling property prices and bad-debt charges. The banking group's profit fell to $100.2 million in the latest quarter. Excluding charges, the company's profit dropped to 229 million euros, which was far short of the expected profit of 388 million euros.

The value of the company's real-estate holdings slipped 584 million euros due to falling prices across the globe. ING also incurred 825 million euros of provisions in order to cover customers who may not have been able to repay their loans. These provisions were higher than the 234 million euros set aside during the same quarter a year ago. The real estate charges were far greater than expected, while the loan-impairment charges met expectations.

Who said big oil was a dying business? Fortune has released its Global 500, their "annual ranking of the world's largest corporations," and topping the charts is Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), which, much like a Mariah Carey song, bumped up into the coveted number-one slot after some time at number three. The Netherlands-based oil company trumped its U.S. rival, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) by $15 billion in sales and saw its revenue spike nearly 29% from 2007.

Speaking of Exxon, the company once again had a tiger in its tank, ranking number two in the world as oil futures bounced around in a nearly $100-dollar range, hitting $146 per barrel at its heights.

American International Group (NYSE: AIG), once the world's largest insurer, is selling assets outside the U.S. to repay a government bailout. The Carlyle Group, KKR, JC Flowers, and other U.S. private equity firms and Asian financial groups are reported to be interested in AIG's Taiwanese unit Nan Shan Life Insurance Co.

"Everyone hopes this is going to be a fire sale as AIG is in a difficult situation," said a local partner of Standard & Poor's.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced a deal to acquire rival Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) for $68 billion, or $50.19 a share, a 15% premium to Friday's close of $43.74. This cash-and-stock deal is the largest in the drug sector since 2000 and many see it as a precursor to a flourishing M&A season as the credit markets are slowly starting to improve. Pfizer also reported a 90% profit drop for the fourth quarter due to charges. PFE shares declined 3.4% in premarket trading, while WYE shares gained nearly 5%.

Barclays (NYSE: BCS) shares surged in London Monday after the firm reassured investors in a letter to shareholders it didn't need more capital. But France's BNP Paribas said it would take more cash from the government following a 1.4 billion euro ($1.8 billion) loss in the latest quarter. Finally, ING (NYSE: ING), the Dutch financial services firm, also received government aid as it is expected to announce it had a net loss of 3.3 billion euros in the fourth quarter, that it would cut 7,000 jobs, and that its CEO would step down. BCS shares gained over 44% in premarket trading and ING's gained over 19%.

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) are two Dow components set to report earnings this morning. CAT said its fourth-quarter profit fell to $661 million, or $1.08 a share, from $975 million, or $1.50 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 6% to $12.9 billion. For 2009, Caterpillar gave a a much lower guidance than analysts had expected, $2.50 vs. $4.35 EPS. CAT also said it would slash 20,000 jobs. CAT shares fell over 11% in premarket trading.
Meanwhile, MCD delivered what at first glance seems to be better-than-expected earnings of 87 cents vs. 84 cents. It even plans to invest $2.1 billion of capital to open about 1,000 new McDonald's restaurants.

American Express (NYSE: AXP) is the third Dow component tor report quarterly results after the close of trading today and is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 20 cents a share.

After the stock market meltdown of 2008, Wall Street brokerages aren't anyone's favorites in 2009.

But some customers said they're still happy with their online broker.

A December ChangeWave survey of 3,051 consumers found that despite the extremely difficult financial market, two online brokerages still capture high customer satisfaction ratings -- Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) and archrival, Scottrade.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you can game the psychology of the market if you want, but know the rules.

I see the plan: Every day that the market looks like it is going down we give $10 billion to some bank! It is sure-fire. Did you notice the momentary weakness in France Monday? Quick, cut checks to BNP, SocGen and Agricole. Why not? When ING (NYSE: ING) (Cramer's Take) looked like it was a disaster, giving $13 billion to that one-time conservative bank turned all of Europe around!

Monday, when there was a moment that we looked weak, when it looked like we were going to go from plus 200 to below 100, Treasury let it be known that there is a whole other round of checks coming for the second-tier players. Who knows? Boom. That plus higher oil prices turned the market around in the upside-down world we are now in! No doubt soon Downey (NYSE: DSL) (Cramer's Take) and BankUnited (NASDAQ: BKUNA) (Cramer's Take) might get checks and then everything will go higher.

Oh, and on top of that, we have a new stimulus plan, one specially designed, no doubt, to move Target (NYSE: TGT) (Cramer's Take) back to its moving average and get Macy's (NYSE: M) (Cramer's Take) off the critical list.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE: ING) to Outperform from Market Perform after upgrading the European insurance sector to Overweight from Neutral due to improved risk management.
  
• Keefe Bruyette also upgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) to Market Perform from Underperform to reflect the company's national footprint if the Wachovia (NYSE: WB) deal goes through.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) to Overweight from Neutral citing top line performance, growth profile and valuation, among other reasons.
• Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) was raised to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.
  
• Louisiana Pacific (NYSE: LPX) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Sector Perform from Underperform.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $50 from $55 to reflect risks to the company's earnings outlook from the weakening economy.
  
• Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) was cut to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank as they believe the economic slowdown will bring slower volumes. Coca-Cola's target was lowered to $56 from $64.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merrill believes Assurant (NYSE: AIZ) is well-positioned to weather the turmoil in the capital markets environment and cites the company's defensive characteristics for the upgrade. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded R.H. Donnelly (NYSE: RHD) to Hold from Sell to reflect the company's cost cuts and its ability to buy back bonds at discounted prices.
  
• Citigroup raised Consol Energy (NYSE: CNX) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they are seeing no fundamental deterioration in coal.
• Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
  Raymond James raised shares to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Penske Automotive (NYSE: PAG) was upgraded to Add from Neutral at Calyon.
  
• ICF International (NASDAQ: ICFI) was lifted to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

Analyst downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Sell from Hold after the company reported Q2 results to reflect a deceleration in growth and margin pressures. RIMM's target was lowered to $70 from $120. RBC Capital downgraded Research in Motion to Sector Perform from Outperform citing reduced margin visibility and the slowing macroeconomic environment.
  
• Stephens downgraded Vitran (NASDAQ: VTNC) and Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) to Equal Weight from Overweight to reflect the companies' deteriorating demand and pricing environment. Vitran's target was cut to $15 from $22 and Saia's was lowered to $16 from $24.
  
• Mentor (NYSE: MNT) was downgraded to hold from Buy at Jefferies to reflect continued weakness in the breast implant market and the potential for lowered guidance. Mentor's target was lowered to $31 from $36.
  
• Merrill cut ING Group (NYSE: ING) to Underperform from Neutral.
  
• CF Industries (NYSE: CF) was downgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Buy.
  
• Liberty Interactive (NASDAQ: LINTA) was lowered to Sell from Hold at Natixis.

Analyst initiations:

• Suntrust initiated Idexx Laboratories (NASDAQ: IDXX) with a Neutral rating, citing slowing organic revenue growth, valuation and a slowing lab business.
  
• Jefferies initiated Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) with a Hold rating and $33 target. The firm prefers to stay on sidelines due to valuation and macro risks.
  
• Hersha Hospitality (NYSE: HT) was assumed with a Market Perform rating and $7.50 target at Keefe Bruyette. The firm believes near-term demand trends in New York City could slow.
  
• Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) was initiated at Baird with a Neutral rating and $54 target.
  
• KeyBanc assumed ENGlobal (NASDAQ: ENG) with a Hold rating.
  
• Piper initiated Pentair (NYSE: PNR) with a Neutral rating and $39 target.

This post is part of a series on some of the most memorable companies that have disappeared.

I credit Nick Leeson for creating jobs for lots of my friends. Back in 1995, when he single-handedly brought down Barings Bank with currency trading run amok, I had never heard the term "risk management." But I soon started hearing right and left of friends getting highly paid jobs at financial firms in the "risk management" department.

Apparently, after Mr. Leeson lost $1.4 billion dollars in unauthorized trading rendering Barings insolvent, financial institutions around the world decided to put in more rigorous systems of checks and balances that would keep such things from happening. Hence, newly expanded risk management departments.

Founded in 1762, Barings Bank was the oldest merchant bank in London, financed the Napoleonic Wars, and was the Queen of England's own bank.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The European insurance industry, Deutsche Telekom and Aruba Networks were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Bear Stearns downgraded the European insurance industry to Market Weight from Overweight on concerns the companies are exposed to risky assets following the U.S. subprime mortgage collapse. In conjunction with the sector downgrade, Bear Stearns downgraded ING (NYSE: ING) to Underperform from Peer Perform and Prudential plc (NYSE: PUK) to Peer Perform from Outperform.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) to Underweight from Neutral on concerns over increased competition and U.S. market risks.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) to Hold from Buy and lowered their target to $13 from $21, as they believe recent delays of 802.11n could impact FY09 sales and potential market share gains and that the valuation is rich at current levels.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Lehman downgraded Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
  
• B. Riley downgraded Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE: MI) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Wall Street seems bent on finishing 2007 on a high note and after yesterday's big selloff following Pakistan's former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination, futures are up this morning, indicating U.S. stocks could start higher.

Yesterday, U.S. stocks tumbled on the assassination news -- fearing further unrest in one of U.S.'s allies in its war on terror in Afghanistan and due to weaker-than-forecast rise in durable-goods orders. The positive consumer confidence report couldn't offset the news. The Dow industrials dropped 192 points, or 1.42%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 47 points, or 1.75%, and the S&P 500 lost 21 points, also 1.42%.

News that could be moving the market this morning include talk of big bank asset sales and later some data that is due out:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Comcast, ING Group, Allianz AG and Fannie Mae were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to Neutral from Buy following the company's reduced 2007 guidance.
  
• Merrill downgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE: ING) and Allianz AG (NYSE: AZ) to Neutral from Buy to reflect their more cautious view on the sector due to subprime mortgages spreads.
  
• Piper lowered its rating on Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) to Neutral from Buy due to the lack of visibility regarding when credit losses will peak. Credit Suisse downgraded shares to Underperform from Neutral.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman removed Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Ruth's Chris Steak House (NASDAQ: RUTH) and Famous Dave's (NASDAQ: DAVE) were both downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Piper.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to Underperform from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: ING Group, Innerworkings, Kenexa, AirTran Holdings and AMR Corp were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Bear Stearns downgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE: ING) to Peer Perform from Underperform after the company's Q3 results, given continued concerns regarding the US mortgage market.
  
• Jefferies lowered its rating on Innerworkings (NASDAQ: INWK) to Hold from Buy on valuation, as they see limited upside after the in-line Q3 results.
  
• Kenexa (NASDAQ: KNXA) was downgraded to Market Underperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities. The firm downgraded shares following the disappointing Q3 report and guidance as pressure on its business is likely to continue.
  
• UBS downgraded AirTran Holdings (NYSE: AAI) to Neutral from Buy and AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) to Sell from Neutral. The firm cited weakening corporate demand for the downgrades.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Gol Linhas Aereas (NYSE: GOL) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Wachovia downgraded the Broker Sector to Market Weight from Overweight, also downgrading Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Goldman removed Maxim (NASDAQ: MXIM) from its Conviction Buy List.