In the world of retail, JCPenney (JCP) has shown it resilience in a highly competitive sector.

The company said its third-quarter earnings increased 63%, as reported in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Net profit came in at $44 million or 19 cents per share, up from $27 million or 11 cents per share a year earlier. Total sales edged up 0.2% to $4.19 billion. Same-store sales rose 1.9%. Shoes and men's apparel were the strongest categories.

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

• AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) posted record third-quarter earnings and revenue.
• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) posted better-than-estimated first-quarter results and raised its outlook.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) posted third-quarter results that missed estimates.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) third-quarter profit surged as strong sales offset commodity prices.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) beat third-quarter expectations and offered guidance.
• FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS) second-quarter results beat estimates and it raised its outlook.
• Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) remained upbeat despite a fourth-quarter loss.
• Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES) record fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations.
• Inter Parfums Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAR) posted better-than-estimated fourth-quarter results and raised its outlook.
• Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) beat second-quarter expectations but lowered its guidance.
• JC Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) lowered its first-quarter outlook on weaker-than-expected sales.
• KB Home (NYSE: KBH) swung to a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss on write-downs.
• Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss.
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) raised its second-quarter and full-year guidance.
• Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) merely met earnings expectations, sending shares lower.
• Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) posted better-than-estimated fourth-quarter results and raised its outlook.
• Usana Health Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA) posted lower-than-expected first-quarter results.
• Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) posted solid second-quarter results, including same-store sales growth.

Also, auction-rate securities issues may hurt some tech company results. Analysts keep cutting earings estimates for the big banks, but some are eyeing Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) earnings prospects as it expands in China, as well as Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) on soaring demand for commodities.

Upcoming results to watch for include Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Monsanto (NYSE: MON), and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• With a possible coming recession, J.C. Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP) CEO Myron "Mike" Ullman is expected to today announce plans to merge the buying and marketing operations for store and online sales and cut up to 200 jobs, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that the warning from UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) that its write downs for 2007 would be $4B higher than forecast is an indicator that other Wall Street banks are still vulnerable to the subprime crisis; Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) and Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER) may be the most vulnerable to the next wave of write downs.

WEB SITES:

• Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) and Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) perform quite differently, despite jointly marketing Vytorin, Barron's reported. while Merck offers a golden opportunity for bargain hunters, Schering's prospects remain less certain with the company relying on Vytorin for more than one-third of its pretax profits, according to estimates from Lehman Brothers.

Some people refuse to shop online because they want to actually try on the shirt and see how it fits them, or they want to hold the camera, try out the zoom and feel its weight. Other people stay with the common brand-name store because they don't like to mail back returned items.

Some people shop online because they hate malls; they hate the masses, the pain of shopping at one store after another and the waiting in line with everyone else for that one small purchase.

Regardless of the shopper, e-tailers are trying to win new business. In the new product showcase site at Newark, Delaware, 60-70 "companies and brands with limited or no previous store space will lease space for individual shops in an empty mall anchor location, according to developer Convergent Retail."

Internet consumers beware! Don't be fooled! This is really a mall!

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Strattec Security Corp (STRT), Palm, Inc (PALM), Netflix, inc (NFLX), J.C. Penney Co, Inc (JCP) and Marriott International Inc (MAR) were some of today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Baird upgraded shares of Strattec Security Corp (NASDAQ: STRT) to Neutral from Underperform following its Q3 report.

• Shares of Palm, Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) were raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Lehman Bros.

• Banc of America upgraded Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Neutral from Sell based on valuation.

• J.C. Penney Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) was raised to Strong Buy from Accumulate with a $105 target at Buckingham, citing strategic merchandise, flow and cycle-timing initiatives.

• Wachovia believes that as the lodging cycle matures, Marriott International's (NYSE: MAR) diversified fee-based, unit-driven model will outperform relative to pure hotel-owned companies, and upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded CNOOC Ltd (NYSE: CEO) to Buy from Neutral.

• JMP Securities raised Packeteer, Inc's (NASDAQ: PKTR) rating to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Oppenheimer upgraded Playtex Products, Inc (NYSE: PYX) to Buy from Neutral on its acquisition of Tiki Hut, strong fundamentals and realistic investor expectations.

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of American Standard Cos Inc (NYSE: ASD) to Overweight from Neutral.

• Matrix USA raised the rating of Hecla Mining Co (NYSE: HL) to Hold from Sell.

• Shares of VCA Antech, Inc (NASDAQ: WOOF) were upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The interactive entertainment sector, CVS Corp (CVS) and two large retailers, J.C. Penney (JCP) & Federated Department Stores (FD), topped today's notable initiation list:

• AG Edwards initiated Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS), Activision, Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI), THQ Inc (NASDAQ: THQI) with Buy ratings and Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO), Midway Games Inc (NYSE: MWY) and GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) with Hold ratings. The firm believes the video game industry is well-positioned for above-average L-T growth based on positive demographic trends. In addition, AG Edwards expects overall U.S. video game industry retail dollar sales to grow by 39% in 2007.

• Elsewhere, Wachovia initiated CVS Corp (NYSE: CVS) with an Outperform rating. The firm believes CVS is well-positioned to take advantage of the fundamentals in the PBM business and find cost synergies from the merger.

• Thomas Weisel initiated both J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Federated Department Stores (NYSE: FD) with market Weight ratings. The firm believes JCP will have more modest margin expansion going forward and believes high expectations and valuation for FD will limit its outperformance in the near-term.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• ThinkEquity started DivX, Inc (NASDAQ: DIVX) with a Buy rating and $26 target.

• RBC initiated Trident Microsystems, Inc (NASDAQ: TRID) with a Sector Perform rating.

• UBS initiated Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NASDAQ: TEVA) with a Buy rating.

• Pacific Growth started American Superconductor Corp (NASDAQ: AMSC) with a Neutral rating.

• Susquehanna started Quality Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: QSII) with a Positive rating.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Coca-Cola Co (KO), Merck & Co (MRK) and National Semiconductor (NSM) were some of today's more notable upgrades:

• The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold with a $57 target at Deutsche Bank based on valuation.

• Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup to reflect the firm's bullish outlook for the company's diabetes drug, Januvia. Citigroup believes the drug will help drive above-consensus earnings following its recent diabetes survey.

• National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Market Perform at Raymond James.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Comverse Technology (NASDAQ: CMVT) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and potential catalysts that include a possible break-up of the company.

• RBC upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $180 target, as checks indicate shipment and sub-momentum from the company's product cycle will be significantly greater than anticipated.

• Kellogg (NYSE: K) was added to Lehman Brothers' Favorites List.

• Stanford upgraded Brooks Automation (NASDAQ: BRKS) to Buy from Hold with a $20 target on improved industry conditions, cash generation and valuation.

• Cowen added Ericsson Telephone Co (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Oracle Corp (NASDAQ: ORCL) to its Focus List.

• Matrix USA upgraded J.C. Penney Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) to Strong buy from Buy with an intrinsic value of $115.

• Wedbush upgraded LSI Logic Corp (NYSE: LSI) to Buy from Hold with a $13 target.

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