Last week, JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) posted a quarterly loss and lowered its guidance. But as interest in alternative energy continues to grow, analysts polled by Thomson Financial are still looking for good things from solar energy concerns scheduled to report earnings this week.

Strong growth at Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) in the third quarter prompted it to lift its guidance back in October. Analysts expect the Chinese company to post profits that are 76.3% higher than a year ago, or $1.18 per share on revenues of $268.4 million (+225.0%). Though Trina Solar missed estimates in the second quarter, analysts on average recommend buying TSL. Shares are down 81.4% from a year ago and trading near an all-time low.

Earnings of rival LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) are expect to have risen 47.9% to $0.71 per share on revenues of $486.7 million (+206.6%). Also based in China, LDK has not missed estimates in recent quarters; in fact, it blew past expectations in the second quarter. Yet the consensus recommendation is to hold LDK. Like Trina Solar, LDK's shares are trading near an all-time low; the share price has fallen 50.0% in the past year.

Analysts anticipate third-quarter earnings for Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) to be a whopping 96.3% higher than a year ago, or $0.54 per share on revenues of $248.0 million (+154.5%). The company easily topped estimates in the previous quarter. ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) and Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) are also expected to report earnings growth of 29.7% ($0.37 per share) and 23.8% ($0.42 per share), respectively. All three of these stocks reached 52-week lows last week, and all are considered buys.

Being a shareholder in Trans World Entertainment (NASDAQ: TWMC) hasn't been a lot of fun for the past decade or so. The company is the leader in mall-based music sales but, as you can imagine, iTunes and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) have made that market position into a Pyrrhic victory.

Founder and CEO Robert Higgins withdrew his $5-per share takeover offer back in May, citing the poor credit market, and a $7-per share offer from a fund calling itself Sherwood Investments mysteriously evaporated. Now the stock is down in the $2.50 per share range and, with no going-private deals on the horizon, the company is making a last ditch effort to execute some kind of turnaround that might restore some modicum of shareholder value.

The company is in the process of rebranding all of its stores under the f.y.e. label, and is also embarking on an ambitious ad campaign featuring R&B star Ne-Yo and WWE star Batista in television commercials. The Business Review reports:

In one 30-second commercial, Batista and another WWE wrestler, MVP, drop-kick and body-slam each other in what seems like an impromptu fight inside an f.y.e. mall store. Bass-thumping rock music blares as fans cheer from outside the roll-down security gate.

In the other spot, teenage girls at an f.y.e. realize the chart-topping singer Ne-Yo is wearing headphones in the store, singing aloud to himself a cut from his yet-be-released album, "Year of the Gentleman."

MGL Asset Management Group's press release purporting to offer $7.25 per share for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) was pretty quickly debunked as illegitimate and, very probably, an effort to hype the stock for a quick buck. Jon Ogg reported on the mysterious offer on our sister site, BloggingBuyouts.

The stock jumped on the news of the offer, but quickly gave up all the gains and then some after media and analyst reports dismissed the offer. But anyone who jumped on the stock at the sight of the press release got burned.

How can you prevent this from happening to you? A good rule of thumb: When you're looking for information on material developments, look to the SEC filings. The offer was made solely through a press release -- something that anyone with a few hundred bucks to pay the wire fee could send into the hands of millions of investors in a few minutes. Until you see something about the "offer" in the SEC's Edgar Database, it should be regarded as a rumor. I wrote about a similarly non-materializing offer at Trans World Entertainment (NASDAQ: TWMC) back in November.

Another solution is to leave the "in-play" trading to the pros -- it's all about information and you're unlikely to have an edge. If you see a news item that a company has received an offer, don't jump in.

CNBC reports that the video game industry is making progress in its efforts to offer downloads of high-quality games over the internet. Nintendo has introduced WiiWare, which lets users download games for the Wii from independent publishers. Developers set the price -- far cheaper than the high-budget games put out by the big publishers -- and Nintendo takes a chunk of the revenue. CNBC adds that "Digital delivery of all forms of entertainment is widely considered to be a foregone conclusion. Only the timeframe is in question. Not only will publishers have to learn to adapt, but game retailers such as Gamestop (NASDAQ: GME) will have to figure out how to compete directly with companies that are also clients."

What happens if the downloading trend takes off as most experts assume it will? The story of Trans World Entertainment (NASDAQ: TWMC) could be a harbinger of things to come if Gamestop is unable to adapt. As the number-one operator of mall-based CD stores, Trans World has seen its sales and profitability plummet -- the shares have declined from over $13.00 in 2005 to the current price of $2.60. The market was very late in pricing in the disastrous effects that the MP3 would have on the brick-and-mortar industry.

Maybe Gamestop can adapt. But with a P/E ratio of over 30 for a company whose business model will have to change drastically over the course of the next decade, investors may want to keep in mind the collapse of Trans World Entertainment.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of National Financial Partners (NYSE:NFP) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe the recent weakness is overdone. Citigroup also added the stock to their Top Picks Live list.
  
• Jefferies upgraded shares of Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) to Hold from Underperform on valuation, as they believe management did the right thing by lowering guidance while buying back stock more aggressively.
  
• B. Riley lifted Trans World (NASDAQ:TWMC) to Buy from Neutral as they believe the company could ultimately go private should credit conditions improve

• Keefe Bruyette raised Anworth Mortgage (NYSE:ANH) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Unit Corp (NYSE:UNT) was upgraded at Raymond James to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) to Sector Perform from Underperform.

On November 19th, I reported that Sherwood Investments, an investment manager purporting to own a 4.34% stake in Trans World Entertainment (NASDAQ: TWMC) had put out a press release announcing its opposition to CEO Robert Higgins' proposed buyout of the company at $5 per share.

Now, Sherwood Investments has upped the ante, putting out another press release offering to buy the company for $7 per share, disclosing a 4.95% stake in the company.

The stock soared on the news, closing at $5.76, a rise of nearly 16%. But I think investors should react to the "news" with a good deal of skepticism.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The U.S. banking sector, HSBC Holdings, Trans World and Mips Technologies were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• CIBC downgraded the U.S. Banks sector to Underweight from Market Weight as they see another leg down as investors shift focus away from write-downs to the impact the write-downs will have on risk-weighted assets and capital ratios.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) to Equal Weight from Underweight, as they believe the company may have to set aside more money for bad loans in the U.S.
• B. Riley downgraded shares of Trans World Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: TWMC) to Neutral from Buy, as they believe the downside risk should the Bob Higgins acquisition proposal fall through outweighs the potential upside should the bid be raised or should another bidder emerge.
  
• B. Riley also downgraded Mips Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: MIPS) to Neutral from Buy following the company's Q1 results to reflect the company's deteriorating balance sheet and licensing business softness.

• Lehman downgraded Federal National Mortgage Association (NYSE: FNM) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: FRE) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
• Bear Stearns downgraded Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) to Peer Perform from Outperform.
• Concur Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: CNQR) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper.
• Citigroup downgraded shares of E-Trade Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Hold from Buy.