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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a surprise profit but is expected to return to losses next quarter.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) profit and revenue were in line with expectations, sending shares lower.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) posted better-than-expected earnings but other concerns drove down shares.
• eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) reported solid Q2 numbers but Wall Street was not impressed.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 loss, sending shares higher.
• JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) reported swinging to a Q2 net loss and revenues were flat.

Waste Management (NYSE: WMI - option chain) announced its earnings yesterday and dropped almost 5% on the report, but also sneaked in a little tidbit that I find amusing. WMI declared that as of 8/5, it will trade on the NYSE as WM, which until earlier this year designated Washington Mutual. How appropriate that a company that specializes in, um... waste management, has collected this trashed ticker from the curb and will recycle it for its own purposes.

WMI CEO David Steiner did not mention that connection in the company's announcement, instead saying,"From our trucks to our uniforms, the very recognizable WM represents our company and our people. The WM symbol reinforces how customers, communities and shareholders have come to think of us over the past years, and aligns our branding with our stock symbol." I guess that makes sense it you picture a green Waste Management truck or the logo attached to this post, but I imagine the board members considering the change and relishing how apt it would be.

As for the stock itself, yesterday's earnings came in a penny below expectations and guided downwards for the rest of the year, but this business is not going away any time soon. Also, yesterday's stock dip could have been the result of raised expectations, as WMI had been rising steadily for almost all of July. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on WMI.

I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for Waste Management (NYSE: WMI), first recommended on March 25, 2009 at a price of $25.74.

Look for rough sailing for the remainder of 2009 for Waste Management, and that should limit the topside to shares for Q3 and Q4. Still, any sign that the U.S. economy continues to strengthen will send institutional investors back into WMI, on increased demand for both trash and recycling services.

It's a cliché, but it's true, and bears repeating during these challenging economic times: It's not a market for faint-of-heart investors, and those with low risk tolerances.

Most investors are side-lined, and with good reason. The pronounced U.S. recession continues. Meanwhile, other economic issues await policy resolution in Washington, but the two major political parties are not exactly singing kumbayah.

Well what's an investor to do? Think: Making something out of nearly nothing. Waste Management does.

"We are selectively taking advantage of deep values such as Waste Management (NTSE: WMI), which is selling at a compelling valuation," says Jim Stack, a safety-first money manager.

In his InvesTech Market Analyst he adds, "Waste Management displays the characteristics we search for in new investments including a distinct competitive advantage and solid financials.

"It is a giant in its industry; Waste Management is the largest solid waste management company in North America. Founded in 1894, it serves nearly 20 million customers.

"With the nation's largest network of landfills, Waste Management has significant pricing power and can charge fees to competitive waste haulers who don't own, or have access to, their own landfills.

This post is part of a feature on companies and products that our bloggers think are in need of a makeover. See all 26.

Founded in 1945 in a garage workshop in southern California, Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) is now the world's biggest toy maker, with a market cap of about $5.2 billion. Number two Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) has a market cap of about $4.2 billion. Mattel produces from everything Barbie and American Girl, to Hot Wheels, Fisher Price toys, Scrabble, and the Magic 8 Ball, as well as tie-ins with Pixar, the Dark Knight, Harry Potter, and Nickelodeon. However, in 2002 Mattel shut its last factory in the United States, and since then most of its products have been produced in China.

That decision came back to bite Mattel when, beginning in the summer of 2007, it was forced to issue a series of recalls of Chinese-made toys that contained lead paint. The company is still reeling from that PR disaster, which for some reason included an apology from Mattel to the Chinese people. The situation prompted BloggingStocks contributor Tom Barlow a year ago to suggest (tongue in cheek) that Mattel merge with Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WMI) so that toxic toys could go directly where they belonged, bypassing the middleman (i.e., the children). That would be one way to make over the company, I guess.

As Christmas of 2007 approached, it looked like the worst might be behind Mattel. The year-end numbers were respectable, and some investors were beginning to eye Mattel again. But first quarter 2008 results were disappointing, and by mid year, expectations were very low. The share price has continued to slide since the recalls, reaching a multi-year low recently. While there was a copyright infringement lawsuit settled in Mattel's favor (though they didn't get as much out of it as they wanted), and they are no doubt hoping for the Dark Knight and other tie-in merchandise to help boost what otherwise looks like it could be dismal holiday season for retailers, the newest thing Mattel has to contend with is claims by some parents that one of its dolls secretly promotes Islam, which Mattel denies.

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

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) narrowed its Q3 net loss on rising revenues.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) posted a deeper-than-estimated Q3 loss but ordered 42 new planes.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) reported its fourth straight quarterly loss on another write-down.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted better-than-expected Q3 results on growth overseas.
• CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) reported strong Q3 results on lower fuel prices and cost controls.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) topped Q3 expectations but lowered its full-year guidance.
• Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) beat expectations, sending shares higher.
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) better-than-expected Q3 results sent shares higher.
• Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) international growth couldn't overcome disappointing results.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) results in Q3 were in line with analysts' expectations.
• IBM (NYSE: IBM) posted strong Q3 results and offered an optimistic outlook.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) posted strong Q3 results but warned of lower demand in Q4.
• Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) strong results easily topped expectations, but shares fell.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) posted strong Q3 results and raised its full-year guidance.

How will we know when things have thawed? Everyone's looking at LIBOR and I can't blame them as that indicator of lending from one bank to another bank is crucial for the way the system is supposed to work. It's a good thermometer for certain, but I don't want it to overstay its welcome, because there are other "true" indicators out there besides just LIBOR.

I am looking at something else: takeovers. On Monday, we saw Waste Management (NYSE:WMI) pull its bid for Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) , a smart idea as WMI had dropped so precipitously despite reporting better-than-expected earnings that one had to question if it was worth doing it. More important, though, getting the money was proving to be possible, but difficult. This situation also prevailed in Altria's (NYSE: MO) buy of UST (NYSE: UST) where Goldman Sachs said, "Don't bother, wait," even though the integration of the two is crucial for Altria's growth.

Now I expect deals to be done if the banks are for real about lending.

Further, the endless margin selling has created tremendous bargains for well-capitalized companies to buy other companies that have brimming order books but are being kept down because of hedge fund redemptions. How can some company not want to buy a Trinity (NYSE:TRN), for example, which has been virtually cut in half even though both presidential candidates are pro-wind? Or how about a Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT) or a Joy Global (NASDAQ:JOYG) or a Terex (NYSE: TEX) betting that if there is credit there will eventually be a revival?

Waste Management (NYSE: WMI) really rocketed on Monday. Its shares closed up nearly 18% to a final price of $30.39. Volume was heavy. No doubt the company's preliminary earnings report helped get things going for the company that makes its money off ridding the world of trash.

For the third quarter, Waste Management is forecasting an increase in its top line of 3.6%. It should book revenues of $3.5 billion. For the bottom line, the company should do at least $0.62 per share, which is two pennies above Wall Street estimates. Even better, this represents a 15% improvement over last year's earning's performance. Not bad, I suppose, but was the 18% gain in the stock price truly reflective of an organic breakout? Keep in mind that the Dow rallied almost 1000 points on Monday. That obviously had a lot to do with the fantastic price appreciation. In addition, Tom Taulli covered how Waste Management dropped its bid for competitor Republic Services (NYSE: RSG). As Tom pointed out, Waste Management probably didn't want to rock the boat as far as its credit rating was concerned. So the traders probably also took this into consideration when placing their bids.

But why would I want to buy the stock now after its stellar one-day performance? I'd much rather take a look at the company after it pulls back. I'm just not convinced that all of the action in the stock was due to strong conviction on the part of investors. I'd have to watch how the price behaves over the next few days before making a decision. All of these bounces that we're going to inevitably see after suffering many days of hellish declines in the major indexes are to be approached with caution if you're looking for quick trading gains. Long-term investors can obviously have a different attitude going into certain stocks. In the case of Waste Management, I will give credit for its attractive yield. But you'll need to perform more due diligence beyond the yield to see if this is one you should look at or not.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Today had all the earmarks for a weird trading day as banks, bonds, Canadians, and Japanese weren't a part of the market due to holidays. But stocks were open, and for once it's a great thing they were open. The DJIA put on a massive rally after overseas markets reacted favorably to US and globally coordinated bailouts.

Below are the unofficial closing bells prices:
DJIA 9,390.08 +938.89 +11.11%
S&P500 1,003.70 +104.48 +11.62%
NASDAQ 1,844.25 +194.74 +11.81%
10YR T-Note 3.8610% (Closed Today)

52-Week Lows
Top Analyst Upgrades

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) was up on talks that it is actually considering a mega-merger with Chrysler in a deal where Cerberus would keep some stake in the combined auto company and perhaps take over the rest of GMAC as part of the deal. Shares rose 33% to $6.52 on the day.

U.S. stock futures were higher Friday morning, indicating stock markets could possibly extend Thursday's rally as the dollar rose and oil prices fell further. The dollar continues to make gains on the back of growing evidence of global economic softness. Still, several economic readings are due out today, including the New York Empire State manufacturing index , capacity utilization and industrial production -- all before the opening bell.

Retail will be in focus today after two Kohl's Corp (NYSE: KSS) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) reported late Thursday, and J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) are due to report before the opening bell.

Kohl's Corp shares could start higher as premarket indication has them trading 2.3% higher, while Nordstrom's are trading 4% lower in premarket action. Kohl's quarterly profit fell 12% from a year ago, but the retailer lifted its fiscal year profit forecast. Meanwhile, upper scale Nordstrom, reported a 21% drop in second-quarter profits and cut full year outlook.

ANF said second-quarter profit fell on lower sales of jeans and T-shirts and forecast full-year earnings per share that trailed some analysts' estimates. JCP also saw profit decline but beat estimates and issued lower guidance.

Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) shares are trading 10% higher in premarket action after the design software maker reported stronger-than-forecast second-quarter earnings Thursday after the close.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WMI) raised its hostile bid for smaller rival Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) by more than 8% to $6.73 billion, a premium that should be enough to scuttle Republic's $6.24 billion purchase of Allied Waste Industries Inc. (NYSE: AW).

Under the terms of the deal, Waste Management would buy Republic for $37 per share, a premium of almost 33% to Republic's closing price on July 11, the last trading day before the company's buyout proposal was disclosed. The proposal is above Republic's all-time high stock price. Moreover, Waste Management will pay Republic, which rejected Waste Management's earlier offer as inadequate, a fee of $250 million if the merger does not close because of opposition from the U.S. Department of Justice.

"Our $37.00 all-cash proposal clearly offers Republic stockholders a better and more certain value
alternative than is contemplated in the Republic-Allied transaction," said David P. Steiner, Waste
Management's CEO, in a press release. "We believe our proposal is clearly superior for Republic's stockholders and is designed so we can work cooperatively with Republic to structure a transaction that would benefit both
Republic and Waste Management stockholders."

A combined Waste and Republic would create annual synergies of $200 million, $50 million more than the savings created by the Republic-Allied deal, according to the Wall Street Journal. The reason for Waste Management's interest in Republic is simple according to the paper: "Though smaller than Waste or Allied, Republic is generally regarded as the best-run trash hauler in the country, and its stock has outperformed its rivals."

U.S. stock futures were a little higher this morning following Friday's rally. Oil futures have been rising again due to the Russian-Georgian conflict and the dollar retracted from the five-month high set Friday. Global markets were mostly higher although China's hit a 19-month low.

Waste Management (NYSE: WMI) is expected to raise its unsolicited cash offer for rival Republic Services (NYSE: RSG) by nearly 10% to $6.73 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and two unions agreed on a new three-year contract Sunday, averting a possible strike of 65,000 workers. The new contract provides 10.5% wage increases and changes in retirement benefits.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) reported an 8% decline in second-quarter profit after the market close Friday. The investment group attributed the decline to fewer insurance premiums and $1 billion in unrealized derivative losses.

The largest waste disposal company in the U.S., Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WMI), wants to get even bigger. The company announced today that it proposes to pay $34 per share – or $6.3 billion -- for rival Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG).

On problem here is that Republic is already the subject of a merger with Allied Waste Industries, Inc. (NYSE: AW) announced in mid June. Although, if you take a look at the Republic-Allied merger agreement, there are clauses that allow Republic to entertain alternative offers. What's more, it looks like Waste Management may have access to internal data.

All in all, Waste Management is highly confident it will get the deal done: the firm has a plan for dealing with antitrust issues (likely involving divestitures); the investment grade status should be maintained; and the dividend will remain intact.

Without the benefit of any due diligence, Waste Management believes the deal will be accretive in the first year and provide at least $150 million in synergies. Basically, there should be lots of room to rip out duplicative costs, as well as get efficiencies from scale.

Waste Management also announced today its preliminary figures for Q2. The company plans to generate revenues of $3.49 billion, up 3.9% from the same period a year ago. Earnings are expected to be $0.64 per share.

So far in today's trading, though, Waste Management's stock is off 5% to $34.75. Of course, Republic stock is 15.6% higher to $32.25, while Allied Waste shares are down 7% to $11.15.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Republic Services (NYSE: RSG) is recently trading at $33.22, above its close of $27.90 Friday.

Waste Management (NYSE: WMI) announced it made a proposal to acquire all of RSG outstanding common stock for $34 per shares in cash. Allied Waste (NYSE: AW) offered to acquire RSG on June 23 for 0.45 shares of AW for each share of RSG.

RSG overall option implied volatility of 31 is near its 26-week average of 30 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

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