Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to buy from neutral.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Pulte Group (PHM) to neutral from underperform. Note that Citigroup downgraded the stock.
• Ameristar Casinos (ASCA) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Merriman.
• Citigroup upgraded Kimco Realty (KIM) to hold from sell.
• Mistras (MG) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Devon Energy (DVN) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Garmin (GRMN) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at PacCrest.

In response to the market's flash crash of May 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission put in place circuit breakers that are designed to halt trading if the price of a stock rises or falls 10% within a five-minute period.

On Wednesday, the circuit breakers were triggered when shares of Washington Post (WPO) doubled in one second. Prices were all over the lot. At 3:07 p.m. (EST) Washington Post was trading at $460. Suddenly, an order for 400 shares and another for 200 were executed at $919.18, followed by 166 shares at $929.18.

Again this week, consensus forecasts for companies reporting quarterly results call for double-digit earnings growth from many of them, compared to the results from a year ago when shares of many companies were at recessionary lows.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for strong earnings results from Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU), Time Warner Inc. (TWX), MasterCard Inc. (MA) and Washington Post Co. (WPO), which we'll take a closer look at here, as well as from Devon Energy (DVN), DirecTV (DTV), Loews (L), Marsh & McLennan (MMC), NYSE Euronext (NYX), Williams Companies (WMB) and others.

The New York Times (NYT) reports today that newspapers dominate the news creation business.

This is an interesting twist -- instead of touting readers or paid circulation or ads or total revenue, it's talking about production. It's almost as if Ford (F) were to announce: "We make more cars than anyone else." Who the hell cares if they sell any, right? What's important is production, not sales! For the Times, and print media in general, it feels like yet another attempt to justify its existence and "prove" that it is more valuable than the more cost-effective and nimble online outlets.

With close to 60 million users, Twitter is a force corporate marketing departments just can't ignore. The reach offered by this microblogging platform is profound, and skipping it means yielding digital turf to the competition.

Yet, as the country's major brands have flocked to Twitter, not all have mastered it. Some merely push headlines and deals, while others have used it as a way to open a dialogue with their customers, build relationships and ultimately grow their businesses. A study by The Big Money sought to determine the dozen companies that are mastering Twitter and why they are the masters.

As print media continues its prolonged death throes, The Washington Post Company (WPO) announced late Tuesday that it will shut down its U.S. bureaus in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Six journalists will be affected by the closures, and all will be offered jobs in Washington. Three news aides in the bureaus will be offered severance.

As a result of the move, the Post will no longer have any journalists on staff outside its home base of Washington, D.C. In a memo to staffers, Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli explained that the newspaper must focus its journalistic efforts on its own turf.

We've put three quarters behind us in 2009, and the most recent one was merely another miserable step downward for the beleaguered newspaper industry. Total ad revenue plummeted in the third quarter to $6.4 billion for the print jockeys, a decline of 28%. This info from the Newspaper Association of America drives home the notion that conditions will only worsen for the newspaper industry. So, if you're hoping those shares of New York Times Company (NYT), Gannett (GCI) and Washington Post Company (WPO), holding your breath will leave you little more than dizzy.

Of the total advertising revenue generated in the third quarter of 2009, $5.8 million came from print, the lowest quarterly amount this year. The $623 million in online advertising sold by America's newspapers was also 2009's worst. Both are down substantially from the same quarter in 2008, when the newspapers posted print ad revenue of $8.2 million and online ad revenue of $750 million, according to NAA data. At this time last year, we lamented year-over-year declines approaching 20%. Now, we have the same feelings as ad revenue drops approach 30%.

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

• Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported strong Q3 results, declared a dividend, and offered guidance for Q4.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Q3 earnings slumped and revenue was hurt by currency translations.
• BP (NYSE: BP) shares leaped higher after it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
• Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) reported that it returned to profitability in Q3 but warned of decreasing revenue.
• General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) Q3 earnings beat expectations and it lifted its earnings outlook.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) posted strong Q3 earnings and expects full-year earnings ahead of forecasts.

The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO) published data for the third quarter earlier today. Can't say I was mightily impressed by the numbers. Sure, there was a profit increase, but the top line wasn't exciting, and the newspaper division, as you might have expected, experienced a sharp decline in sales.

Net revenues rose 2%. Earnings per share came in at $1.81. That was sharply higher than the $1.08 per share recorded in the comparable period. Yet, I think you have to be careful in terms of reading too much positive spin into the growth rate.

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

• Bidz.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDZ) Q4 earnings release included notice about an SEC investigation.
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) saw net income drop by almost 50%, falling short of estimates.
• Ducommun Inc. (NYSE: DCO) received an analyst's downgrade after its Q4 earnings release.
• Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) said Q4 earnings fell due to weakness at Gap and Old Navy stores.
• General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) worse-than-expected results prompted speculation about its survival.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the parade of earnings declines to continue into the final week of February, with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN), Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M), DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA), Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE: RY), Del Monte Foods Co. (NASDAQ: DLM), Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH), and H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) all expected to post lower earnings for the most recent quarter. Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: CTB) are expect to have swung to a loss.