"One way to build an inflation hedge into your investment cash flows is to focus on stocks that are likely to boost their dividends on a regular basis," explains dividend specialist Chuck Carlson.

In his The DRIP Investor, which focuses on blue chip companies offering dividend reinvestment programs, he notes, "Since dividends are paid with cold cash, they can't be faked. Either you pay the dividend or you don't. They can't be some figment of accounting magic." Here, he looks at three favorite blue chips with strong dividend records.

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.

Even as the battle over health care reform rages on Capitol Hill, we are seeing a flurry of third quarter reports from insurers.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) reported Thursday that its third-quarter profit rose 18% from a year ago to $308.2 million, or $0.69 per share, topping Wall Street's expectations. Revenue came in at $8.72 billion, versus the consensus of $8.68 billion. Aetna also said share repurchases totaled 3.9 million at a cost of $114 million in the third quarter of 2009.

It appears the market is finally starting to see the value in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), hence it goes without saying that I'm reiterating my Buy rating for company, first recommended on May 28, 2009 at a price of $36.07.

Aflac is another one of those insurers that was rudely treated by Wall Street during the panicked frenzy that gripped markets with the onset of the financial crisis. And it was rude: the Street took AFL's shares from a high of $68 to about $11, basically on the fear that Aflac would incur major losses from European bank hybrid bonds, including the threat of bank nationalization.

The earnings crunch rolls on this coming week, with quarterly reports expected from Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Kellogg (NYSE: K), MasterCard (NYSE: MA), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), U.S. Steel (NYSE: X), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), and many others.

Below are some reporting companies for which analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have high hopes. What does that mean? Well, all of them are expected to report double-digit earnings grown in the most recent quarter. They have tended to offer positive surprises in recent quarters. They have long-term EPS growth forecasts of greater than 10%, and they have earnings multiples that are higher than their industry or sector averages, or higher than at least one top competitor. And they all have First Call consensus recommendations to buy.

The market's flight-to-safety in late 2008/early 2009 spared few sectors, and it did not exempt the insurance sector, the upside of which is an insurance value or two for investors, and Aflac is one.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is another one of those insurers that was rudely treated by Wall Street during the panic and paranoia that gripped markets with the onset of the global financial crisis. And it was rude: the Street took AFL's shares from a high of $68 to about $11, basically on the fear that Alfac would incur major losses from European bank hybrid bonds, including the threat of bank nationalization. To be sure, given the opaqueness surrounding much of the financial crisis, an AFL hair-cut was in order, but an 80% price drop? Please.

If you've been watching earnings this past week, or if you read last week's Week in Preview, then this coming week may leave you feeling a bit like Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day. That is, again analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect earnings declines to be more frequent and deeper than earnings gains.

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), IAC Interactivecorp (NASDAQ: IACI), Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO), Elizabeth Arden Inc. (NASDAQ: RDEN), Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN), Diebold Inc. (NYSE: DBD), Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL), ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT), and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) are scheduled to report quarterly results this week, and they're all expected to report double-digit declines in earnings.

But again this week, let's take a look who Wall Street feels may have done well in the past quarter.

Wall Street's optimism in last week's preview about the earnings of tech stocks wasn't misplaced, as there were many more positive surprises than negative ones among the stocks we looked at. This week will bring plenty more data for investors in and watchers of the sector to mull over. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), for example, are expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to post modest earnings gains from a year ago, to $1.11 per share (on $8.1 billion in sales), $0.72 per share (on $31.3 billion in sales), and $0.47 per share (on $14.8 billion in sales) respectively. All three of these companies ended the week closer to their 52-week lows than highs, and analysts on average consider them each a buy.

Here's a look at some of the week's biggest expected earnings gainers and decliners in the sector:

• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU): $1.25 per share (+44.0%) on revenues of $134.7 million (+103.2%)
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM): $0.44 per share (+38.6%) on revenues of $1.3 billion (+33.8%)
• QLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QLGC): $0.31 per share (+29.0%) on revenues of $170.0 million (+21.2%)
• FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR): $0.32 per share (+28.1%) on revenues of $275.2 million (+44.0%)
• Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR): $0.30 per share (+26.7%) on revenues of $927.4 million (+26.2%)
• Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT): $0.75 per share (+17.3%) on revenues of $391.6 million (+11.1%)
• Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX): $0.29 per share (+17.2%) on revenues of $8.7 billion (+57.3%)
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC): $0.19 per share (+10.5%) on revenues of $3.7 billion (+12.9%)

Aflac (NYSE: AFL) is a new addition to the "Borderless Portfolio" maintained by global expert John Christy. Here's the latest from his industry-leading Forbes International Investment Report.

"If you own a television, chances are you're quite familiar with the infamous squawking duck in Aflac's commercials. Aflac has also been in the news lately as the first American company to give shareholders a 'say on pay', or the ability to vote on executive compensation.

"Less well known, however, is Aflac's huge presence in the Japanese insurance market. In 2007, roughly
75% of the company's pre-tax operating earnings were generated in Japan.

"Alfac has been doing business in Japan for more than 30 years, and one in four Japanese households has an Aflac insurance policy. In Japan, Aflac sells healthcare policies for certain things that aren't covered by the national healthcare system, as well as life insurance. And, yes, they have a talking duck in their ads over there too.

"At a time when many financial companies are reporting massive write-offs, Aflac reiterated its target of 15% earnings growth this year, and double-digit growth in 2009. Aflac Japan is doing its part to help drive this growth with 19% operating earnings growth in the first quarter of 2008."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Over the past year, we have been hearing a lot of bad news about investment banks and insurers. The slumping housing market, credit crunch and subprime mortgage troubles have been leading the headlines, so many of you are probably shying away from financial stocks as almost all the banks have been getting only bad publicity lately.

In the light of those worries about safe investments, CNNMoney is asking us to reconsider our opinions, claiming that there really are some quality stocks in these challenging financial times.

Berkshire Hathaway tops the list, mainly because of its CEO Warren Buffett, who has the experience of surviving previous recessions. While some investors may have impression that the company has a lot of tough times ahead, CNNMoney sees Berkshire with a lot of capital, which could be enough to steer it through the current economic storm. To support this argument, CNNMoney cites Keppler Asset management CIO Michael Keppler, who is convinced that Berkshire will be able to beat the difficult market.

So shareholders of Aflac (NYSE: AFL) had a really cool idea: wouldn't it be cool if the owners of the company got to have some say in how the top employees at the company were compensated?

I know: blasphemy. But on Monday the company best known for a duck voiced by Gilbert Gottfried became the first company to give its shareholders a say on pay. The result? A big fat nothing. More than 93% of shareholders approved of the $11.96 million compensation package that CEO Daniel P. Amos received for 2007. During Mr. Amos' 18-years at the helm, the stock has appreciated more than 3,000%. So here's a guy who deserves his big payday.

Amazingly, most shareholder resolutions suggesting say-on-pay proposals have been opposed by management and voted down by large institutional shareholders. It's hard to understand given that the votes are simply advisory. Why shouldn't the board hear how shareholders feel about the work of the compensation committee?

But with 93% of voters approving the CEO's package, the say on pay deal at Aflac changes nothing, which is not surprising. Companies that have strong enough corporate governance and shareholders awake enough to demand a say on pay are not likely to suffer from egregious pay problems. The executive compensation outhouses like Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) would never have votes like this.

Aflac (NYSE: AFL), which is a major insurer, has an off-beat message – at least, according to its commercials (which involve a noisy duck).

Well, the company has made some history this week. That is, the shareholders can vote "yes" or "no" on executive compensation.

While it is non-binding, it is still important. If anything, its recognition from Aflac that its shareholders have a say on things.

Funny enough, the company really doesn't need this in terms of pacifying shareholders. After all, Aflac has been a solid performer.

However, does this mean we'll see other firms join in the trend? Perhaps some. But, when it comes to giving up a little power, you're likely to see lots of resistance in the boardroom.

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.

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

• AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.
• Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) posted a wider-than-expected loss; shares hit new low.
• Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) beat Q2 estimates on strength in the managed services businesses.
• Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH) beat expectations in the first quarter and raised its guidance.
• Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) posted a larger-than-estimated Q1 loss.
• Aptar Group Inc. (NYSE: ATR) posted record Q1 results and raised its Q2 guidance.
• Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Q1 earnings plunged on further housing-related write-downs.
• Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) narrowly beat earnings expectations on cost cutting.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) beat analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
• Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) reported a wider-than-forecast loss on subprime-related write-downs.
• Cree Inc. (NYSE: CREE) earnings slipped while revenues soared 29%.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) reported worse-than-expected Q1 earnings on discontinued product charge.
• Gannet Inc. (NYSE: GCI) beat low expectations as earnings and revenue continue slump.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings on international strength.
• JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) missed Q1 expectations on restructuring and litigation costs.
• Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) beat EPS estimates by a penny, as revenue jumped 10%.

AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) shares are trading higher after the company posted a first-quarter profit of $474 million, or 98 cents per share, above analysts' estimates of 96 cents per share. 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 AFL.

After hitting a one-year low of $48.79 last April, the stock hit a one-year high of $68.81 last week. AFL opened this morning at $66.26. So far today the stock has hit a low of $66.23 and a high of $67.85. As of 10:15, AFL is trading at $67.42, up $2.34 (3.6%). The chart for AFL looks bullish and steady, while S&P gives the stock its highest 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an August bull-put credit spread below the $55 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 6.4% return in just four months as long as AFL is above $55 at August expiration. Evergreen would have to fall by more than 18% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

AFL hasn't been below $55 since October and has shown support around $61 recently. This trade could be risky if the slumping economy continues, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock might find from its 200-day moving average, which is currently around $60 and rising.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in AFL.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: RAM Holdings, State Street and Ericsson were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Banc of America downgraded shares of RAM Holdings (NASDAQ: RAMR) to Neutral from Buy as they believe the company could have increasing loss provisions related to RMBS and CDO exposure over the next several quarters.
  
• State Street (NYSE: STT) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette on valuation and difficult comparisons in the second half of 2008.
  
• HSBC downgraded Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Neutral from Overweight and prefers Nokia (NYSE: NOK) at current levels.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Bear cut Quintana Maritime (NASDAQ: QMAR) to Peer Perform from Outperform.
  
• Goldman downgraded Lukoil (OTC: LUKOY) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• UBS downgraded Aflac (NYSE: AFL) to Neutral from Buy.