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

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q3 earnings beat by a penny but sales fell short of expectations; shares fell.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) reported a Q3 net loss and plunging revenue but also raised $4 billion in cash.
• BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) topped Q3 earnings expectations but said bad-loan provisions nearly doubled.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) missed estimates and posted a Q3 loss due to delays for a couple of jet products.
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) shares rose after it reported better-than-expected Q3 numbers.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted a better-than-expected Q3 profit but sales fell short, and shares fell.

American Airlines had yet another difficult quarter, not unexpected in what has become an incredibly deep travel slump. The carrier's parent company, AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), reported a third quarter loss of $359 million, largely because there aren't as many business travelers taking to the skies. Corporate travel budgets in all industries are having an effect on all airlines, including AMR.

Revenue plunged 20.2% year-over-year for the third quarter for the nation's second airline. The loss comes after a $31 million gain last year. This quarter's losses would have been slightly better if write-downs for sold or grounded aircraft were excluded -- the loss would have been $265 million (93 cents a share) on revenue of $5.09 billion. With the write-downs, revenue clocked in at $5.13 billion. Cheaper fuel made the quarter a little easier for AMR to bear, as well, with this expense down 47% year-over-year.

If you think all those new airline fees were a temporary measure to help these beleaguered companies through an economic crisis, you're out of your mind. Now that they've had a taste of how much they can make by charging you for an extra bag or a little more leg room, they're hooked. More important, the fees are making up a meaningful portion of airline revenues and profits, so investors aren't likely to be satisfied with a return to normal – well, they can't. Extra fees are the new "normal."

Analyst upgrades:

• JPMorgan upgraded Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) to Overweight from Neutral following its gold valuation analysis. The firm set a $54 price target on Barrick shares and a $47 price target on Goldcorp shares.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) to Overweight from Market Weight and raised its target to $24 from $15, citing the company's improving end market demand, competitive position, and valuation.
• Barclays upgraded AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) to Overweight from Equal Weight, citing the company's improved liquidity position and what they believe to be the beginning of a multi-year profit cycle for the sector. Despite the upgrade, the firm lowered its target to $14 from $20.
• Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Toshiba (OTC: TOSBF) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.

DJIA: 9666.48 -40.96 (-0.42%)

NASDAQ: 2090.92 -16.69 (-0.79%)

S&P 500: 1044.44 -6.34 (-0.6%)

The market was remarkably bored about most of what the Fed had to say about the results of the FOMC. A close reading of the minutes shows nothing new. The economy is very modestly better. The turn for the better will be slow and painful. Housing may be getting a tiny bit better. Rates will stay near zero. The only statement which may not have been expected by almost everyone is that the agency will continue buying mortgage-backed and federal debt into the first quarter of next year.

The lack of enthusiasm showed as the major indices traded fairly flat. Today's unofficial numbers:

Dow 9,749.31 -80.56 (-0.82%)
S&P 500 1,060.90 -10.76 (-1.00%)
Nasdaq 2,131.42 -14.88 (-0.69%)

United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA), US Airways (NYSE: LCC) and American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), according to an influential analyst, have run out of options. Jamie Baker of JPMorgan said in a July 20, 2009 report that these companies couldn't do anything to prevent a cash crisis. They only savior available to them would have to be an outside investor. To call the position grim would be optimistic. Unfortunately, it couldn't have come at a worse time.

As Baker was walking the bear into the airline industry, United was starting to celebrate its change in direction. The carrier has improved its on-time rate, according to a USA Today report, and its operations are coming around. Despite the fact that the airline industry has been brutalized by the global recession, the airline has made some progress. Through August, the company's share price doubled, and its ascent has continued in September. So, the company is locked in an ongoing struggle to manage its identity, cope with its past and shape how the world sees it today.

The operational "makeover" has resulted in a reduction of its fleet from 601 jets in 2000 to 386 as of the summer of 2009. In terms of passenger traffic, it's in the #4 spot in the United States – trailing Delta (NYSE: DAL), Southwest (NYSE: LUV) and American. With Q2 revenues off 25.2% year-over-year, however, drastic measures are still necessary.

Japan Airlines (OTC: JALSY) gained 8% Monday morning, thanks to weekend rumors that Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL) and American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) are vying for a piece of the largest airline in Asia's largest travel market. Both Delta and American hope to use an investment in JAL to gain broader access to the Japanese travel market.

Though JAL refuses to comment on any talks, it's been reported over the weekend that Delta could be interested in buying a minority stake in the airline for several hundred million dollars, while American's bid could be $1 billion or more for a joint venture. At the same time, JAL has mentioned wanting to raise a total of $2.8 billion.

Looks like Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) may have dibs on designing a completely new system for airline reservations. American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) brought the first automated attempt at reservations almost five decades ago -- and oddly, it's still in wide use today. I'm not that sure air travel has changed any in that time. Are you?

The new system -- codenamed Jetstream -- could become the next airline industry standard and would allow HP to really put its EDS purchase from 2008 into good use. This kind of custom industry programming and system creation is EDS's specialty. AMR and HP agreed to develop Jetstream over the next four years, which will be principally aimed at removing costs through improved efficiency and consistency.

There may be new hope for the perpetually ailing airline industry. While I wouldn't expect these companies to become top performers anytime soon, it looks like the best revenue stream is the one nobody's been talking about: change and cancellation fees.

These penalties, which can reach up to $150, bring $2 billion in revenue into the industry annually. According to the Department of Transportation, they were good for $527.6 million in the first quarter -- in the United States alone. This is 3.2% of U.S. airline revenue.

American Airlines parent AMR (NYSE: AMR) raked in $116 million in revenue from these penalties in the first quarter of 2009 -- compared to $108 million from the more highly publicized extra bag fees. For JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU), the numbers are smaller (JetBlue, of course, isn't as big as AMR) but no less compelling. By pumping its change and cancellation fee from $100 to $150, the airline scored $32.2 million in Q1 2009, up from $25 million in Q1 2008.

AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) got spanked in the second quarter, as frequent fliers kept their feet on the ground. The American Airlines parent posted a $390 million loss in a quarter that historically has been kind to travel companies. AMR rationalizes the results with the thought that the loss would have been only $319 million ($1.14 per share) if charges related to selling and grounding planes were excluded. This would have put the airline ahead of analyst expectations of a $1.28 per share loss. AMR's Q2 revenue fell 21% to $4.89 billion.

And, it's far better than the airline's performance in the second quarter of 2008.