Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) reported earnings for the fourth quarter earlier this week. How does the stock look now that the latest numbers are out?

Well, from a fundamental point of view, things are looking pretty good. According to Reuters, the apparel concern made an adjusted 93 cents per share. Talk about a beat: that number was ten pennies above the consensus projection. In terms of guidance, management expects to bring in an adjusted profit between $4.70 and $4.95 per share over the next fiscal year; Wall Street was thinking that $4.75 per share was likely.

This year get ready to open your wallet wider and expect higher credit card bills for the basics like food, clothing and energy. You are probably wondering what is going on. While you weren't paying much attention, the price raw commodities surged in 2010. Corn, sugar, wheat, cotton, coffee and soybeans prices soared last year, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

A confluence of factors pushed prices up. We had and still have demand explosion from China and India. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's monthly food index which monitors a basket of commodities including meat, dairy and sugar rose for the sixth straight month to a record.

The Men's Wearhouse, Inc. (MW) is being punished today. Just before the end of the session, the company's shares were down almost 17% to $23.87. Not that you have to be told this, but volume was huge.

What the heck happened? It's a simple case of an outlook that isn't up to Wall Street's standards. According to Bloomberg, the third quarter went well enough. On an adjusted basis, the chain made 57 cents per share. That was nine pennies above the overall projection.

On Monday, Standpoint Research initiated a Buy rating on shares of retailer True Religion Apparel (TRLG). The stock soared more than 6% on the bullish outlook. It closed at $22.07 Tuesday. Given Standpoint's $33 price target -- a potential 58% return from last Friday's closing price -- the move may have been more than justified.

The tide appears to be turning in on TRLG. The stock is down a little less than 20% on the six-month chart, but it has risen more than 14% over the last five trading days, and seems poised to continue its ascent Wednesday. Money is clearly pouring into this name and the retail sector as a whole is heating up.

Guess (GES) looked like an investment idea worthy of consideration back in March. Since then, the stock, like many others, has taken a tumble, as the following chart will explain. As expected, I've become a bit bearish on the shares.

But should I be? You can't always judge an equity by its chart. I had enjoyed the fourth-quarter results. And now, here I am highlighting the Q2 numbers. They were good, too. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the company made 72 cents per share on the bottom line. Management beat the analyst call by four pennies.

Ann Taylor (ANN) closed higher this past Friday by a whopping 8%. It increased $1.73 to $21.96. Volume was well above average, an indication of conviction behind the trade. Wall Street gave the retailer a thumbs-up after its most recent quarterly report.

The stock has been an interesting one over the past twelve months. As I've mentioned before, it's been difficult figuring out exactly where the market wants to take it. Yet, when you step back and have a look at the one-year chart, you see what appears to be a bias to the upside. The right side of the graphic shows a little volatility that has pulled the stock down from the 52-week high of $25.24. Have we been presented with a buying opportunity?

Phillips Van-Heusen Corp. (PVH) issued Q4 numbers Monday after the bell. The apparel maker, which recently purchased the Tommy Hilfiger brand, doubled its adjusted income to 61 cents per share. That was two pennies ahead of estimates. The top line increased 9%, also on an adjusted basis.

When you compare the fourth quarter's growth rates to the performance of the full fiscal year, you'll see a clear advantage to the former. This is hopefully indicative of a bright future course.

If you are a shareholder of apparel entity Perry Ellis (PERY), you probably aren't so happy about the price action seen on Friday. The stock was off by 9%, on strong volume. The market just wasn't buying the earnings news.

What happened? According to Reuters, the situation didn't seem so bad. The company made 64 cents per share in the fourth quarter. That was a lot better than the $1.58 per-share loss observed in the comparable period twelve months ago. Furthermore, estimates were set at 59 cents per share. Come on, what gives? Plus, if you look at the actual press release, you'll find some encouraging commentary from management. The worst of the economic problems is hopefully behind the business; in addition, cash flow appears to be decent.

Guess (GES), a fashion concept whose related companies include Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Gap (GPS), and Polo Ralph Lauren (RL), posted fourth-quarter results Wednesday after the bell. Adjusted income went up well over 40% to 96 cents per diluted share. According to Earnings.com, Wall Street believed 81 cents per share would be the bottom-line number.

Total net sales increased 14%. Same-store sales were up 5.3% (they were better by 2% if you look at the metric in constant dollars). Net cash from operating activities over the last twelve months experienced significant expansion.

I'm characterizing this as odd because I guess I was expecting to see a big beat on the bottom line after observing the strong rally in the stock. At the time of this writing, shares of the retailer were trading higher by over 6%, with tons of volume backing the bid.

J. Crew Group (JCG), an apparel chain whose related stocks include Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Gap (GPS), and JCPenney (JCP), reported strong sales and earnings yesterday after the bell. I'm impressed; I have to say, like I did the last time, bravo to an excellent quarter.

Overall sales rose 19% in Q4, according to the corporate press release. Same-store revenues increased 17%. Earnings per share were 61 cents on a diluted basis. A loss of 22 cents was recorded twelve months ago. As far as the analysts go, they should be pleased. Then again, they probably should be disappointed, since their projections were completely taken out (I guess it all depends on one's perspective). Either way, the call was for net income to come in around 46 cents per share.