It's official: the holiday season is here, marking the beginning of the race to the end of the year. It's also time for another FOMC interest rate decision, as well as for another look at the employment situation, perhaps the most dreaded measure of the economic recovery in the U.S. This week will bring the Challenger job cut announcements for October on Wednesday, initial jobless claims for last week and the Monster Employment Index for October on Thursday, and the employment numbers for October on Friday.

The earnings season rolls on this week as well, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting good showings from the reports of Boston Beer Company Inc. (NYSE: SAM), DirecTV Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV), Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE), Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX), and Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI).

Coinstar's (NASDAQ: CSTR) Redbox, a convenient movie-rental kiosk, has really shaken things up in the media industry. BloggingStocks has covered recent events surrounding this asset: Zac Bissonnette wrote an article earlier in the month discussing the subject of litigation with certain studios, and Brent Archer covered a possible options play connected to a deal with Viacom (NYSE: VIA).

I won't rehash all of the details, but let me boil it down to the salient issue: studios such as Disney (NYSE: DIS), General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) are all worried about the devaluation of physical media. Redbox charges a single dollar per day for a DVD rental. This frightens content makers. Executives at these companies believe that discs must be defended since they are an important way of amortizing costs associated with making films. Even those entities that have decided to engage the Redbox model probably aren't happy about it. Lions Gate (NYSE: LGF) surely doesn't enjoy the deflation of the DVD, but it is playing ball nevertheless.

Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR - option chain) shares are rising today after the company signed a supply deal with movie studio Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B). Under the deal, CSTR's subsidiary Redbox will stock its $1-per-night DVD rental kiosks with Paramount Pictures DVDs. 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 CSTR.

CSTR opened this morning at $32.55. So far today the stock has hit a low of $32.51 and a high of $34.49. As of 11:40, CSTR is trading at $33.12 up 83 cents (2.5%). The chart for CSTR looks neutral and S&P gives CSTR a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Redbox, a division of Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR), has sued Warner Home Video over that company's decision to delay the DVD kiosk rental chain's access to its new releases. That lawsuit follows similar suits against Universal and 20th Century Fox, both of which also have sought to delay Redbox releases to preserve demand for higher margin retail sales.

"Redbox remains committed to providing our customers the new release DVDs they want, where they want and at the low price they want," Redbox President Mitch Lowe said in a statement.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) reported better-than-expected Q2 results, sending shares higher.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) said it swung to a Q2 profit despite a dearth of leveraged buyouts.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) Q2 earnings declined but still topped estimates, sending shares higher.
• Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) reported stellar Q2 results driven by its the popularity of RedBox.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) posted solid Q4 earnings but said revenues were flat due to currency effects.
• Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) lower Q2 earnings beat expectations by a penny but revenue fell short.

Not that long ago, Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR) was a sleepy business. Its retail kiosks helped with the mundane tasks like coin counting, money transfers, and so on.

However, the company has redefined its vision -- considering itself a big player in the automated retail category. And, it looks like the key to the strategy is its DVD rental kiosk platform, Redbox.

As seen with the latest quarterly results, Redbox is propelling growth. Revenues spiked 43% to $314 million, with profits going from $2.7 million, or $0.09 per share, to $7 million, or $0.23 per share. For the year, Coinstar expects revenues of $1.225 billion to $1.3 billion. Profits are forecasted at $0.80 to $0.86 per share.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings says his biggest competitor isn't the one that his company is most often grouped with. It's not Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), the largest brick-and-mortar rental chain, and it's not the internet -- where technological gains are making streaming video the wave of the future.

No, according to Mr. Hastings, the biggest competitor is Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR), the coin counting business that also happens to own Redbox, the network of 15,400 vending machines that rent movies for $1 per night. Redbox is installing another machine every hour.

"Now could be your chance to pick up Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR) at a bargain," Brandon Clay pointing to the firm whose macbhines turn coins into cash. In his Invest with an Edge he states, "We recommend the stock as a recession-resistant, consumer play in a shaky market."

"There are three reasons why we like Constar. First, it's a consumer-savvy play. The company is built on perennial consumer-driven services.

"Their flagship Coinstar machine turns idle change into cash. For every dollar consumers drop into the grate, Coinstar makes $0.089. It may not seem like much, but this simple idea grew CSTR from an idea in 1992, to a $912 million company last year.

Growth stock expert Steve Rawls sees "dollars" from a company that helps sorts "coins." In his The Tipping Point Stocks newsletter, the advisor takes a look at Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR).

"Often we miss the obvious. We miss how the little can equal the large. Consider your last visit to the supermarket. You probably passed by that machine that offered to count your pennies for a small fee. It's neat for people who saved their pennies, but not for you, right?

"What if I told you that the coin machine you just passed by with little thought was part of a $1.2 to $1.3 billion enterprise? Welcome to the world of Coinstar.

It's about that time again: Pepsi vs. Coke. No, not another taste test or another Battle of the Brands. It's time for the next quarterly results from these two soft drink titans.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters anticipate that PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP), global beverage and snack food giant, will report fourth-quarter earnings this week that are 9.1% higher that a year ago, or $0.88 per share. Revenue is expected to total $12.8 billion, which is 3.9% higher than last year. For the full year, the profit is expected to be $3.67 per share on revenue of $43.4 billion, up from $3.38 per share on $39.5 billion in 2007. PepsiCo's earnings met or beat estimates in four of the past five quarters, but missed by only two cents per share in the third quarter. The consensus recommendation of analysts remains to buy PEP. The share price fell to a 52-week low in January and is now 24.4% lower than it was a year ago. During the fourth quarter, PepsiCo declared a $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, agreed to acquire a Spitz International, and announced investments in China and Mexico.

General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal movie studio is is duking it out with Redbox, the DVD rental kiosk business owned by Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR).

Basically, Universal doesn't like that Redbox is renting out its movies for $1 per night, and thinks its hurting its retail sales and those of Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) which splits a chunk of its revenue with the studio.

Universal threatened to stop selling its movies to Redbox but, like the petulant little upstart that it is, Redbox just went ahead and bought them from other sources -- and sued Universal for antitrust violations and misusing copyrights. Universal has asked the court to throw out (subscription required) the lawsuit.

Universal has said that it wants Redbox to stock its DVDs no earlier than 45 days after they hit traditional retailers -- but Redbox isn't having it.

There's no question that consumers will be rooting for Redbox in this one: If Redbox wants to buy movies and rent them out for $1 per night, it doesn't really seem like Universal should be able to stop them.

To get codes for free Redbox rentals, click here.

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

• Activision Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) posted stellar results on the popularity of Guitar Hero and Transformers.
• Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) beat Q4 estimtates with record earnings and raised its guidance.
• Amkor Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR) beat Q1 expectations on strong demand for wireless.
• Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) reported strong Q1 results that beat Wall Street estimates.
• Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) beat Q1 expectations on its "global reach" and raised its 2008 guidance.
• Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) beat Q1 expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• DirecTV Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV) posted better-than-expected results and announced share buybacks.
• Double-Take Software (NASDAQ: DBTK) beat Q1 expectations and raised its Q2 and 2008 guidance.
• Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) profits surged in the first quarter on record high gold prices.
• ICON plc (NASDAQ: ICLR) beat Q1 expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) easily beat Q1 estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) reported a surge in Q1 profits that beat Wall Street estimates.
• Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) beat Q1 expectations and lifted its Q2 and 2008 forecasts.
• Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) beat Q4 expectations and raised its Q1 outlook.
• Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) Q1 profits more than doubled due to soaring oil prices.
• Unilever (NYSE: UL) posted strong results, with revenues beating estimates for the first time in six years.
• UTStarcom Inc. (NASDAQ: UTSI) released a preliminary guidance well above expectations.
• Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) posted better-than-expected results on success of its theme parks.

Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR) offers North American and U.K. retailers a range of storefront service and entertainment devices. These include coin counters, kiddie rides, bulk vending machines, skill-crane games and point-of-sale terminals. The firm also provides self-service DVD movie rental/purchase kiosks and provides money transfer services, prepaid wireless products, stored value cards, payroll cards and prepaid debit cards. Coinstar products and services are distributed through more than 53,000 retail stores. Corporate clients include Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Walgreen (NYSE: WAG).

The company surprised the Street last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 18 cents and revenues of $190.5 million. Analysts had been expecting four cents and $182.7 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 8-15 cents (12 cent consensus), Q2 revenues to $200-$210 million ($202.19M consensus), FY08 EPS to 60-75 cents (57 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $850-$900 million ($829.83M consensus). DA Davidson subsequently upgraded the stock to "buy".

MOST NOTEWORTHY: United Rentals, Inc (URI), Nintendo Co (NTDOY), Shuffle Master, Inc (SHFL), CheckFree Corp (CKFR) and The Kroger Co (KR) were some of today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan cut United Rentals Inc (NYSE: URI) to Underweight from Neutral believing the company's strategic alternatives and valuation upside are limited given slowing end markets and lack of sources to unlock value.

• Citigroup downgraded Nintendo Ltd (OTC: NTDOY) to Hold from Buy.

• Prudential downgraded Shuffle Master Inc (NASDAQ: SHFL) to Neutral from Outperform following a field trip to Macau, as they are incrementally more negative given competition in electronic table games and continued market share erosion in slots.

• JMP Securities cut CheckFree Corp (NASDAQ: CKFR) to Market Outperform from Strong buy and has a greater degree of certainty that Bank of America (BAC) is planning on moving its payment warehouse portion of online bill pay in-house over an unspecified period. The firm believes earnings can be impacted by 25c-30c annually.

• HSBC downgraded shares of The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) to Neutral from Overweight.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• ThinkEquity downgraded KLA-Tencor Corp (NASDAQ: KLAC) to Accumulate from Buy.

• Cowen downgraded Salesforce.com, Inc (NYSE: CRM) to Neutral from Outperform and removed the company from its Focus List citing reduced visibility, lack of near-term catalysts and potential increased competition from Oracle Corp (ORCL) and Microsoft (MSFT).

• JP Morgan cut Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (NYSE: RDY) to Underweight from Overweight to reflect the increased risk of changing market conditions in Germany.

• Matrix USA downgraded Coinstar, Inc (NASDAQ: CSTR) to Sell from Hold on valuation.

• Piper Jaffray cut Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ: CTSH) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• JMP Securities downgraded Dendreon Corp (NASDAQ: DNDN) to Market Outperform from Strong Buy.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

I'm a big fan of Peter Lynch's methods for finding exciting growth stocks before other people do. His strategy: Go to the mall, talk to your kids, and learn about the businesses. There will be plenty of time for spreadsheets and discounted cash flow when you get back to the office. In her column Three Places to Spot Investment Ideas, TheStreet.com contributor Jennifer Openshaw advises readers: Take it to the streets, take it on the road, and take it to expert customers.

Because the first book on investing I read was by Peter Lynch, my first stock pick came from my own personal experience. I worked as a cashier at a grocery store and noticed that many people were using the new Coinstar machine. An elderly lady explained to me that she'd been reluctant at first, but that the fee that Coinstar charged was not as valuable as the amount of time she could save with it. "Doing it myself instead of using Coinstar would be the equivalent of paying myself $1.50 an hour to roll change," she told me.

I talked to the Coinstar technician and then, with my savings from work that summer, took the plunge. I bought a hundred shares of Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR), and earned a solid return on it.

Reading Openshaw's column got me to thinking: There are some pretty weird places to find investing ideas. So I'm asking our readers to leave a comment answering this question: What is the craziest place that you ever found an idea for a stock? The person who contributes the strangest story will win the satisfaction of knowing that he or she had the strangest story.