As with the consumers to whom it sells, Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) has weathered tough times in recent months. The Cincinnati company saw revenues fall and volumes squeezed (not unlike its trademark Charmin bath tissue) as recession-weary shoppers continued to rein-in expenses and begged off buying pricier goods.

Still, following a year in which the company faced one of the most difficult macroeconomic environments in decades, P&G surprised analysts Thursday by reporting fiscal first-quarter earnings of $3.31 billion, or $1.06 a share, compared with $3.35 billion, or $1.03 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Zacks.com anticipated the company would earn just 97 cents a share.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is going to be reporting its fiscal fourth quarter earnings tomorrow before the market open.

Going into tomorrow's earnings announcement analysts are expecting to see the company report earnings of 79 cents per share. For the same period last year the company had earnings of 92 cents per share.

I am a big fan of Diageo (NYSE: DEO), for no other reason that the company produces this blogger's two favorite adult beverages: Guinness and Captain Morgan. I am not an investor in the company, but with the copious amount of product I have consumed in the past 14 (or so) years - I may as well be. This is why I keep taps on the company's announcements, hey, I track what I know.

Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) put up some impressive numbers this morning for its fiscal first quarter, reporting a 9% jump in profit. But the company did adjust its full year forecast slightly lower.

Going into this morning's earnings announcement, Wall Street analysts had been expecting the company to earn 99 cents per share, and the company reported an actual $1.03 EPS for its most recent quarter. This is a 12% jump year-over-year from its 92 cents earnings per share it reported for the same period last year.

Higher commodity costs continued to be a sore spot for the company, resulting in a decline in profit margins by 0.6% during the quarter to 50.5%. The volatility of the commodities market led the company to slightly lower its full year 2009 estimates, to a range of $4.15 to $4.25 a share, slightly lower on the low end from previous estimates of $4.18 to $4.25. Analysts estimates for the full year are $4.17 a share.

For the company's current second quarter, it expects to see earnings fall between $1.45 and $1.50 a share. Analysts were looking to see the company forecast $1.47 for its current quarter.

The stock is trading down slightly in the pre-market, currently down 0.3%, after posting a strong gain yesterday of 10.2% as it soared with the overall market.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

The market's choppy/consolidating pattern (or perhaps worse) continues, with several unknowns weighing on the minds of investors. It goes without saying then, that in this market defensive stocks represent a prudent addition to almost any portfolio. The grocery store sector is a dependable defensive, and in this category, Safeway is worth a review.

Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) is one of North America's largest grocery store chains, with more than 1,700 stores, primarily in the West, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic United States. Safeway also operates the Vons, Dominick's Finer Foods, Carr-Gottstein (Alaska), Genuardi's, and Randall's Food Market Chains (Texas). SWY also has an international presence via ownership of about 125 Casa Ley food/variety stores in Mexico.

Analysts expect 2008 sales to increase about 3%-5% to about $44 billion, up from about $41.8 billion in 2007, as Safeway increasingly sees the fruits of a store remodeling campaign. Gross margins should remain adequate. The Reuters fiscal year (FY) 2007/2008 earnings per share (EPS) consensus estimates for SWY are $2.01 to $2.24.

Other positives: Safeway has struck the right balance between its high quality/wide selection Safeway stores and Safeway supercenters: the former, via remodeling, better reflect middle-income customers' needs, and the later have displayed solid traffic. This winning formula leads many analysts to conclude that Safeway should be able to build on its 8% grocery store sector market share.

The risks? Analysts are keeping an eye on intensifying competition: wholesale operations and warehouses represent the biggest threat, as they boast comparable economies of scale.

The First Call mean rating for SWY is: Hold [15 firms]. Mean 2008 target: $39.00 [high: $42, low: $34].

Stock Analysis: Safeway is a moderate-risk stock not suitable for low-risk investors. Investors with an investment horizon longer than 2 years should be rewarded from SWY's shares. Sell/Stop Loss if you were to purchase shares in this company: $23.

Possibly more than ever before, smart stock investing requires a clear and wide forward view. If you don't have an undeniable road map for where your chosen companies are headed, you must dig deeper and you need to do it right now. Specifically, if the companies that you have chosen to invest in don't have a declared international focus, you must be certain of why that is and if it's appropriate.

Barring some unforeseen worldwide economic crash, which is in fact extremely possible, the fact sheet on investing these days is headed with the word global. If your portfolio is not thoroughly salted with companies that do business on a worldwide scale, then your portfolio is scheduled to wither and wane over the next three to five years. Global diversity is essential right now, and will continue to be a requirement from here on out.

It's my opinion that one of the most important criteria these days for successful portfolio building is to create a portfolio footprint that covers at least three different countries. If you have the funds to spread out and you're a fan of diversity, just for safety I suggest that you base your portfolio across five to seven countries. I would suggest the following research focuses as a sample to get your global thinking started.

Consider China for heavy manufacturing, machinery, electronics manufacturing, and a range of consumer goods. I'd be shy of putting any money over there at the moment, however, because to me their stock market is currently overinflated in value.