• Earnings beat expectations. RVBD reported EPS of 13 cents vs. consensus of 10 cents. The revenue number was also higher.
  
  
• Several brokers have enthusiastically raised their targets for RVBD. Lazard Capital raised the price target from $14 to $17, and Wedbush and William Blair upgraded the stock.
  
  
• The percentage of float shorted was 21% at the beginning of April. This stands out as the most interesting piece of data for a trader like me. Given the ignition provided by the good earnings announcement, wouldn't the shorts rush to cover?

Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP), which saw its stock surge some 150% in 2007, didn't have such a good 2008 so far with its stock plunging about 44% year-to-date. But since setting a 52-week low of $28.19 on March 22, the stock has rebounded nicely, up over 55%. Roller coaster or what?!

Well, today, the maker of photovoltaic cells and modules said first-quarter earnings more than doubled on 76% higher revenue. Earnings reached $55.8 million, or 33 cents an American depositary share, beating analysts estimates of 28 cents. Revenue reached $434.5 million. Gross margins also expanded nicely and Suntech reiterated revenue estimates for 2008.

Early in the morning, STP shares jumped over 7% in premarket trading in response to the report but have not kept this up. Shares are now trading at $45.73, down over 1%, probably declining with the rest of the sector following Goldman Sachs's downgrade of Solarfun (NASDAQ: SOLF) to Sell from Neutral. SOLF shares are down over 18% taking LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) down with it -- 5%, 8% and 13% respectively, to name but a few.

Consumers are still willing to run their lives based on credit, so says an Associated Press report. Consumer borrowing increased at an annual rate of 7.4% in November compared to an increase of just 1% in October - ah yes, the faux magic of a consumerist Christmas.

The truth of the matter rests in the cause for the rise. Is it because consumers are still confident in their earning potential? The more likely cause is that consumers are running out of funding options, read that -- they're running out of cash.

So why is it that mortgages are getting harder to write but consumer purchases can still be funded with just a signature? Although they're deflating in value, homes still provide significant backing for lenders to lean their bets on whereas credit cards float in the unknown. With bankruptcies at an all time high, are we setting up for the final crash?

So you've had a new baby. Congratulations! Now put that thing down and get back to work or we'll dock your pay.

That's the subtle message being insidiously delivered to working moms nation wide. Now there's a social / political action group actively working to change that scenario. A report provided by CNN Money.com reveals that Moms Rising, a well organized group with increasing power, has amassed a membership of nearly 80,000 since May of 2006. I would call that a bit of a ground swell. They are "taking it to the streets" and to the legislators and to the unions and, they intend, to the board rooms. They don't want to toss their babies aside in pursuit of wages after giving birth. They are demanding that this nation's employers take notice of the extreme value of properly raised children and they're tired of paying an unfair price for recognizing that truth.

Moms Rising Executive Director, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner states that US employment policies are lacking and unfair in the way they address middle and lower class working families dealing with child rearing issues. I think she's right and she has the statistics to support that position. A Cornell University study has shown that mothers of professional status were 44% less likely to be hired when compared with their non-mother counterparts and that they would be offered as much as $11,000 lower starting salaries on average. Moms Rising seeks to make family status a taboo matter when being considered for a job. It's not right that your status as a parent would count against you if you're the most qualified applicant for a position. Remember that single and divorced dads figure into this situation also. Given the vast and varied custody arrangements floating around these days, being a child's part time care giver shouldn't count against daddy either.

The major area of focus for Moms Rising is paid leave for addressing child care and rearing issues. This is a hotbed of contention and will most likely require serious pressure and lobbying from more than one group. This is why Moms Rising encourages and supports all positive means of activism which are undertaken by their members and any interested satellite organizations. Moms Rising sees no differentiation between social or economic classes when it comes to fair treatment and compensation for those individuals who are raising children. This is about parents not being penalized for having kids. It's that clear and it's that simple.

I for one don't much have to deal with the problem of sacrificing pay to care for my child. My employer has made it clear that raising children is done at your own peril. They won't compensate one cent for absences involved with child rearing, unless you use your own vacation time for it. I'm one of the lucky ones here. My lovely wife is a stay-at-home mom. I guess there are certain advantages to childcare being so outrageously expensive and wages being so low that it's impractical and unaffordable for my wife to go back to work outside the home.

Now ain't that just a kick in the head.