Wall Street seems pleased by the latest earnings report from Liz Claiborne (LIZ), judging by the stock's 5% jump Thursday morning. Bright and early, Liz Claiborne reported a third-quarter loss of $62.7 million, or 67 cents per share, improved from its year-ago loss of $90.5 million, or 96 cents per share. Excluding items, Liz Claiborne swallowed a loss of 24 cents per share from continuing operations.

Net sales for the quarter declined 14% to $658.3 million -- but, excluding the impact of a shift to licensing models under a new deal with JCPenney (JCP), sales fell just 2.7%. Gross margin, meanwhile, expanded to 51.3% from 45.3%.

Yingli Green Energy (YGE) took the earnings stage this morning, with the alternative energy issue swinging to a second-quarter profit of $32.1 million, or 21 cents per American depositary share (ADS). Excluding items, earnings arrived at 25 cents per share, exceeding analysts' expectations for a profit of 19 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter climbed 81% to $398.1 million, topping Wall Street's forecast of $371 million.

Gross margin also improved, expanding to 33.5% from 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. For the full year, YGE hiked its gross margin target to a range between 28% and 30%.

Shares of TASER International (NASDAQ: TASR) are trading lower today as investors react to the company's second-quarter earnings report. The stun-gun issue reported a narrowed quarterly loss of $723,403, or a penny per share, compared to its year-ago loss of 3 cents per share.

Revenue for the period increased 3.5% to $21.8 million, though gross margin fell to 62.9% from 64.5%. Research and development expenses jumped 45% during the quarter as TASER poured more cash into new products, including its recently launched X3 device.