I was a bit amused to hear Omaha Mayor Suttle unrolled the idea of a toilet paper tax, but I am not so sure he really thought this tissue through. At first glance, the tax of 10 cents per roll to pay for sewer projects seems like a fair user tax; but I think the politicians really should have contemplated this a little more. Is it really fair to women?

While certainly my heart goes out to politicians trying to balance spending all that money without the pesky things called taxes; but I don't think this idea is going to ... float. But I think it is important to give the politician partial credit for productivity; as I imagine they thought up this idea while in the john.

Forgive me but I am still fuming about what is going on in Washington with our money. Money that is disappearing faster and faster. No matter how much our representatives cut taxes and extend benefits, it is meaningless. What is the good of having twice as much money when it is worth only half.

Welcome to Washington D.C. -- home of the Great Pretenders.

We just think that our Capitol sits atop solid ground. I think if you swept away the top soil you would find a giant cardboard box because our leaders are certainly playing the biggest game of three-card Monte of all time.

Ford Motor Company (F) is reducing its debt by more than $4 billion, primarily by retiring debt owed to the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust ahead of schedule. The company said it is taking the action to further strengthen its balance sheet as it gains momentum on its One Ford plan and remains on track to deliver solid profits and positive automotive operating-related cash flow this year. July put option implied volatility for Ford is at 54, December is at 48; verses its 26-week average of 45, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

There's a difference between a CEO that's paid well and one that's raking in loot he clearly doesn't deserve. The former may invoke a bit of ire in this economic climate, but when cooler heads prevail, the cash laid out is usually but a rounding error on the increases in market cap he's driven. An overpaid CEO, on the other hand ... well, it's a bit harder to justify the inflated package.

Kerri Chyka over at CNN Money reports that the Corporate Library sifted through the bloated and legit packages out there to let us know which top dogs are rolling in dough that should probably be left in the company coffers.

1. Michael Jeffries, Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF)
Last year, Michael Jeffries made $71.8 million in total, with a base salary of $1.5 million, according to corporate governance research firm, the Corporate Library. It even included a $6 million retention bonus ... because you want to hang on to a guy who the research firm calls one of the five "Highest Paid Worst Performers" of 2008. If that stings, Jeffries can hop on the Abercrombie corporate jet instead of running away. He's paid better than 75% of rival CEOs, while the share price generally underperformed them.

2. James W. Stewart, BJ Services Company (NYSE: BJS)
James Stewart had a good year in 2008, as it outperformed most of its peers, and he nailed a $34.6 million package. In all fairness, $30 million came from the value realized on stock options. The four years that preceded Stewart's strong performance, on the other hand, were lackluster. The future, it seems, is immaterial, as Baker Hughes picked up BJ Services last month, and Stewart will probably be out the door at the end of the year, when the deal closes.

Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) a building materials systems and composite solutions company, is expected to report Q1 EPS on April 30. OC May call option implied volatility is at 87, puts are at 97; above its 26-week average of 79, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

International Paper (NYSE: IP) closed at $8.80. IP is expected to report Q1 EPS in late April. IP May option implied volatility of 111 is above its 26-week average of 83, according to Track Data, suggesting large share price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

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

• Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) earnings prospects garnered an analyst's upgrade.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) warned of a loss for the quarter due to the economic slowdown.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) posted lower Q2 profit and revenue that missed estimates.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) Q2 profit fell but beat estimates, and it reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) swung to a Q4 loss and warned that low demand will continue.
• Hartford Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) posted a loss, cut its dividend, and offered weak guidance.

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

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) reported strong Q1 numbers as its clients sought ways to cut costs.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) may interest short sellers despite its earnings prospects for 2009.
• International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) to shed dead wood to reduce the impact of the recession on earnings.
• Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) withdrew Q4 profit and revenue guidance, sending shares lower.
• Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) lowered its Q4 earnings forecast to well below analysts' estimates.
• Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) forecast its first-ever loss for the fiscal year on lower demand/higher yen.
• Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) missed Q1 expectations and announced cost cutting and store redesign.

Also, bank earnings will be hit next by cancelled M&A deals.

Earnings releases scheduled for early January include Navistar (NYSE: NAV), Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY), Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ), Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO), and Monsanto (NYSE: MON).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

International Paper (NYSE: IP), the largest paper products firm in the world, has not been immune to the global economic crisis.

As businesses continue to forecast retraction or slow growth at best, the demand for the products manufactured and distributed by International Paper is experiencing a sharp decline as well.

Despite the difficulty in the economy, the company is holding its leading position as producer of uncoated paper, industrial and commercial packaging, and pulp. It also distributes printing and specialty packaging to the graphic arts industry through its subsidiary, Xpedx.

Recent moves by International Paper appear to have been designed to reduce the impact of the recessionary environment on company earnings. The company has slimmed down significantly, selling its specialty chemical operations, disposing of the majority of its lumber and wood products businesses, and selling most of its 6.3 million acres of forestland, while retaining much of its substantial holdings of Brazilian forestland.

With more than $9.6 billion in long-term debt on its balance sheet, International Paper remains a highly leveraged company. Its long-term debt-to-equity ratio is 1.28 compared with the industry average of 0.82. Its total debt-to-equity ratio is 1.36.

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

• Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT) beat estimates with soaring Q1 revenues, bucking the airline trend.
• Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) Q1 profits doubled but fell short of expectations.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) posted solid Q1 results despite negative operational cash flow.
• Centex Corp. (NYSE: CTX) posted a Q4 loss well below analyst estimates.
• Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) profits plunged in the first quarter on litigation charges.
• Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) posted another big loss, way off estimates of a small profit.
• Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) posted its first quarterly loss since 2003 on write-downs.
• Gardner Denver Inc. (NYSE: GDI) beat Q1 expectations and raised its outlook for the year.
• International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) fell short of Wall Street's Q1 earnings estimates.
• Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) beat Q1 estimates and offered fully-year guidance.
• KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR) Q1 profit more than doubled on arbitration benefit.
• MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) topped analysts' expectations as Q1 profits more than doubled.
• Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) Q1 profits tumbled 55% but still beat analysts' estimates.

International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) shares are falling after the company posted an adjusted first-quarter profit of 41 cents per share, below analysts' predictions of 50 cents per share. IP was hurt by higher raw material costs during the quarter. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on IP.

After hitting a one-year high of $41.57 in July, the stock hit a one-year low of $26.59 in March. This morning, IP opened at $26.44. So far today the stock has hit a low of $25.81 and a high of $26.88. As of 12:15, IP is trading at $25.96, down 1.35 (-4.8%). The chart for IP looks bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bear-call credit spread above the $30 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 4.2% return in three months as long as IP is below $30 at July expiration. IP would have to rise by more than 15% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan downgraded International Paper (NYSE: IP) to Neutral from Overweight and said its purchase of Weyerhaeuser's (NYSE: WY) containerboard business will shift the company's focus back to North America and result in a less attractive product mix given increased OCC exposure.
  
• Merriman downgraded shares of Dynavax Tech (NASDAQ: DVAX) to Neutral from Buy after the company's hepatitis B vaccine was placed on clinical hold.
  
• Merrill cut Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) to Neutral from buy as they expect stronger competition and regulatory measures to cut prices.

• Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) was downgraded to Neutral from Accumulate at Buckingham.
  
• ViewPoint Financial (NASDAQ: VPFG) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Bear downgraded Siemens (NYSE: SI) to Peer Perform from Outperform.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the Weyerhaeuser and Bristol-Myers stories slipped under the radar yesterday.

Did anyone even see that Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY) (Cramer's Take) made this great trade with International Paper (NYSE: IP) (Cramer's Take), getting out of the commodity container board business and pulling in $6 billion to reduce debt? To me, anytime you get out of a commodity business you lift your multiple, even if the rest is constrained by the housing-related lumber business.

Or how about the story that Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) (Cramer's Take) might sell its baby-food business for a big chunk of change, another $6 billion.

Hmm, $12 billion in shuffles, both good for the shufflers, and no one really cares.

That's the problem with the endless focus on the financials, something I know I am falling prey to, too. Because of the focus, for example, I also missed that Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take) traded back to $68 and change after trading up to $75, a terrific opportunity.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of International Paper (NYSE: IP) to Buy from Hold on valuation and their belief that recent declines in the dollar will support pulp, paper and paperboard prices going forward.
  
• Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies after their proprietary survey yielded positive data points going into Q3. They also raised their estimates due to currency. Broadpoint raised its rating on Oracle to Buy from Neutral on valuation following the recent underperformance.
  
• Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was also upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC, as they believe the company's growing product portfolio, improving margins and successful acquisition strategy should continue to drive double-digit EPS gains.
  
• William Blair added Vistaprint (NASDAQ: VPRT) to its Current Better Values List. The firm believes the company has a large market opportunity and expects its business momentum to continue. They view the recent weakness as a buying opportunity.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• UBS upgraded Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• Banc of America upgraded Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) to Buy from Neutral.

Lots more quarterly reports rolled out this past week, and here are some highlights of earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported more losses and more job cuts.
• Alvarion Ltd.'s (NASDAQ: ALVR) record quarter fuels speculation of a Cisco (NYSE: CSCO) buyout.
• Avon Products Inc.'s (NYSE: AVP) profit rose 61%, buoyed by strength in emerging markets.
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) fell short of expectations due to tighter margins.
• CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI) had a solid quarter but warned about 2008 earnings.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) blamed profit loss on materals costs, and announced acquistion of Burt's Bees.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) beat estimates by a penny and had strong sales overseas.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) beat earnings estimates and revised its full-year forecast.
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) announced it would restate revenues, ahead of its November quarterly report.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) missed expectations, also due to tighter margins.
• Given Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIVN) cited FDA approval delays for disappointing results.
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) posted record revenues and appointed a new CFO.
• Humana Inc.'s (NYSE: HUM) positive surprise lifted the share price to a new all-time high.