MOST NOTEWORTHY: HouseValues, Inc (SOLD), Fortune Brands (FO), D.R. Horton (DHI), Dicks Sporting Goods (DKS) and USG Corp (USG) were some of today's noteworthy initiations:

• Cantor believes HouseValues (NASDAQ: SOLD) may be a lagging indicator of the broader real estate market. As such, it may see its customer and revenue bases contract further in the face of still-sluggish housing data and started shares with a Hold rating.

• Pali Research initiated Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO) with a Neutral rating based on valuation.

• The firm also believes D.R. Horton's (NYSE: DHI) risk to book value and profitability is higher than some of the competition since the company has taken significantly less land charges. Shares were initiated with a Hold rating.

• Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) was initiated with an Outperform at Baird and is positive on Dick's store expansion, market leadership, margin opportunities and fundamentals.

• USG (NYSE: USG) was initiated with a Sell rating at Banc of America, believing wallboard price and profit declines will be worse than expected due to lower housing starts and less spending on remodeling. Their analysis suggests another leg down for housing...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Morgan Joseph started Jamba, Inc (NASDAQ: JMBA) with a Buy rating.

• Wachovia started Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) with a Market Perform rating.

• Baird started Golfsmith International Holdings (NASDAQ: GOLF) with a Neutral rating.

• Merrill Lynch initiated Bayer AG (NYSE: BAY) with a Buy rating and UBS initiated QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) with a Neutral rating.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Chittenden Corp (CHZ), Digital River (DRIV), Image Entertainment (DISK) and Foot Locker (FL) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Chittenden Corp (NYSE: CHZ) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at AG Edwards based on the buyout news from People's United Financial (PBCT).

• Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) was downgraded to Hold from Buy, and its target was cut to $44, at Jeffries based on the weak Microsoft (MSFT) ramp and weakness in the Symantec (SYMC) transition.

• SMH Capital downgraded shares of Image Entertainment (NASDAQ: DISK) to Sell from Neutral and recommends investors take profits on the upside and sell shares.

• Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Matrix, as the firm believes fundamentals trends are turning negative; the firm sees limited upside from current levels.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was removed from Goldman Sachs' Americas Conviction Buy List.

• Web.com (NASDAQ: WWWW) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Roth Capital Partners.

• Andrew Corp (NASDAQ: ANDW) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Oppenheimer.

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW) to Underweight from Overweight and shares of Republic Airways Holdings (NASDAQ: RJET) to Neutral from Overweight.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Pfizer Inc (PFE), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), Xerox Corp (XRX), and Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN) were some of today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Prudential downgraded shares of Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) to Neutral from Overweight with a $29 target to reflect concerns about competition from generic medications and a lack of new products.

• Deutsche Bank cut both ExxonMobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Citigroup downgraded shares of Xerox Corp (NYSE: XRX) to Sell from Hold as the firm believes the acquisition of Global Systems could hurt profits in the short-term. The broker recommended trimming positions of Xerox on any strength.

• Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) was cut to Underperform from Market Perform at Piper Jaffray based on valuation...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Stifel lowered its rating of Jones Soda Co (NASDAQ: JSDA) to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) to Sell from Hold based on valuation.

• CIBC downgraded shares of Coventry Health Care, Inc (NYSE: CVH) to Sector Performer from Outperformer on valuation.

• Needham downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: VRTX) to Hold from Buy.

• Adtran, Inc (NASDAQ: ADTN) was cut to Sell from Hold at Brean Murray.

• JP Morgan removed Johnson Controls, Inc (NYSE: JCI) from its Focus List citing recent share strength.

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

I've been in love with natural foods grocers since I was a little girl, when Fred Meyer opened a little mini-store dedicated to raw peanut butter, tofu, wheat germ and a dozen different kinds of bulk grains. The store had candy bars made out of honey and I loved it. Since then, my understanding for and appreciation of the natural grocer has grown up with the industry; from the cute little small-town co-op where I shopped in college, to the Fresh Fields (acquired, and already assimilated by, Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFMI)) I fell in love with in Philadelphia during business school, to the discovery of the Portland, Oregon New Seasons chain when I moved "back home" in 2001. I noshed at every quick-service franchise that jumped on the healthy foods wagon, from spirulina-spiked smoothies to bagels loaded with sprouts and hummus.

Natural and organic grocers always seemed like the nice (if a bit militant) guys, interested in supporting the local farmer, providing non-toxic food and diapers for our babies, striving to make sure our bodies were healthy and our baths were perfumed with chamomile and lavendar. And then 2005 happened.

Suddenly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc (NYSE:WMT) was in the organic grocery game. Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) started its own line of "O" organic foods. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) created a line of herbal-infused babycare products and Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) launched organic Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes. Big business had figured it out and suddenly it wasn't smelling much like chamomile and patchouli. No. It smelled more like war.

With the news yesterday that Whole Foods was set to acquire Wild Oats Markets (NYSE:OATS), the war seems ever more bitter.

Quarterly reports continue to roll out, as we're in the thick of earnings season. This past week we asked you, Blogging Stocks readers, for your expectations ahead of earnings reports from some of our favorites -- namely, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(NYSE:AMD), Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT).

So how did readers do at predicting earnings when compared to Wall Street? It looks like a tie to me, seven out of nine predicted correctly in each case. Let's look a little closer at what you expected.

You had little doubt that several of these stocks would beat expectations: EBAY (70% for beat), MCD (72%), SUNW (72%), T (73%), and even JNJ (59% for beat, against 39% for meet). You correctly picked MSFT to beat expectations as well, but with a bit more uncertainty -- 45% picked beat, against 40% just to meet. And while YHOO beat analysts' expectations, too, only 34% of you thought it would; 39% picked meet.

Ford was one of our favorite underdogs in the Best & Worst of 2006. Perhaps such sentiment played a part in why you were nearly split three ways on Ford in this poll, with 35% to beat, 34% to meet, and 31% to miss expectations. Unfortunately, despite your optimism Ford fell spectacularly short.

Poll results were fairly close on AMD as well, perhaps because of AMD's ongoing rivalry with Intel Corp.(NASDAQ:INTC) -- 26% of you picked it to beat, 32% to meet, and 42% to miss expectations. Despite Wall Street's low expectations, AMD fell short, as the largest portion of you predicted. Congratulations.

Upcoming earnings reports include Sony, Google, Starbucks, and Time Warner. Check out these and other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.

We at Blogging Stocks are covering more earning reports of our favorite stocks than ever before. And you may have noticed the polls that have started popping up in our earnings previews -- yes, you now have the opportunity to show your stuff.

Before the earnings reports of each of the companies listed below, we'll give you a chance to make your prediction whether they will meet, beat, or fall short of expectations. Take a look at the news and the numbers at the links below, and make up your own mind. But the question is, can you and your fellow Blogging Stocks readers do better than the analysts and market experts? You'll never know unless you cast your votes.

Note: We'll update this post frequently, and point you back here from time to time.

• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) reported 1/16. This poll is closed -- 52% of you agreed with analysts that INTC would beat expectations, and it did.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported 1/17. This poll is closed -- 86% of you agreed with analysts that AAPL would beat expectations, which it did.
• IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM) reported 1/18. This poll is closed -- 75% of you thought IBM would beat analysts' expectations, which it did.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) reported 1/19. This poll is closed -- 45% of you agreed with analysts that Citigroup would only meet expectations, but it came in just ahead.
• Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) reported 1/19. This poll is closed -- 46% of you agreed with analysts that MOT would fall short of expectations, when in fact they met them.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) reported 1/19. This poll is closed -- 59% of you were more optimistic that analysts and though GE would beat expectations, but it didn't.
• Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) reports 1/22. This poll is closed -- 42% of you agreed with analysts that PFE would meet expectations, which it did.
• Advance Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE:AMD) reported 1/23. This poll is closed -- analysts had low expectations, but 42% thought AMD would miss anyway, which it did.
• Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW) reported 1/23. This poll is closed -- a whopping 72% of you agreed with analysts that SUNW would beat expectations, which, no surprise, it did.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported 1/23. This poll is closed -- 59% of you agreed with estimates that JNJ would beat expectations, which it did.
• Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) reported 1/23. This poll is closed -- sorry but 39% of you thought Yahoo would just meet expectations, when in fact it offered an upside surprise.
• McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) reported 1/24. This poll is closed -- 72% of you agreed with analysts and MCD's own forecast that it would beat expectations, which of course it did.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) reported 1/24. This poll is closed -- another strong showing, 70% of you, for eBay to beat expectations, and it did.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) reported 1/25. This poll is closed -- AT&T beat expectations again, as analysts and 72% of believed would happen.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported 1/25. This poll is closed -- a tough call, with 45% of you chosing beat and 40% chosing meet, but beat expectations MSFT did.
• Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) reported 1/25. This poll is closed -- despite low expectations, you were split 35%, 34%, 31% for beat, meet, and miss, respectively, and Ford did fall short.
• General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) reported 3/14. This poll is closed -- 52% of you thought GM will beat expectations, but after weeks of delays it finally came out that GM missed expectations.
• Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) reported 1/30. This poll is closed -- 59% of you agreed with analysts that Sony would miss expectations, and despite some good news, it did fall short.
• Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) reported 1/30. This poll is closed -- 68% of you were more optimistic than analysts and voted for beat, but unfortunately Merck's profits fell.
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported 1/31. This poll is closed -- Google easily beat expectations, as 59% of you predicted.
• Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) reported 1/31. This poll is closed -- 64% of you voted for SBUX to beat expectations, but earnings were in line with them.
• Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) reported 1/31. This poll is closed -- 73% of you were more optimistic than analysts, but they called it -- TWX earnings met expectations.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) reported 1/31. This poll is closed -- 80% of you looked for Boeing to beat analysts' expectations, and it did.
• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported 2/1. This poll is closed -- 48% of you looked for Amazon to beat expectations, and it did.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) reported 2/1. This poll is closed -- only 43% of you thought XOM would beat analysts' expectations, but it did.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) reported 2/6. This poll is closed -- 80% of you voted that Cisco would beat expectations, and it has.
• Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) reported 2/7. This poll is closed -- 65% of you thought Disney still had the magic, and indeed it did beat expectations.
• PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP) reported 2/8. This poll is closed -- the 87% of you who voted for Pepsi to beat expectations were too optimistic.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) reported 2/14. This poll is closed -- two-thirds of you thought Coke would beat expectations again, which it did.
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) reported 2/20. This poll is closed -- 57% of you expected HD to fall short, but it met analysts expectations.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) reported 2/20 -- Wal-Mart comes out ahead of analysts' expectations.
• Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) reported 2/20 -- HPQ managed to beat analysts' expectations.
• Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ:WFMI) reported 2/21. This poll is closed -- 58% of you expected WFMI to exceed expectations, but it fell short.
• XM Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:XMSR) reported 2/26. This poll is closed -- 57% of you thought XM would fall short of the consensus, but it squeaked out ahead.
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) reported 2/27. This poll is closed -- 61% of you predicted Sirius would beat expectations, but results were in line with them.
• Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) reported 2/27. This poll is closed -- 67% of you voted for Target to beat expectations, which it did.
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) reported 3/1. This poll is closed -- you were split on whether Dell would meet or miss expectations, but miss it did.
• Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) reported 3/1. This poll is closed -- 41% of you thought VIA would disappoint, but it beat analysts' expectations.
• Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) reported 3/1. This poll is closed -- 62% of you expected BRK to beat expectations, which it easily did.
• Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) reported 3/20. This poll is closed -- 58% of you expected Oracle to beat expectations, and it did.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) reported 3/21. This poll is closed -- 48% of you expected FedEx to beat expectations, but it fell short.

Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) is boasting advances in lithium ion battery technology that is enabling automakers worldwide to successfully create and sustain the new breed of high-efficiency automobiles. Remember, these new hybrids and plug-ins are useless without adequate and dependable, long-life power sources to support them. Since January 2006, Johnson Controls has sought to make lithium ion batteries the chosen power pack for future energy efficient vehicles. I'm pleased to report that they have met with admirable success.

Earlier this month, Johnson Controls accepted a development contract with General Motors to develop and test lithium ion batteries for use in GM's Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid SUV. Concentrated development efforts begun in January 2006 by Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Systems (JCS) have come to the point where JCS was able to install and display a fully integrated lithium ion battery system in a prototype hybrid-electric SUV at the 2007 North American International Auto Show.

Alan Mumby, president and general manager of Johnson Controls hybrid battery business, states: "We are thrilled to be a key player in enabling tomorrow's green technologies". The JCS lithium ion battery laboratory, situated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the only dedicated facility in the world focused exclusively on developing lithium ion technology for use in hybrid vehicles.

At least partial funding of the JCS lithium ion battery development project has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy in furtherance of the Freedom CAR and Fuel Partnership project. The United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) is also a driving force in this effort. USCAR is a development and research effort operating with the combined forces of Americas big three automakers. This all speaks well of our friends in American auto manufacturing. Breathe easy America, they're working on it.