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

• Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) topped estimates but offered an outlook below expectations.
• Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY) warned that it many not be able to maintain its earnings momentum.
• Charlotte Russe Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: CHIC) was upgraded because of its growth potential.
• Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) shares tumbled after it reported Q3 numbers.
• HLS Systems International (NASDAQ: HOLI) earnings prospects and management impressed an analyst.
• JCPenney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) reported a lower Q3 profit and lowered its guidance due to the recession.
• KKR Financial Holdings (NYSE: KFN) disappointing Q3 results led to analyst downgrades.
• MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) doubled its Q3 profit and beat earnings expectations.
• Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE: NT) swung to a Q3 net loss and unveiled further restructuring measures.
• Perry Ellis International Inc. (NASDAQ: PERY) posted preliminary Q3 results and lowered its outlook.
• Siemens (NYSE: SI) Q4 net loss widened and it warned about meeting its profit target for the year.
• Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) Q4 earnings were hurt by restructuring costs, revenue rose slightly.
• Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) posted dismal Q4 results and declined to offer guidance for next year.
• Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) solid Q4 results fell short of estimates and it offered a shaky outlook.
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) earnings prospects following its equity offering led to an analyst's upgrade.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) reported lower quarterly profits and cut its full-year outlook.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) beat Q4 earnings expectations but revenues tumbled.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) reported a big loss in Q3, like many other private equity firms.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) posted a deeper-than-estimated Q3 net loss due to restructuring costs.
• Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY) warned that it expects to swing to a net loss in Q4.
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) fell to a three-year-low despite expected growth in profits and revenues.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) lowered its revenue forecast for Q4, which was bad news for PC makers.
• Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS) beat low earnings expectations by a penny as same-store sales declined.
• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) narrowed its net loss in Q2 but fell short of estimates.
• Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) said its Q3 profit tumbled as its same-store-sales declined.
• Orbitz Wordlwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW) reported a wider net loss, which led to a analyst's downgrade.
• Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) raised its forecasts after finalizing the sale of Folgers brand.
• Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) halved its Q3 net loss and revenues and subscriber numbers rose.
• TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) reported a Q3 earnings decline and offered a cautious outlook.
• Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) posted better-than-expected profits but warned of softness ahead.
• Walmart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) beat analyst estimates for Q3 and warned of a profit squeeze.

While my colleague Joseph Lazzaro noted earlier that continuing jobless claims are at a jaw-dropping 25-year high, we certainly can't blame the gadget-masters at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) for this weakness in the job market. According to an SEC filing on Wednesday, the tech-sector heavyweight ramped up its payroll by 48% in fiscal 2008.

The Cupertino, California-based company reported 32,000 full-time and 3,100 temporary and contract employees as of September 27. That's up from 21,600 full-time workers and 2,100 temporary or contract staffers in fiscal 2007. Of those new hires, it seems that 8,000 went to work at Apple's retail outlets -- 50 new Apple stores were opened during the course of fiscal 2008.

In its first full quarter on the market, Apple reported that it sold 6.9 million iPhone 3Gs. However, it seems unlikely that sales of the smartphone will be so impressive in the future. Analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. have already warned that their checks indicate a significant slip in iPhone production, and that sentiment was echoed Wednesday by UBS. Analyst Maynard Um warned that "recent data points may suggest unit volumes weaker than our current estimate of 5 million" for the December quarter. The production slip could reduce Apple's earnings per share by 5 cents.

At last check, AAPL is down about 3% to hover near the century mark.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

An interesting post written by Joseph Lazzaro on Tuesday indicated that many economists think that the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, known as the BRIC economies, will supplant the United States and European nations in terms of world power and economic strength. While this may be true to a degree, I have a message for those emerging economic powerhouses: they had better be careful.

Dear Brazil, you have resources you can't yet even contemplate. However, you have been whacking through your opportunities at a very rapid pace. You have no idea about what political powers you should align yourself with. Can you reign in your pirates, your poachers, your drug lords? Can you effectively protect even just one of your trees?

Dear Russia, you scare me. The world knows more of your organized crime than it knows of your present government. You move more capital through your black markets than through your own ports. You turn your backs on true enterprise in exchange for quick profit.

Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL), a foodstuffs processor whose colleagues include ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) and Kraft (NYSE: KFT), issued its Q2 numbers on Thursday. Revenues jumped 6% to $1.6 billion, although the growth rate was only 4% if you look at just the amount credited to organic appreciation. Net earnings per diluted share rose 14% to $0.56 per share. Volume jumped 5% altogether, and 3% based on, once again, organic growth.

This wasn't a bad earnings report for a major supermarket brand, although it certainly wasn't overly stimulating, either. So, you wanna take a guess as to by how much Hormel beat earnings expectations? If you said "by the proverbial penny," then you just might be a Wall Street junkie! Seems like so many companies got the penny-thing down pat. Anyway, Briefing.com not only said that earnings were better by a penny, but that revenues came in pretty much as expected.

Basically, Hormel is trying to navigate this inflationary environment as best it can. As we all know, it's pretty competitive out there in the grocery aisles even during prosperous periods. But take a look at the cash-flow statement and you'll see that the company did pretty well in terms of net cash from operations. That metric soared almost 30% over the six-month period. Only problem is, not too much was left over after capital expenditures and dividend payments were taken into account. Still, Hormel seems reasonably fine for now on the cash-flow front.

I'm not necessarily interested in Hormel's stock at this time. If I wanted to get in, I certainly would look to pick up shares at a higher yield; there are better opportunities out there for dividend yield, in my opinion. As Joseph Lazzaro observed a couple months back, Hormel is definitely an interesting defensive name during challenging economic times, and I did enjoy the double-digit bottom-line growth. I just think investors would be better off if this one came down a bit in terms of share price.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any company mentioned here; positions can change at any time.

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

• American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AXL) reported a strike-related Q1 loss.
• Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Q1 profit tripled on increased demand and higher prices.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) posted better-than-expected earnings despite Dreamliner delays.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) better-than-expected quarter didn't impress Jim Cramer.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) reported Q1 earnings and revenue above analysts' forecasts.
• Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) reported a big loss on a one-time charge and fuel costs.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) posted a smaller-than-forecast profit drop and predicted a good Q2.
• EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) Q1 earnings rose 26% but missed expectations.
• Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) surprised Wall Street by swinging to a profit in the first quarter.
• Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) easily surpassed analyst estimates for the first quarter.
• Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) Q1 earnings and revenue rose due to international growth.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) profit fell but was in line with analysts' expectations.

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

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) profits rose 30%, easily beating analysts' expectations.
• AMETEK Inc. (NYSE: AME) beat Q1 estimates on global strength and recent acquisitions.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) easily beat Q2 expectations but offered a weak outlook.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) posted strong Q1 results thanks to the popularity of the iPhone.
• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) beat earnings and saw an upgrade from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C).
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Q1 profit soared, and it raised its guidance.
• Cymer Inc. (NASDAQ: CYMI) beat Q1 estimates and announced a share million buyback program.
• Electronic Data Systems Inc. (NYSE: EDS) posted Q1 profits on cost cutting and new contracts.
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) Q1 earnings fell on on acquisition-related charges.
• Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) beat Q1 estimates on increased commercial aerospace sales.
• Huaneng Power ADS (NYSE: HNP) earnings plunged on coal prices, but the stock went higher.
• Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) narrowed its loss on higher sales of networking services.
• McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) Q1 profit plunged on product development and marketing costs.
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) missed analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) beat earnings expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) profit soared in the first quarter on increase in subscriptions.
• Nintendo Co. (OTC: NTDOY) posted record results due to the popularity of the Wii system.

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

• AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.
• Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) posted a wider-than-expected loss; shares hit new low.
• Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) beat Q2 estimates on strength in the managed services businesses.
• Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH) beat expectations in the first quarter and raised its guidance.
• Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) posted a larger-than-estimated Q1 loss.
• Aptar Group Inc. (NYSE: ATR) posted record Q1 results and raised its Q2 guidance.
• Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Q1 earnings plunged on further housing-related write-downs.
• Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) narrowly beat earnings expectations on cost cutting.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) beat analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
• Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) reported a wider-than-forecast loss on subprime-related write-downs.
• Cree Inc. (NYSE: CREE) earnings slipped while revenues soared 29%.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) reported worse-than-expected Q1 earnings on discontinued product charge.
• Gannet Inc. (NYSE: GCI) beat low expectations as earnings and revenue continue slump.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings on international strength.
• JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) missed Q1 expectations on restructuring and litigation costs.
• Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) beat EPS estimates by a penny, as revenue jumped 10%.

There's much speculation today about the possibility of yet another interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve. Some people indicate they think another rate cut would be a good thing. Pardon me while I ask: Are they nuts?

The dollar is already devalued to the point that our trading partners are getting edgy about their export values, and you can forget about foreign investors sticking their money into American companies to help spur development. Low level municipal bond issues could soon become a thing of the past, and that concept of placing money into conventional savings accounts? Yeah okay, I'll get right on that.

Jim Cramer sings a gloom and doom song about 7 million home owners becoming renters, and declares that the nation will be required to swallow $500 billion in losses. He alludes to a wholesale crumbling of major banks. I see no mention in his blog about possible alternate solutions to the trouble that sloppy bankers have caused themselves. Personally, I don't think that ruining the dollar with yet another round of artificially created economic stimulation based on cheap credit is a good long-term solution for our country, although it might allow some of those sloppy bankers another breather before they have to face the music. The thinking that cheap bank credit will help the economy by infusing borrowed money into the stock market and loosening up spending habits is nothing short of a sucker's bet.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and watch out for more Battle of the Brands posts.

Financial Data

An examination of the financial data indicates that Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), with a market capitalization of $2.2 billion, is up about 15% to $20.50 so far in 2007. Meanwhile, Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) has not fared as well: Nordstrom, with a market capitalization of $10.9 billion, is up about 3% to $50.80.

Products

In general, Nordstrom appears to carry a wider product line than Saks. One example would be women's apparel, where Nordstrom's line was more-extensive. Nordstrom also offered cocktail dresses in the $140 to $160 range, whereas Saks did not. That said, Saks appeared to do a better job at dress line selection: their line of black dresses was exceptional, with both contemporary and modern styles displaying eye-catching, striking/confident characteristics. Further, Saks appeared to be willing to reach slightly into Nordstrom's zone by offering black dresses as low as $180 to $200. Otherwise, Saks remained in its price zone, which was substantially higher, across apparel lines, than Nordstrom.

And that's perhaps another distinguishing characteristic between the two upscale retailers. While both Saks and Nordstrom serve the high-end consumer, Saks stays there, while Nordstrom carries many lines for the "mid-range" high-end consumer. One example here would be women's handbags: Nordstrom had several lines and styles (including leather bags) in the $200 to $300 range, whereas Saks for the most part remained in the stratosphere, with handbags above $800. Further, bag prices at Saks quickly moved above $1,200. That said, Saks, again, appeared to best Nordstrom in women's handbags; their Dolce & Gabbana and Bottega Veneta lines offered contemporary-yet-functional characteristics for that smart and sophisticated professional look.