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

• ADC Telecommunications Inc. (ADCT) posted a surprise net loss for Q4 and predicted a loss in Q1.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ) shares fell after Q3 earnings met expectations and offered guidance for FY.
• Dell Inc. (DELL) posted lower-than-expected Q3 earnings, prompting a sell-off of shares.
• Foot Locker Inc. (FL) said Q3 earnings slumped more than analysts' forecast, sending shares lower.
• Gap Inc. (GPS) reported growth of EPS and revenue in Q3 and announced a share buyback program.

On the heels of last week's better-than-expected earnings results from retailers Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), Kohl's Corp. (KSS), Macy's Inc. (M), Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) -- as well as disappointing numbers from Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) and JCPenney Co. Inc. (JCP) -- the coming week will bring results from more shopping- and strip-mall favorites.

TJX Companies Inc. (TJX), which operates T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores in the U.S., settled a class action, announced share buybacks and raised its guidance in the third quarter. For the three months that ended in October, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect TJX to report earnings of $0.80 per share, up from $0.57 in the same period of last year. Revenue is expected to total $5.3 billion, or 10.2% higher than a year ago. So far, the full-year forecast is for a profit of $2.59 per share (+22.3%) on $20.0 billion (+5.5%) in sales.

Back in August, I discussed my amazement at Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). The stock just didn't seem to be acting in a manner which reflected the fundamentals of the business it represents. Well, my bout of amazement continues, because shares of the retailer are up 9% as of this writing on the latest earnings report. One that didn't impress me.

For the third quarter, Abercrombie made, on a reported basis, 44 cents per diluted share compared to 72 cents per diluted share in the year-ago period. After adjustments, earnings came in at 30 cents per share. Okay, that profit drop is bad enough, but wait till I get to the really bad stuff. Which would be revenues. Total sales declined 15%, but same-store sales were even worse: they plunged off the proverbial cliff, falling 22%.

Kohl's (KSS) business model is about as sweet as World Champion New York Yankee Shortstop Derek Jeter's opposite-field swing - good for a single, to drive in a run and tie the game in the eighth inning.

Hence, it goes without saying that I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended on April 28, 2009 at a price of $43.82. If you bought KSS in April, you're up about 28%.

The conventional wisdom is that consumer spending is what drives the U.S. economy. And consumer spending arises out of consumer confidence. Unfortunately, the signals along the road to economic recovery are mixed, what with the rising GDP growth and the dismal unemployment numbers. Its enough to leave investors scratching their heads. What barometers of consumer confidence will the coming week bring?

The TIPP Economic Optimism Index for November is scheduled for Tuesday, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for November is due out Friday.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the relentless ascent can only point to a belief that Congress will put jobs on the front burner.

Washington's listening. I think that Washington has had its fill of health care talk and is anxious to focus on jobs. President Obama wants to dither now with carbon capture, content that the stimulus plan, however bogus it was, is doing the job. But Congress senses that they are 13 months from a debacle and they are going to bring employment to the front burner.

That's what I think the market is saying. When I spoke to Dan DiMicco last night, the CEO from Nucor (NUE) (Cramer's Take), he showed devastating evidence of the real unemployment, now at about 18%, and the lack of job creation coming out of this recession compared to the last four recessions.

Dress Barn (NASDAQ: DBRN), a retailer that specializes in casual fashion, issued results for the fourth quarter on Wednesday after the bell. Net sales increased 4%, and adjusted income came in at 39 cents per diluted share versus 34 cents per diluted share one year ago.

The growth rates weren't all that notable, but Dress Barn, which counts Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) as a colleague, beat estimates, according to Reuters. The call was for 37 cents per share. The top line essentially met expectations.

Earlier this week, Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) issued its August sales report. Kohl's hasn't been on my list of potential buys, but like I said back in May, the stock has been technically strong. I wanted to check back in with the retailer to see how things are going.

According to the press release, total net sales increased 4.8%. We don't care too much about total sales, though. We want to know what the same-store sales say about the company. That stat is way more vital for this sector. Unfortunately, comps were up a pitiful 0.2% last month, and they declined by 2.7% for the year-to-date period.

Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS), which owns the Payless shoe store, issued its Q2 release after the bell on Wednesday. Earnings per share took a significant dive once you made some adjustments for last year's results. They came in at 29 cents per share, a decrease of over 40%. Net sales went down over 8%.

On the surface, the news isn't good -- and it gets worse. As we all know, every investor has to play the earnings game with Wall Street. Collective Brands lost the good fight. The market was looking for 33 cents per share, according to Earnings.com. Coming in four pennies short is about as comfortable as wearing sneakers two sizes too small. Shares of Collective Brands were punished in the after-hours' session, with investors bidding the stock down by close to 7% at one point, though it later recovered.

This is probably you're last chance to snap-up some shares of Kohl's at a reasonable P/E.

Hence, I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS), first recommended on April 28, 2009 at a price of $43.82. If you bought Kohl's then, you're up about 20%.

When I wrote about The TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) back in November of last year, I was clearly bearish. Hey, things seemed a lot tougher back then, and the frugal consumer was putting a ton of pressure on retail prices. Now, though, after checking out the company's second-quarter report, I find myself losing some of my negative thoughts about it.

According to the press release, sales increased 4% and earnings per diluted share from continuing operations expanded by 27% to come in at 61 cents. This was a penny better than market expectations, according to Earnings.com.

JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), a mall retailer that competes with Macy's (NYSE: M), Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD), and Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), reported Q2 earnings on Friday. How were they? They were exactly how you'd expect them to be in this environment: not so good.

Net income did beat expectations, though. According to Bloomberg, the company made 0 cents per share, but that was enough to win the analyst game since the call was for a loss of a penny per share. Total sales, however, decreased almost 8%, and same-store sales plunged well over 9%.

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

• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) posted better-than-expected Q3 results, sending shares higher.
• AutoDesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, sending shares higher.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) had another disappointing quarter as same-store sales declined.
• CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) delayed its Q3 report due to ongoing debt restructuring and a possible bankruptcy.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS) Q2 earnings came in well ahead of Wall Street expectations.

Retail giant Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) reported second-quarter earnings this morning, saying they fell 3% due to higher expenses. Despite the drop, KSS managed to top expectations with the latest results.

KSS pulled in 75 cents per share for the quarter, a penny better than what the Street expected. Quarterly sales increased 2% in the quarter, rising to $3.81 billion and beating expectations of $3.79 billion in sales, but unfortunately, same-store sales dropped 2.3%. Looking ahead, KSS forecast full-year earnings of $2.59 to $2.70 per share, up a great deal from its earlier forecast of $2.19 to $2.42 per share. Still, the upper end of the new forecast range is still eight cents shy of the Street's expectations.

Last week offered mixed messages about whether an economic recovery is indeed underway. The unemployment figures were not as bad as feared, but July sales numbers were nothing to write home about, despite the wild popularity of the so-called cash-for-clunkers program.

The question is, where has consumer confidence (and consumer spending) been? Retail is a good place to look, and as it turns out, this week several shopping mall and strip mall favorites will be reporting earnings for the most recent quarter.