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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares rose after it reaffirmed its full-year earnings and sales outlook.
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) will have low double-digit EPS growth, predicts one analyst.
• AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) posted a decline in earnings but a small rise in sales, sending shares lower.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings and higher revenue.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) rallied to a new 52-week high after topping analysts' Q2 earnings expectations.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its full-year guidance.

Today started out strong with a weaker dollar ahead of tomorrow's FOMC meeting. We have a slew of data coming out the rest of the week and tomorrow's commentary on securities purchases and liquidity programs should likely beat out the notion that rates are still staying at near-zero percent.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,829.27 +50.41 (0.52%)
S&P 500 1,071.63 +6.97 (0.65%)
Nasdaq 2,146.30 +8.26 (0.39%)

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On Tuesday morning, Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) issued a cautious earnings outlook for the coming year. On a more positive not, the home-improvement giant actually expects same-store sales to increase, bringing an end to several years of same store sales declines.

LOW's announcement was accompanied by a reiteration of its expectations for the fiscal year. It expects to open 66 stores this fiscal year, and as many as 45 in the next fiscal year (which starts on January 30). For the coming year, LOW believes it will earn $1.24 to $1.34 per share with revenue growth of 3% to 4% and a same-store sales rise of roughly 1%. The current estimates from the Street call for earnings of $1.34 per share and a 3% revenue increase.

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) strong Q2 results beat expectations due to rising same-store sales.
• Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Q3 earnings topped low expectations and revenue declined.
• Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) posted better-than-expected Q3 results but shares fell on weaker margins.
• Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) CEO said its new advertising efforts will boost sales over the long run.
• Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) had a better-than-expected Q2 profit but same-store sales fell.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ) reported solid Q2 numbers and raised its full-year guidance.

Most investors got slammed last year, down 50% or more in their investments. Didn't matter if they owned stocks or real estate, they got hammered. Many have to start over. And if they're near retirement, it's scary. Years of patient investing wiped out, gains that were made over a long time disappeared frighteningly fast.

But now it's time to begin fresh, to rebuild. What's the safest way to regain some or all of the losses without suffering another wipeout?

While its rival Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) reported weak quarterly results today, Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) is scheduled to discuss its second quarter 2009 results tomorrow morning in a conference call at 9:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast on the company's website.

In that quarter, Home Depot declared a quarterly dividend of 22.5 cents per share, as well as shared its long-term priorities with analysts. The Atlanta-based home improvement chain is expected to report that earnings fell 16.9% from a year ago to $0.59 per share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. That's up from better-than-expected $0.35 per share in the first quarter, though. Revenue for the second quarter is expected to be 8.4% lower to $19.2 billion. Earnings have topped estimates in recent quarters, by as much as 10 cents per share.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW - option chain) stock is falling today after the company reported a second-quarter profit this morning of $1.23 billion, or $0.51 per share, missing analysts' projections of $0.54 per share. Sales came in at $13.8B, down from $14.5B last year. The company blamed slowing sales of large items for the weakness. 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 LOW.

This morning, LOW opened at $20.43. So far today the stock has hit a low of $20.25 and a high of $22.29. As of 12:15, LOW is trading at $20.90, down $1.91 (-8.4%). The chart for LOW looks neutral and S&P gives LOW a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Home improvement retailer Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) will be reporting its second quarter earnings before the market opens on Monday, and there are some positive indicators that it may have been a good quarter for the company.

Over the past year, weak consumer confidence has put a strain on Lowe's, as home owners who have worried about job security and a weak housing market have put off home repair projects. As a result, Lowe's stock fell as low as $13.00 back in March, but has rebounded nicely over the past few months to its current trading price of $22.71.

On Thursday, Aug. 6, Speedway Motorsports (NYSE: TRK) crossed its Q2 earnings finish line. The company reported a profit of 82 cents per share in the second three months of the year, well above consensus Wall Street estimates for a profit of 79 cents per share.

Now, you might think that TRK took the trading day's checkered flag with a win after its strong earnings beat, but that wasn't the case. Despite a solid move higher in the shares in the first hour of Thursday trade, TRK shares finished the session down more than 5%.

NASCAR fans know Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Well, that will soon be a thing of the past, as the hardware giant has decided to back out of its naming-rights sponsorship.

The hardware firm had an 11-year relationship with the racetrack, and it was the first racetrack to have naming rights. Unfortunately for the racetrack, Lowe's decided in the past two weeks to not extend the agreement. The initial agreement between the two was for 10 years and $35 million -- an agreement that lasted through last year. When that initial $35-million contract expired, the company decided to agree to a one-year extension through 2009.

Good news: profits are back. Bad news: it hurts like hell to get them.

With Q2 reports starting to come in, several high-profile companies have turned in positive results, and a few -- like Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), 3M (NYSE: MMM), and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) -- have even upped the ante for the rest of the year.

Expectations were low, making the outcomes look surprisingly strong. According to a Thomson Reuters, a third of the biggest companies in the United States that have turned in their Q2 results, and 76% of them have beaten analyst expectations. Less than a fifth of them are losing money.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Lloyds Banking (NYSE: LYG) to Buy from Sell as it believes shares are attractively valued based on the company's earnings potential post recession.
• Susquehanna upgraded MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) to Positive from Neutral based on valuation and improving macro trends. The firm has a $29 target on the stock.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) to Buy from Neutral on valuation following the recent pullback.
• MetLife (NYSE: MET) and Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) were upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

With the recession still in full swing these days, retailers continue to try and entice consumers into stores with discounts, special programs and new and improved gimmicks to ensure sales don't decline to drastically. So, in that sense, does it sound logical that some retailers are actually opening new stores? In some ways this may actually make sense, as long as you still to small, efficient and highly profitable.

OfficeMax, Inc. (NYSE: OMX), Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and others are opening concept stores with a very limited selection of items in some markets and areas where full-size stores would be a huge risk. Best Buy has it Best Buy Mobile concept stores filled with high-margin wireless accessories and commissioned wireless handset and contract sales, and OfficeMax is launching stores with a selection of extremely popular items in stores as small as 2,000 square feet.

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

• AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) reported a smaller-than-expected Q1 loss as sales slumped.
• Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) smaller-than-expected Q1 net loss sent shares higher.
• Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE) solid Q1 results were in line with expectations.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) posted higher-than-expected Q1 results but same-store sales fell.
• Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) lower Q1 earnings beat expectations and lower revenue was in line.

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) beat profit expectations as revenue and same-store sales both increased.
• Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) received an analyst's upgrade following its Q3 report.
• Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) reported better-than-expected Q1 expectations as revenue surged.
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) higher Q2 earnings beat expectations and sent shares upward.
• Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings, sending shares higher.