Lincoln, Neb., is the best place in the country for job-hunters. A new survey by headhunting firm Manpower (NYSE: MAN) reports that 21% of employers there plan to add employees in the next quarter, with only 4% looking to cut. That 17% spread (which Manpower calls the "net employment outlook") is tops in the United States.

Flint, Mich., on the other hand, is at the other end of the spectrum: 26% of employers are planning to chop jobs, while only 9% are forecasting new positions.

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.

Lately it seems companies have been withdrawing guidance left and right. Maybe it is just a cop-out during difficult times, but on the surface the large number of businesses that are withdrawing guidance is troubling for investors.

Valuations are determined based on discounting future earnings. Without some sort of idea as to what earnings, or lack thereof, will be, investors are a bit in the dark. Such lack of guidance is particularly troubling for companies with poor balance sheets.

For those with a stronger foundation, the lack of guidance, while still troubling, takes on less importance. As long as it is reasonable to assume that a company will navigate the darkness and ultimately see sunny days once again, investing in companies that pull guidance can be quite rewarding.

Manpower (NYSE: MAN - option chain) stock is falling today after the company withdrew its fourth-quarter profit and revenue forecasts, saying its quarter-to-date drop-off is much larger than expected. 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 MAN.

This morning, MAN opened at $33.95. So far today the stock has hit a low of $31.13 and a high of $34.50. As of 12:25, MAN is trading at $30.92, down $5.48 (-15.0%). The chart for MAN looks bearish and S&P gives MAN a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a March bear-call credit spread above the $45 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 four months as long as MAN is below $45 at March expiration. Manpower would have to rise by more than 45% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

MAN hasn't been above $45 since late September and shown resistance around $38 recently.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in MAN.

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%.

Manpower (NYSE: MAN) is a world leader in the employment industry, offering businesses a full range of staffing-related services. These include permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower maintains a network of about 4,500 offices in 80 countries, enabling the firm to serve the needs of some 400,000 clients per year. It operates under the brands Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management.

Investors were pleased last week, when the company reported Q1 EPS of 94 cents and revenues of $5.39 billion. Analysts had been looking for 82 cents and $5.26 billion. In discussing the results, the CEO particularly noted strength in European markets. Management also guided Q2 EPS to $1.47-$1.51, versus consensus of $1.39. Lehman Brothers subsequently reiterated its "overweight" recommendation on the stock and boosted its price target to $76.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: General Motors, Acuity Brands, Post Properties, Manpower and IMAX Corp were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• UBS upgraded General Motors (NYSE: GM) to Buy from Sell citing a potential $3B in cost savings from the "transformational contract" with the UAW.
  
• Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird based on valuation and management's ability to execute.
  
• Post Properties (NYSE: PPS) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Merrill Lynch following its Q3 report and guidance.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Manpower (NYSE: MAN) to Buy from Hold as they like the company's business model and balance sheet.
  
• Soleil upgraded shares of IMAX Corporation (NASDAQ: IMAX) to Buy from hold with digital IMAX set to launch in Q208, to reflect the attractive economics of the company's new joint venture model.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James.
  
• JMP Securities upgraded Actuate Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTU) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Citigroup upgraded FormFactor (FORM) to Buy from Hold and added shares to their Global Tech Conviction List.
  
• CIBC upgraded Northgate Minerals Corporation (NYSE: NXG) to Sector Performer from Sector Underperformer.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: McDonald's (MCD), Micron Tech (MU), ManPower (MAN), ASML Holding (ASML) and Wm. Wrigley Jr Co (WWY) were today's notable upgrades:

• McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) is creating shareholder value by selling 1600 under-performing restaurants and using the money for share buyback programs and dividends and was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Matrix.

• AG Edwards upgraded Micron (NYSE: MU) to Buy from Hold on the belief notebook unit growth could stay in the 25-30% YoY range over the next two quarters, while desktop growth could pick up from the 4% attained in the June quarter. Up from a low of close to $5 in February, NAND spot prices are in the $8-$9 range for an 8Gb chip over the last few weeks.

• ManPower (NYSE: MAN) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Hold at Matrix based on the growing demand for search services in Europe, Africa and North America.

• Friedman Billings upgraded shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) to Outperform from Market Perform and added them to their Top Picks list based on recent checks that indicate a sustainable recovery in lithography tool bookings beyond Q3.

• Bear upgraded shares of Wrigley (NYSE: WWY) to Peer Perform from Underperform citing the better-then-expected response to competitor Cadbury (CSG), UK momentum in developing markets, and likely strong performance by new gum, "5."

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Calyon raised Capital One (NYSE: COF) to Buy from Add.

• Goldman raised Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) to Buy from Neutral.

• Lehman upgraded National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Seagate Technology (STX), SAP AG (SAP), Western Digital (WDC), BAE Systems (BAESY) and Manpower (MAN) are today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Hambrecht upgraded shares of Seagate Tech (NYSE: STX) on improving demand and second half of 2007 prospects. Bear Stearns upgraded shares to Outperform from Peer Perform based on stabilizing industry conditions.

• ING upgraded shares of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to Buy from Hold shares to reflect the migration within the company's large installed base and growing opportunities in the small business market.

• Hambrecht upgraded Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) to Buy from Hold on improving demand for 2H07 growth prospects.

• HSBC raised BAE Systems (OTC: BAESY) off the ground, upgrading shares to Neutral from Underweight.

• Banc of America upgraded Manpower (NYSE: MAN) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the change in French payroll tax subsidies, which they view as a positive change to the company's ongoing margin structure.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• First Albany upgraded ATMI Inc (NASDAQ: ATMI) to Buy from Hold.

• The Medicines Co (NASDAQ: MDCO) was raised to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.

• Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Kaufman.

• ThinkEquity upgraded Interwoven (NASDAQ: IWOV) to Accumulate from Source of Funds.

• BB&T upgraded Omnicell (NASDAQ: OMCL) to buy from Hold.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Today's list of downgrades were filled with notable companies, including Yahoo! Inc (YHOO), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), Intel Corp (INTC) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Neutral from Buy, with a $31.50 target, citing valuation.

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings following their disappointing quarter. They told clients AMD no longer enjoys a technical advantage and is losing share in the higher margin segments. Credit Suisse downgraded Advanced Micro to Underperform from Neutral, American Technology downgraded shares to Sell from Buy and Caris downgraded shares to Above Average from Buy.

• Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at American Technology. The firm believes management may not have been conservative enough with their margin guidance and doesn't see an end to the price war.

• Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at DA Davidson.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Continental Airlines Inc (NYSE: CAL) to Underweight from Overweight on valuation.

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Manpower Inc (NYSE: MAN) to Sell from Neutral.

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