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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a huge Q4 loss on a charge and the economic slowdown.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) fell short of Q4 expectations but announced a dividend increase.
• Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE: CSL) Q4 numbers resulted in an analyst's upgrade.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) warned that its earnings would fall well below expectations.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) posted a bigger-than-expected loss and outlined cost cutting plans.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) shares took a hit ahead of its earnings report due to rival Mattel's Q4 results.

Not to miss out on a national ad opportunity, Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) will play two commercials on Super Sunday. One has a feel-good theme and another is an attempt to get users to the site.

But, as for investors, there's not much to be festive about. In Q4, Monster's revenues fell 16% to $291 million. Net income fell 37% to $28.6 million, or $0.24 per share.

True, about 44% of revenues come from overseas. Unfortunately, the economic slowdown is also making waves in Europe and Asia.

Here's a look at what's on the economic calendar for the week of January 5, 2009:

• Construction spending (Nov. 2008): Monday, 10:00 AM
• Ford Motor Co. U.S. sales (Dec. 2008): Monday, 1:00 PM
• New motor vehicle sales (Dec. 2008): Monday, 4:00 PM
• Factory orders (Nov. 2008): Tuesday, 10:00 AM
• Pending home sales (Nov. 2008): Tuesday, 10:00 AM
• ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey (Dec. 2008): Tuesday, 10:00 AM
• Monster Employment Index (Dec. 2008): Wednesday, 6:00 AM
• Challenger job-cut announcement (Dec. 2008): Wednesday, 7:30 AM
• Public debt (Dec. 2008): Wednesday, 3:00 PM
• Consumer credit (Nov. 2008): Thursday, 3:00 PM
• Employment situation (Dec. 2008): Friday, 8:30 AM
• Wholesale trade (Nov. 2008): Friday, 10:00 AM

For expectations from some of this week's earnings releases, see The week in preview: Family Dollar, Bed Bath & Beyond, KB Home, and others.

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

• Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) said Q4 profit plunged, missing analysts' expectations.
• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A) posted yet another solid quarter and topped analysts' expectations.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reported solid results and reaffirmed its revenue guidance.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) performance despite rising commodities costs impressed Jim Cramer.
• Hansen Natural Corp. (NASDAQ: HANS) Q2 earnings surged on popularity of Monster energy drink.
• Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) beat Q2 expectations, sending shares of health insurers higher.
• LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LF) narrowed its Q2 loss, sending shares up near its 52-week high.
• MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) Q2 profit tumbled but revenues topped analysts' expectations.
• NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) cut its Q2 loss and revenues surged on 400 new customers.
• Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW) narrowed its net loss while revenues inched upward.
• Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) easily topped Q1 expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Pzena Investment Management Inc's (NYSE: PZN) CEO admits that its Q2 was "awful, just terrible."
• 3Com Corp. (NASDAQ: COMS) raised its Q1 profit and sales forecasts due to gains in China.
• Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) net income fell due to the strong yen and rising materials costs.
• Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) reported a smaller-than-expected Q3 net loss.
• World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) flat year-over-year earnings fell short of estimtates.

Auction-rate securities were supposed to be cash equivalents. Individuals and companies could move in and out of them in a day. The financial instruments have existed since 1985. In an auction, any imbalance in securities bought and sold were picked up by banks and brokerages and sold at the next event. These auctions went on as often as several times a week.

The problem with the market is that when banks started to run low on money, they pulled their commitments to run the auctions, the market fell apart, and the securities do not trade. Because they are illiquid, their values are falling.

Many companies put cash into auction-rate paper to get a slightly higher yield than with government securities. The firms even put the money on their balance sheet as cash equivalents. Now that practice is haunting them.

Several technology firms are stuck with these investments. According to The Wall Street Journal, Monster (NASDAQ: MNST) had $357 million of this paper at the end of last year. Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) had almost $75 million at the end of February. The companies are going to have to write-down some of the value of this capital which will affect their earnings.

The problem cannot really be blamed on the companies. The market for he paper is over 20-years-old and has functioned like clockwork until recently. It does raise the specter of lawsuits against the banks and brokerages who made the market. They positioned these securities as cash and then pulled the plug on the auctions.

It is one more headache for financial companies in trouble, but in this case, they probably deserve it.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Priceline.com, Monster and Internap were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Susquehanna downgraded Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) to Neutral from Positive as they believe upside may be difficult given the macro environment, competition, and currency headwinds.
  
• JP Morgan lowered Monster (NASDAQ: MNST) to Neutral from Overweight following the company's expectations for higher 1Q08 operating expenses.
  
• Internap (NASDAQ: INAP) was downgraded by Merriman to Neutral from Buy as they believe upside will be limited until the company can complete its integration of the VitalStream CDN acquisition.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan cut Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) and Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY) was downgraded at WestLB to Add from Buy.
  
• Merrill downgraded Getty Realty (NYSE: GTY) to Sell from Neutral.

The earnings crunch is in full swing, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) posted lower fourth-quarter profits but record full-year sales.
• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) posted strong results and offered bullish guidance (see transcript).
• Concur Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CNQR) revenue soared and it offered revised guidance.
• Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) posted a bigger-than-expected loss for the fourth-quarter.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) beat earnings expectations but fell short of revenue estimates.
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) beat estimates but shares were dragged down by VMware results.
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) shocked investors and missed earnings expectations (see transcript).
• Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) beat estimates as revenue soared.
• Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) sidestepped the subprime mess and fourth-quarter earnings soared.
• MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) reported a $2.3 million loss due to mortgage write downs.
• Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) posted a $1.6 million loss and lowered its full-year guidance.
• Monster Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST) posted strong results despite weakness in North America.
• ScanSource Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC) beat earnings estimates but matched revenue forecasts.
• Somanetics Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTS) beat estimates and offered revised guidance.
• Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) beat expectations on revenue growth from overseas.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) reported a record loss for the fourth quarter due to the subprime crisis.
• VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) missed revenue forecasts, sending shares tumbling.
• Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) posted unimpressive results, but beat earnings expectations (see transcript).

For additional BloggingStocks earnings highlights, see Exxon, Boeing, Halliburton, Sony, UPS, Honda, and others and McDonald's, Kraft, P&G, Verizon, MasterCard, 3M, and others.

While much of the attention was on Yahoo!, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) today, there was actually some good news for other Net stocks. Take Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST).

For its Q4, Monster reported a 15% increase in net income to $45 million, or $0.36 cents per share. Oh, and revenues spiked 59% to $354 million.

True, the North American market was weak (especially in the financial services space because of the subprime meltdown). However, Monster is seeing lots of traction in foreign markets, such as in Europe, India and South Korea.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Monster Worldwide, Business Objects, Arcelor Mittal, Walgreen and Sealy Corp were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Wachovia downgraded shares of Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) to Market Perform from Outperform citing increased risk of an economic slowdown and execution issues in its N.A. Careers segment.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Business Objects (NASDAQ: BOBJ) to Neutral from Outperform on valuation with shares above their $46 target.
  
• Banc of America downgraded Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Neutral from Buy on valuation. The firm also downgraded Walgreen (WAG) to Sell from Buy, as they see further downside following the Q4 miss and believes the problems in Q4 are company-specific and not industry-wide.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Sealy Corporation (NYSE: ZZ) to Sell from Hold following the Q3 results, as they believe Sealy faces increased competitive pressures at the high end of the market where the best margins are derived.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs removed Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Merrill Lynch added Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) to its Least Preferred List.
  
• ABN Amro downgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Soleil downgraded Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) to Hold from Buy.

On August 16th, Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) informed Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST) of a thread of malicious software, called Infostealer.Monstres, which uploaded 1.3 million entries with personal information from a remote server. The information contained on this server was limited to names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.

It took Monster Worldwide five days to comment on the situation. "Regrettably, opportunistic criminals are increasingly using the Internet for illegitimate purposes," the company said in a statement Wednesday. The company is in the process of reaching out to its users and law enforcement on this issue.

Now, one might quickly say, "five days is a long time to keep quiet about this," but you'd be mistaken. Take a look at a few of the recent security breeches and how fast the response has been from corporations:

• Back on June 17th, 2005, MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) announced the information from 40 million credit cards "may" have been stolen. According to CardSystems, a third party processor of payment data, the credit card theft possibly occurred late last month, CNet.com reported. The company continued to say, "It identified a 'potential security incident' on Sunday, May 22nd and called the FBI the next day.

• CNBC's Charlie Gasparino reported earlier this month that a 'major identity-theft incident' occurred at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER). According to his sources, the device stolen from Merrill's corporate offices included personal information, including Social Security numbers, of nearly 33,000 employees. Gasparino said the incident allegedly occurred two weeks ago, but Merrill is now "only getting around to telling people."

• Massachusetts-based TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) reported on the week of January 15th than an "unauthorized intruder" gained access to its systems in mid-December, taking 45.6 million credit card and debt card numbers over a period of 18 months.

Monster Worldwide should be applauded on its immediate response on the matter. While the data stolen did not include credit card numbers or social security numbers, people need to be know what is happening with the information they hand out to websites.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column, some investors are speculating that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) could buy struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC).
• Five insiders bought $592.7K in Orbitz Worldwide Inc's (NYSE: OWW) stock at per-share prices ranging from $9.55 to $10.10, reported Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Inside Scoop" column.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is believed to be considering the sale of Lake, its Japanese consumer finance subsidiary.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) has bought a 26% stake in ECL Finance, the non-banking finance company of India's Edelweiss Capital, for about $4.3M, reported the Business Standard.
• Brookfield Asset Management Inc (NYSE: BAM) has shelved its plan to buy Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE: CP) due to the global credit crunch and the current lack of funding for leveraged buyouts, reported the Globe and Mail.

WEBSITES:

• According to security company Symantec Corporation's (NASDAQ: SYMC) blog, there is a new Trojan called "infostealer.monstres" which is attacking online recruitment site Monster.com (NASDAQ: MNST).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nordstrom (JWN), Monster Worldwide (MNST), Lockheed Martin (LMT) and the U.S. Financials markets were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Piper upgraded shares of Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) to Outperform from Market Perform, citing valuation, and expects the company to have an upbeat tone on Thursday's quarterly report.

• Wachovia upgraded shares of Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and strength in its international business. The firm believes North American weakness is largely confined to the e-commerce channel while enterprise growth is ongoing and international business remains strong.

• Banc of America upgraded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) to Buy from Hold and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) & Comerica (NYSE: CMA) to Hold from Sell. The firm said JPMorgan's financial conglomerate structure gives it strength to gain share in times of stress. U.S. Bancorp was upgraded based on valuation and okay credit quality. Comerica was upgraded based on valuation and upcoming HQ move to Texas, which could make it a takeover target...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• JP Morgan upgraded Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Overweight from Neutral.

• Bear Stearns upgraded BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

• Stifel raised Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) to Buy from Hold.

• CL King upgraded Gap (NYSE: GPS) to Strong Buy from Neutral.

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

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Paul Tudor Jones runs some of the best managed hedge funds anywhere, averaging over a 24% annual return over the last 20 years, but last month they reported heavy losses, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is speaking with wireless operators , such as T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, as well as phone manufacturers about carrying their products.
• The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is expected to fine Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) a total of $6.1M for alleged overcharging of customers on bond sales totaling $59M, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Barron's "Inside Scoop" section reported that Andrew J. McKelvey, who stepped down as Monster Worldwide Inc's (NASDAQ: MNST) chairman and CEO last October, has sold 1.27M shares for $48.6M on the open market since Friday, according to SEC data.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) is reportedly joining with private-equity partner GTCR Golder Rauner to buy food-crafting company Wilton Industries and paint-by-number specialist Dimension Holdings, reported the New York Post.

WEBSITES:

• According to DigiTimes.com, Taiwan component suppliers for the iPhone have said they are not seeing any reduction in orders from Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Monday July 30

• Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will look at Verizon's marketing strategy [particularly for FiOS], infrastructure improvements, and operating expenses. Above-average debt remains a blemish, but Wall Street will overlook that if Verizon registers impressive subscription and market share statistics, and demonstrates that its fiber optic-based FiOS Internet/TV network roll-out timetable for major markets remains on schedule.
• Monster Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: MNST) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 10am. Monster is expected to register adequate, albeit decelerating revenue growth in Q2 compared to Q1, hence the grade for the company's performance may hinge on analysts' projection regarding the likely revenue scenario moving forward.

Tuesday July 31

• Federal District Court Hearing to decided whether to approve the FTC's application for injunction blocking the proposed merger between Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI) and Wild Oats Markets Inc (NASDAQ: OATS).
• FDA 8am Gastrointestinal Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management Joint Advisory Committee Hearing on Biogen Inc's (NASDAQ: BIIB) Tysabri for Crohn's Disease.
• RegenRX Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: RGN) to update on its clinical trials program at 4:30pm.

Wednesday August 1

• PDUFA date for GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) / POZEN Inc's (NASDAQ: POZN) Trexima for migraine headaches.
• Teva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TEVA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Sales Conference Calls: Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) at 1pm; General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) at 2pm
• Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm. After recent sluggish stock performance, some analysts see Starbucks snapping back in the quarters ahead: Starbucks is expected to add a breakfast sandwich at 4,000 stores/coffee houses, which could increase per-store revenue by $70K annually.

Thursday August 2

• Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 11am. Note that the volatility in Kodak is elevated going into its earnings report.

Friday August 3

• Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Inside Scoop" reported that a batch of sales at Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) has followed Alcoa's withdrawal of its offer to purchase Alcan Inc (NYSE: AL): from July 13-17, four senior executives grossed $41.3M by selling 877,600 shares on the open market at per-share prices ranging from $46.67 to $47.47, according to SEC data.
• Andrew McKelveey, the founder and former CEO of Monster Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: MNST) was allegedly involved in the backdating of stock option grants for employees, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
  

OTHER PAPERS:

• Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) CEO Arun Sarin made a concession to rebel shareholders yesterday by promising to release value from Verizon Wireless, a joint venture in which Vodafone has a 45% stake, reported the U.K. Times.
• From BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column:
• Activist shareholders are putting pressure on Brink's Company (NYSE: BCO) to spin-off its home security unit, so that it can trade independently of the armored cars.
• Pipex Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMEX: PP) has been off Wall Street's radar screen, but perhaps not for long. Pipex may have a stable of winners in the making, including an orphan drug designation.
• The aircraft, auto, and architecture sectors are expected to be big users of Research Frontiers Inc's (NASDAQ: REFR) SmartGlass technology, which lets glass go from clear to opaque fast.