Pay-by-phone technology may be making big moves with Google Inc. (GOOG).

According to rumors, Google plans to begin testing its new mobile phone-based payment service in New York and San Francisco in the next four months. The system, developed by VeriFone Systems (PAY), will allow mobile phones equipped with near-field-communication (NFC) technology to simply tap the phone against the register to complete the transaction.

New technology spawns still more technology. Such is the case with smart phones. Entrepreneurs have found a way to facilitate buying with your smart phone. Companies like Intuit (INTU) and VeriFone (PAY) have created a card reader that can be inserted into your iPhone (AAPL) or other smart phone. Then you can swipe a credit card through the reader and use it to make online purchases.

The potential of this new technology is enormous. Analysts estimate that the industry will grow to $11 billion this year.

U.S. stock futures are mixed this morning as investors await nonfarm payrolls figures for November. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 6 points to 11,369 and S&P 500 futures fell 0.30 point to 1,222. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2.75 points to 2,190.

U.S. stock markets closed higher yesterday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 106.63 points or 1%.

Economic data on nonfarm payrolls figures for November is due at 8:30 a.m. ET. An economic report on ISM non-manufacturing figures for November, along with factory orders for October, will be released after the opening bell.

"You may currently use your smartphone for making calls, checking the Internet and snapping the occasional photo; but wouldn't it be convenient if it served as a credit card as well?" asks Dr. Melvin Pasternak.

The editor of Double-Digit Trading suggests, "Sound unreal? It's not. Mobile banking is a new and fast-growing trend. And one company making this possible is VeriFone Systems (PAY).

"Using small chips that emit short-wave signals, banking information can be securely transmitted from your smartphone to the cash register. You can make purchases by simply waving your phone over the store's chip.

Jobless claims were soft, Q1 GDP was not as robust as originally thought, and oil and the Euro went back up. It did not matter. Stocks were up after China panned the rumors that it was considering selling or backing away from EuroZone assets purchases; and that sent all international markets higher. Oil rose on word that deepwater offshore bans were being extended along with some Alaskan drilling and there was a report that a much stronger hurricane season could take even more oil production offline in the summer. That was all the markets needed. Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA: 10,247.02, +286.12,(2.49%)
NASDAQ: 2,277.68, +81.80 (3.40%)
S&P 500: 1,103.13, +35.18 (2.96%)

Top Analyst Calls

Costco Wholesale (COST) was up all day. The company beat earnings expectations, but its revenues were only somewhat in-line with estimates. Shares were up close to 5% late in the trading session around $58.70.

"The following technology sectors offer the best "growth-value" attractions we've found recently. Here are thumbnail sketches of their investment attractions," says Stephen Quickel.

The editor of US Investment Report suggests, "They trade close to their 52-week highs with very low valuation ratios (average P/E 14.3, average PEG 0.71), plus five-year earnings growth averaging 20.2% a year. "

All in all, the fiscal first-quarter results for VeriFone (PAY), which makes payments technologies, were in-line with expectations. As a result, the stock price is unchanged in today's trading.

In the quarter, VeriFone reported profits of $10.6 million, or $0.12 per share, which is up from a loss of $182.6 million, or $2.16 per share in the same period a year ago. Revenues climbed 4.4% to $223.4 million and gross margins went from 32.4% to 36.7%.

If you were to calculate a headlines/efficacy ratio for government and corporate leaders, executive pay czar Kenneth Feinberg would have to rank pretty high on the "most press for least accomplished" list.

Now that Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) are out from the somewhat watchful eye of Mr. Feinberg, he has only American International Group (AIG), the car companies, and GMAC to meddle with at little benefit to anyone.

So what does he do to keep himself occupied? He chats on the phone with Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein about how that company can better align pay for its executives, even though he has no authority over -- or interest in -- that company's policies.

According to The Wall Street Journal, some of Goldman Sachs's (GS) largest shareholders are petitioning the company to lower the size of its bonus pool. These shareholders feel that GS should be passing along more of its earnings to investors. According to "people familiar with the situation," these investors hold "tens of millions" of GS shares and are complaining in private conversations at GS's annual analyst meetings.

With GS raking in record net income and compensation, the shareholders believe that the benefits should be shared among them rather than in compensation and benefit for the employees. The shareholders are also concerned about a minute change in the firm's financial statements regarding how the company counts the number of employees.

Analyst upgrades:

• Societe General upgraded BASF AG (OTC: BASFY) to Buy from Hold. The firm believes the bad news is out and that BASF has a strong market position.
  
• Pali Capital upgraded Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) to Buy from Neutral based on the ongoing merchandise catalyst, the opportunity to reclaim the mainstream kid and closing underperforming stores, which create the most favorable conditions in the last 5+ years.
  
• Stanford upgraded L-1 Identity (NYSE: ID) to Buy from Hold on valuation, and the firm sees little risk to the company from the Obama Administration.
• Gymboree (NASDAQ: GYMB) and Windstream (WIN) were raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Doral Financial (NYSE: DRL) was upgraded at B. Riley to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Alumina (NYSE: AWC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst downgrades:

• Credit Suisse downgraded Targanta (NASDAQ: TARG) to Underperform from Outperform following the FDA Panel's rejection of Oritavancin.
  
• Citigroup downgraded BASF AG (OTC: BASFY) to Sell from Hold and sees no reason to own the stock following the company's profit warning. Shares were also downgraded at WestLB to Hold from Add.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $53 from $75 on concerns over the company's deteriorating A/R aging trends.
• VeriFone Holdings (NYSE: PAY) and Navios Maritime (NYSE: NMM) were lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM) was downgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Buy.

Analyst initiations:

• Needham expects shares of Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) to be driven by continued market penetration in the hospital acquired infection market, new test introductions, GeneXpert Infinity sales, and molecular diagnostics growth from sales outside of traditional molecular testing areas. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $21 target.
  
• Needham also initiated Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: GPRO) with a Hold rating and expects market share gains for the company when PANTHER is approved in 2010/2011.
  
• William Blair believes Harbin Electric (NASDAQ: HRBN) is an "interesting" opportunity for exposure to rapid growth in infrastructure within the People's Republic of China. The firm started shares with a Market Perform rating.
• Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) was initiated with a Buy rating and $11 target at UBS.
  
• NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Janney Montgomery.
  
• Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) was assumed at JMP Securities with an Outperform rating and $9 target.
  

In last week's preview we took a peek at expectations for Campbell Soup earnings, but now the company is scheduled to report fiscal fourth quarter results this coming Thursday. With Krispy Kreme also among the handful of companies scheduled to report this week, we may yet see whether consumers are turning to comfort foods in these uncertain times.

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), the world's biggest soup maker, is still expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to post net income of 25 cents per share (up 44.0% from a year ago) on revenue of $1.7 billion (up 7.4%). The Camden, N.J.-based company has just missed earnings estimates in the past few quarters. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is 7.9%, which is less than the industry average, but about the same as rivals Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) and HJ Heinz (NYSE: HNZ). The analysts' consensus recommendation is currently to buy Campbell.

Hip, Canadian apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is also anticipated to be a big earnings gainer when it reports this week. Net income is expected to come in at 13 cents per share (up 46.2% from a year ago) on revenue of $88.2 million (up 50.3%). Lululemon met expectations when it reported 12 cents per share in the previous quarter. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is a healthy 40.2%, which is better than the industry average and that of rival Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA). The analysts' consensus recommendation is currently to buy Lululemon.

This week BT PLC (formerly British Telecommunications PLC) (NYSE: BT) got lots of favorable coverage for relenting on its plan to remove thousands of iconic red phone boxes. BT announced in June it wanted to replace about one-third of its remaining 12,000 red phone boxes. The company has slowly been dispatching the boxes for years, prompting small local protests all along and a big outcry this summer.

BT proposed a new deal: for £1 a town could keep the box, but with no working phone. A working phone would cost £500 ($900) a year. According to The Telecom, BT says £500 ($900) pounds is only half the annual cost of operating a red phone box. Really, $1,800 a year to maintain a pay phone? This July, residents in Cornwall were told their phone, which had been broken since June, wouldn't be fixed till late August. In protest, they strung up a bunch of tin cans on strings inside the booth.

VeriFone Holdings (NYSE: PAY) makes and services transaction automation systems that enable electronic payments between consumers, merchants and financial institutions. Products include point-of-sale software and terminals, smart card/check readers, receipt printers and Internet commerce software. The firm also makes gas station electronic payment systems that combine card processing and fuel dispensing. Further, it offers a range of client services and customized application development. About 60% of the firm's revenues are generated from customers outside the U.S.

The company pleased the Street last week, when it appointed an interim CFO to replace an officer who resigned following a probe into company accounting errors. VeriFone corrected its books the same day, by deleting $70 million in previously reported fiscal 2007 profits. Management also issued a favorable forecast, guiding Q308 EPS to 34-35 cents (28 cent consensus), Q3 revenues to $256-$258 million ($248.3M consensus), Q408 EPS to 36-39 cents (30 cent consensus), Q4 revenues to $260-$268 million ($255.2M consensus) and FY09 EPS to $1.35-$1.55 ($1.14 consensus). The CEO pointed out that the firm was seeing excellent growth internationally, particularly in emerging markets.

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

• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) earnings potential due to its denosumab is expected to rise substantially.
• Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) beat low Q2 expectations but forecast a loss in Q3.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ) beat Q2 profit estimates and announced share buybacks.
• BWAY Holding Co. (NYSE: BWY) topped Q3 expectations on cost containment and increased productivity.
• Fuqi International Inc. (NASDAQ: FUQI) beat Q2 expectations and offered Q3 and full-year guidance.
• Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) reported higher Q2 earnings but lower sales, dragged down by Old Navy.
• Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) reported strong Q3 earnings results due to its global reach.
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Q2 results fell more than expected, but it reaffirmed its earnings forecast.
• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) may post preliminary results (another loss) before Sept.
• Lowe's Cos. Inc. (NYSE: LOW) posted better-than-expected Q2 profits but offered a cautious sales forecast.
• Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) weak guidance lead to analyst downgrades.
• Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) posted strong Q2 results and announced an aquisition.
• VeriFone Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PAY) offered a positive outlook, which sent shares soaring.

For more highlights from this week, see: Hershey, Heinz, Burger King, Foot Locker, Saks and others

Upcoming quarterly reports include Big Lots (NYSE: BIG), Borders (NYSE: BGP), Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP), Tivo (NASDAQ: TIVO), Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), and Tiffany (NYSE: TIF).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Today started out as though we were going to break the losing streak. After a mixed trading day we markets indeed ended up higher to gain ground rather than posting a third day of triple-digit losses. Oil started out higher this morning, getting back over $116 per barrel before coming back down slightly.

Below are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA 11,482.33 (+69.78)
S&P500 1274.81 (+8.12)
NASDAQ 2,389.85 (+5.49)
10YR T-Note 3.799% (-0.043%)
52-Week Lows
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) came out with strong earnings last night and guided inline to higher without the EDS integration. Shares were up almost 6% at $46.29 at the end of the day. This name alone is probably responsible for more cheers than any today as 32 million shares changed hands.