Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) reported Q4 results on Tuesday (hey, what day did you expect the company to do it on?) after the bell. By the looks of the price action going into the report, as well as the price action after the report, you would have thought that the results were incredible. They were, in terms of an earnings beat, but other aspects of the report gave me pause.

Ruby Tuesday made 28 cents per diluted share during the fourth quarter. According to Reuters, analysts were only looking for 20 cents of per-share profit. Okay, so we know why Wall Street was so excited. Beating by 8 cents is impressive.

As investors start to believe that the worst of the current recession is already behind us, they are turning their attention to oil, and today have pushed the precious crude over the psychological $50 mark.

Oil is moving higher today with the overall markets, as Wall Street has been seeing hints that things are starting to turn around. Part of the reason for the optimism has come in the form of strong earnings this week from Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) and Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY). If restaurants and retailers are seeing things start to rebound, its a good sign for the overall economy, and a sign that people are out there driving their cars around, which helps boost oil prices.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of Daimler (NYSE: DAI) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company's restructuring and greater visibility on its outlook could be positive for the stock.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) and Cooper Tire (NYSE: CTB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations that industry volumes will improve in the coming quarters.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) following the company's better than expected preliminary Q1 results. The firm maintains a $17 target on shares.
• Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.
  
• Portfolio Recovery (NASDAQ: PRAA) was raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

A new earnings reporting season kicks off this coming week with the quarterly report from Alcoa, the first Dow Jones industrial to report. But investors looking for early signs about the first quarter will be disappointed in what they see from the aluminum producer, assuming that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are neither too optimistic or too pessimistic about those results.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) kicks off the new earnings seasons when it reports third quarter results on Tuesday. The Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer, which celebrated its 120th anniversary with the launch of its website, is expected to post a profit of 54 cents per share, down 15.6% from the same quarter of last year, on revenue of $7.2 billion, down 2.1%. While Alcoa has tended to fall short of estimates in recent quarters, in the second quarter it did offer a positive surprise of almost 3%. Its long-term earnings per share growth forecast is 14.8%, a little less than the S&P 500, and analysts polled by Thomson Financial on average recommend buying Alcoa, and have for more than 90 days. Shares reached a new 52-week low last week, and are down 48.9% from a year ago.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is also expected to report a slip in earnings this week. Analysts anticipate that the conglomerate will post a third-quarter profit of 45 cents per share, down just 6.3% from a year ago, on revenue of $47.7 billion, which is up 12.1%. GE has tended to eke out small positive surprises in recent quarters, by less than 1% in the second quarter. GE's long-term earnings per share growth forecast is only 11.0%, which is less than the sector average and the S&P 500. The consensus recommendation has recently swung to hold GE, but Warren Buffett has bought in to the tune of $3 billion. GE also reached a new 52-week low last week as the markets tumbled. GE shares are down 48.1% from a year ago.

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

• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) Q2 earnings decline on materials costs but beat analysts estimates (see transcript).
• Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) solid Q3 results were accompanied by a share buyback program.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) warned that Q2 results will include a delay-related charge of 22 cents per share.
• Cash America International Inc. (NYSE: CSH) predicted Q2 earnings above previous guidance.
• EZcorp Inc. (NASDAQ: EZPW) predicted better-than-expected Q3 results due to strong sales.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) beat Q3 expectations and raised its Q4 guidance.
• Flow International Corp. (NASDAQ: FLOW) swung to a better-than-expected Q4 profit on strong demand.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reported mixed Q2 results and offered an uninspiring Q3 outlook (transcript).
• Helen of Troy Ltd. (NASDAQ: HELE) Q1 results were colored by write-downs and other charges.
• International Speedway Corp. (NASDAQ: ISCA) Q2 earnings soared while revenue slipped.
• Levis Strauss Q2 profitability plunged due to declining sales and higher administrative costs.
• Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) topped Q2 estimates but lowered its guidance (see transcript).

Rolm and Hass (NYSE:ROH) is up 70% on a buy-out bid from Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW)

Ruby Tuesday (NYSE:RT) is trading higher by almost 20% on news that its earnings were better than expected.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) is up over 15% on news that a Delaware court will expedite hearing a case over a broken buy-out of the company.

Dow Chemical is down 8% on news of its planned buy-out of ROH.

Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) is off about 8% on weak same-store sales.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than in the regulare session.

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

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the good stuff out there -- and there's a lot of it -- will keep us going up.

How high can we go? That's pretty much the only question worth asking after you put in a bottom, as we did after the Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) (Cramer's Take) collapse.

Nobody's talking about a new bull market. But let me give you some thoughts about what has happened in the past few weeks to make it so that you could become more positive.

First, we went down so much because the systemic risk in the biggest part of the S&P, the financials, was overwhelming. It is why we "overcorrected" because the market feared -- and shorts pressed their bets -- that the following institutions could go under: Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual (WM) (Cramer's Take), Wachovia (WB) (Cramer's Take) -- yes, Wachovia, because of the miserable buy of what turned out to be a really reckless lender, Golden West -- Lehman Brothers (LEH) (Cramer's Take), Merrill Lynch (MER) (Cramer's Take), Citigroup (C) (Cramer's Take), National City (NCC) (Cramer's Take), Capital One (COF) (Cramer's Take) and even Wells Fargo (WFC) (Cramer's Take). Fannie (FNM) (Cramer's Take) and Freddie (FRE) (Cramer's Take), too.

As one quarter rolls over into the next, here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) beat fourth-quarter expectations and offered a positive outlook for fiscal 2009.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) beat Wall Street earnings estimates for the fourth quarter.
• Citi Trends Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) beat fourth-quarter estimates and offered a rosy outlook for fiscal 2009.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) swung to a fourth-quarter loss but beat estimates.
• Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO) beat second-quarter estimates but slashed its full-year outlook.
• Immucor Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUD) beat third-quarter expectations and offered a positive full-year outlook.
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) beat second-quarter expectations but the full-year outlook disappointed.
• Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) third-quarter earnings surged on strong demand and higher crop prices.
• Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) results on path to continue an 18-year earnings/revenue growth streak.
• Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) posted solid fourth-quarter results on strength of JBoss and other offerings.
• Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) fourth-quarter earnings and revenue more than doubled.
• Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE: RT) third-quarter earnings beat low expectations; full-year outlook is bleak.
• Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHL) announced disappointing third-quarter results post-Harry Potter.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) writes off $19 million for the first quarter and shows chairman the door.

Also, prospects look grim for some newspapers. The financial crisis in the U.S. prompted the IMF to cut its global growth forecast.

Upcoming results to watch for include Alcoa (NYSE: AA), Circuit City Stores (NYSE: CC), Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY), and General Electric (NYSE: GE).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Despite the fact that Ruby Tuesday Incoroprated (NYSE: RT) serves up a mean burger, consumers continue to sit at home digesting more and more negative economic news. The company recently released third quarter (3Q) 2008 earnings that take away the appetite. 3Q 2008 net income was $11.7 million or $0.23 EPS, compared to 3Q 2007 net income of $28.7 million or $0.49 EPS. Same location sales declined 12-13%. Company expansion was flat with 6 new locations replacing 6 closed locations.

To be fair, some of the decline in customer traffic was due to a company-wide remodel of many locations. The company spent $25 million in 3Q updating its facilities and its menu, with plans to double that amount in the coming year in order to help Ruby Tuesday stand out from its bar and grill competition. Let's hope the remodel woos customers back into its restaurants. The company is renegotiating its existing debt covenants, and controlling advertising expenditures and other costs. CEO Sandy Beall hopes these initiatives will "set the stage for future profits."

FY 2008 guidance is not encouraging. The company expects sales to continue to decline 9-10%, leading to diluted EPS in the $0.40-$0.50 range. The stock jumped 5% on Thursday when 3Q earnings per share (EPS) beat estimates by $0.05, but has since dropped off 2% to trade at just around $8 per share.

Here are a few highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) missed estimates due to restructuring after the spin-off of Zep Inc.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) easily beat earnings estimates, due to the impeding sale of some businesses.
• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) warned that it would take a charge against fourth quarter earnings.
• Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) posted a solid quarter on student enrollment and retention.
• AZZ Inc. (NYSE: AZZ) beat earnings expectations and offered revised guidance.
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) lowered its fourth quarter and full year earnings forecast.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) third quarter profit rose on growth in the domestic wine business.
• EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) lifted its outlook on strength in agriculture and nutrition business.
• Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO) earnings were in line with estimates, despite lower same-store sales.
• Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (NYSE: GAP) posted a strong quarter, helped by the sale of Metro Inc.

Here is a brief overview of some of Wednesday's earnings reports.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA): Fourth-quarter earnings soared 76 percent, boosted by the pending sale of the aluminum producer's packaging and consumer businesses. For the three months ended December 31, net income rose to $632 million, or 75 cents per share, from $359 million, or 41 cents per share, during the same period last year. Quarterly revenue fell to $7.39 billion from $7.84 billion last year, due to lower metal prices and the exclusion of results from a soft alloy extrusion business that is now part of a joint venture. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 33 cents per share on $6.92 billion in revenue. Shares rose in after-hours trading.

The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SGR): The engineering, construction, and environmental contractor swung to a first-quarter profit on strong demand for fossil and nuclear power projects. For the three months ending November 30, Shaw earned $2.23 million, or 3 cents per share, compared to a year-ago loss of $12.3 million, or 15 cents per share. Revenue rose to $1.71 billion from $1.28 billion a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 49 cents per share on revenue of $1.68 billion. Shares fell 48 cents to $59.22.

Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE: RT): The restaurant chain swung to a loss in its fiscal second quarter due to remodeling expenses and weak sales. For the quarter ended December 4, the company reported a loss of $10.4 million, or 20 cents per share, versus a profit of $16.7 million, or 28 cents per share, in same period of the previous year. Revenue fell about 5 percent to $320.9 million from $336.8 million last year. The earnings results matched the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who had also expected revenue of $316.4 million for the quarter. Shares hit a multi-year low of $6.99 during the day.

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The small-cap bank sector, Waste Connections, Warnaco Group and Intersections were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Lehman upgraded the small-cap bank sector to Neutral from Negative as they expect the group to benefit from the decline in short-term interest rates and the steeping yield curve. The firm upgraded Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC), Pacific Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ: PCBC) and Westpac Banking Corp (NYSE: WBK) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
  
• Friedman Billings added Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) to its Top Picks list. The firm believes the company can outperform the group and overall market in an economic downturn.
  
• Warnaco Group (NASDAQ: WRNC) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan on valuation and growth potential.
  
• JMP Securities' checks indicate that Intersections (NASDAQ: INTX) is on track to meet EPS expectations for the quarter and is well positioned to beat their 2008 EPS estimate of 80c. The firm raised shares to Strong Buy from Outperform.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Best Buy Incorporated (NYSE: BBY) and AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) were upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.
  
• The firm also upgraded shares of CBRL Group (NASDAQ: CBRL) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) and Plexus Corp (NASDAQ: PLXS) to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• Bear Stearns raised MFA Mortgage Investments (NYSE: MFA) to Outperform from Peer Perform.
  
• Goldman added Automatic Data Processing (NYSE: ADP) to its Conviction Buy List.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The U.S. beverage sector, ImClone, Starwood Hotels and Marriott International were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded the U.S. beverage sector, including Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP), Anheuser Busch Companies (NYSE: BUD), PepsiAmericas Inc (NYSE: PAS) and Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) to Attractive from Neutral. The firm cited expectations for a stronger 2008, benign commodity cost outlook, better than expected US beer demand, and valuations. Goldman upgraded shares of PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation and improving industry fundamentals.
  
• Bear Stearns upgraded ImClone (NASDAQ: IMCL) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing positive Flex trial results and the new market opportunity for Erbitux.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) and Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) to Market Weight from Underweight based on healthy August trends, credit market may ease concerns over supply growth, and valuations.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Western Digital Corp (NYSE: WDC) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
• KeyBanc raised Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) to Hold from Underweight.
• Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) was upped to Buy from Hold at Gabelli.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Pepsi Bottling (PBG), Brinker International (EAT), Northwest Airlines (NWA) and Spectrum Brands (SPC) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded shares of Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) to Buy from Neutral on valuation as they believe the 25% sell-off post in-line earnings is overdone.

• Banc of America upgraded shares of Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's earnings power in 2008, ongoing cost controls and more robust product pipeline.

• SMH Capital upgraded shares of Brinker Int'l (NYSE: EAT) as they believe expectations are too low for Q4 and FY08.

• Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley on valuation.

• Spectrum Brands (NYSE: SPC) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Buckingham on valuation...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Gap (NYSE: GPS) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at CL King & Associates.

• Raymond James upgraded Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Burger King (NYSE: BKC) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

• MetLife (NYSE: MET) was added to Goldman Sachs' Conviction Buy List.

• Bear Stearns upgraded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

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