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

• Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) posted better-than-expected Q3 earnings due to higher enrollments.
• Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) expected earnings growth resulted in an upgrade from one analyst.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) shares soared after Q1 earnings topped analysts' expectations.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) profit doubled in Q4, beating estimates, and annual sales also rose.
• H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) reported earnings growth for the fiscal year but essentially flat revenues.
• Schnitzer Steel industries Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHN) surprised analysts with a Q3 loss, sending shares lower.
• Sealy Corp. (NYSE: ZZ) Q2 earnings fell short of expectations and revenues declined due to the recession.

Schnitzer Steel (NASDAQ: SCHN - option chain) stock is falling today after the company reported a third-quarter loss this morning of $1.53 million, or 5 cents per share. Analysts had expected the company to report a profit of 16 cents per share. 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 SCNH.

This morning, SCHN opened at $56.99. So far today the stock has hit a low of $52.40 and a high of $57.00. As of 12:00, SCHN is trading at $52.88, down $7.33 (-12.2%). The chart for SCHN looks bullish.

"The steel stocks tend to go through boom and bust cycles depending on global economic activity; they have been pummeled over the last year, as the global economy slowed," notes turnaround expert George Putnam.

In his The Turnaround Letter, he explains, "But the news about steel is not all bad." Indeed, he believes some steel companies are poised for a turnaround. Here's his review of 6 leading steel production companies.

"Weakness in two big steel consuming industries, autos and construction, has been particularly troublesome for the steelmakers.

"However, there is evidence that steel inventories are gradually being worked off to low levels. There are also signs that economic activity in China, which is a huge consumer of steel, will not fall off as far as some economists initially feared.