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

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q3 earnings beat by a penny but sales fell short of expectations; shares fell.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) reported a Q3 net loss and plunging revenue but also raised $4 billion in cash.
• BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) topped Q3 earnings expectations but said bad-loan provisions nearly doubled.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) missed estimates and posted a Q3 loss due to delays for a couple of jet products.
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) shares rose after it reported better-than-expected Q3 numbers.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted a better-than-expected Q3 profit but sales fell short, and shares fell.

This was the day that could have been. Earnings were coming out favorably, yet the data just couldn't support the stocks. There were also trader comments that BofA/Merrill had large sell orders or sell programs throughout the day. It looks like the DJIA even closed out under the 10,000 mark on an unofficial basis.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,974.75 -106.56 (-1.06%)
S&P 500 1,079.73 -13.18 (-1.21%)
Nasdaq 2,154.47 -10.82 (-0.50%)

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

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss as steel prices rise.
• Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) posted a better-than-expected Q2 profit on strong overseas sales.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares jumped after it beat earnings, missed revenues, and offered guidance.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) shares declined after it posted a higher-than-expected profit but lower revenue.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) disappointing results were a sign that the bulls are in charge, said Jim Cramer.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Q2 earnings and sales declined, dragged down by finance and NBC units.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) and solar technology company SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) teamed up today with an agreement for Wells to finance up to $100 million in new solar energy systems. SunPower will create agreements with end power users and handle operational issues, and Wells will finance and retain ownership of the systems, according to a pair of press releases from the two companies.

The Business Insider says that a research note from FBR Capital says this amount will allow SunPower to add about 20-25 MW of capacity, and that pricing for the solar power will be at competitive rates of under $0.15/kwh. The overall effect on earnings is expected to be immaterial. The average estimate for EPS for the 2009 fiscal year is $1.07, but with a wide range of $0.03 to $1.48. EPS last year was $2.28.

Crummy manufacturing and production data and continued weakness in housing data were not stopping buyers today. At least not until the last 90 minutes when we saw selling take away the triple digit gains in the DJIA. This looked like another day where bulls were washing out the bears until late-day from a DJIA financial component took much of the wind out of the sails today. But the tech-heavy NASDAQ was in negative territory most of the day. Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow 7,216.97 -7.01 (-0.10%)
S&P 500 753.89 -2.66 (-0.35%)
Nasdaq 1,404.02 -27.48 (-1.92%)

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This post was written by Minyanville contributor Sean Udall.

Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) reports tonight and it is getting hit due to the poor report from Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM). QCOM lowered guidance quite a bit -- in fact, enough that I likely may not have to worry much about QCOM for the next couple quarters. Low $30's would present solid value.

Getting back to BRCM, I still feel it is one of the few must own chip names. I think it has enough innovation and diversification to avoid the 35-40% sequential reductions I am seeing from many in the chip space. However, I also think a lowering of the bar is priced into BRCM's shares and anything less than a disaster should keep the stock above $16.50 (assuming we avoid another shock down to the whole market). Anything around that level ($16.50) and lower would have me adding the shares. I've taken gains recently in trading shares and am hoping to add BRCM back on just a bit more weakness.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"If there ever was an opportunity to move energy efficiency strategies into the top-tier of national and industrial policy, it's now," says Toby Smith, referring to President-elect Obama's stated focus on renewable energy.

In his industry-leading ChangeWave Investing, which focuses on isolating emerging, long-term investment trends, he states, "The question isn't really if solar companies will benefit, but when." As a favorite idea for 2009, he looks to SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA).

"President-elect Obama seems to be the right person to push energy-efficiency initiatives through -- especially since he is preparing a massive stimulus program that will be unleashed soon after his inauguration on Jan. 20.

"The core of Obama's economic policy appears to be a strategy to transform the United States into an economy mostly powered by renewable and low-carbon energy generation by mid-century. This includes everything from solar to natural gas to nuclear.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Sean Udall.

JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO) blew its quarter and lowered guidance, and now the group is under pressure.

I don't think I've ever written a positive word on JASO as they are in the middle tier, essentially a jobber for the solar space. The company make various feedstock products to the final product makers, while being dependent on the core technology and "root" feedstock polysilicon from the likes of LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) and MEMC Electronics (NYSE: WFR). So it has a timing issue and margin compression issue. The company is facing lower final pricing of their products while having locked in longer term "commodity" pricing at higher prices. So its raw costs are not falling as fast as its own pricing.

The poly guys mentioned above and companies like Sun Power (NASDAQ: SPWRA), First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) don't face these pressures as intensely, though that may not matter much today. STP reports on the 20th this month and I think it will give a clearer picture of the space. Meanwhile SPWRA keeps closing significant deals and FSLR reported the best and has little if any of the funding concerns. So for the leaders, it's a question of how low do they go before the long term positives catch up. Meanwhile, a few of the smaller shops like JASO are in a race against the credit crunch because they need to be able to renegotiate some of their longer-term input costs.

LDK and WFR are still companies that I feel are uniquely positioned, as both have a partial oligopoly status as polysilicon suppliers. In the $15's and lower, it's getting to the point where I may again trade around my core position and look for that beta pop on any significant Naz bounce. Also, this stock could move 50% higher and still be exceedingly cheap on almost any value criteria.

Analyst Michael Molnar of Goldman Sachs took a harsh tone on the solar sector today, slashing his opinion to Sell on both First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA). Specifically, First Solar was slashed to Conviction Sell from Buy, while SunPower was dropped from Buy to Sell. In a note to clients, Molnar explained, "We strongly believe that SunPower and First Solar are two of the best solar companies in the world and that both will be part of the growing solar industry for years to come. However, in our view, even these companies will face headwinds in a market that is oversupplied with modules."

Specifically, "the risk of oversupply in the solar market will soon become a reality as considerably less generous demand subsidies take hold just as a wave of supply and tight financing hit the market," said Molnar. He added, "We believe that liberal subsidies of the past in markets like Germany and Spain are unlikely to be replicated in the future, given fears of their ultimate cost in a bad world economy."

As a whole, Goldman maintains a "cautious" view of the solar sector -- and the brokerage firm isn't alone. Piper Jaffray also weighed in on solar firms today, with a warning that higher credit costs could reduce average selling prices by an additional 6%. "The renewables industry depends on access to credit, and for the moment, the credit market remains closed," Piper stated. "We believe the cost of capital on renewable projects will increase due to higher bank financed interest rates, larger spreads, and more upfront fees." For 2009, Piper Jaffray predicts that companies' average selling prices will fall by 15% to 21%.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"An Obama administration is likely to be very aggressive in subsidizing and promoting alternatives, including a windfall tax on oil firms to support development of alternative energy; SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) is our pick to play an Obama victory," says Elliott Gue in The Energy Strategist.

"Obama's energy plan calls for generating 10% of electricity from renewable sources by 2012 and 25% by 2025, an aggressive goal when you consider that less than 3% of America's power comes from non-hydropower renewables today.

"Obama has also proposed a windfall tax on oil companies that would be used to support the development of alternatives like solar and wind power.

"SunPower manufactures and sells photovoltaic (PV) solar panels for the residential, commercial and utility-scale markets.

"Residential and commercial solar systems are solar panels installed on the roofs of homes and businesses, designed to supplement power supply from the electric grid.

"And SunPower recently won a contract with Florida-based utility FPL to build the largest photovoltaic plant in North America, a 25 megawatt utility-scale plant in DeSoto County, Florida.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"Through the campaign season, Barack Obama has spoken at length about the need to boost spending on alternative energy; if he was elected, that should be good news for solar power company SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR)," says Roger Conrad, editor of The Utility Forecaster.

"Obama has discussed both the need to increase U.S. energy independence and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming.

"The real promise for Sunpower, a leading manufacturer of solar panels, is in constructing utility-scale plants. The first of these is a 280-megawatt unit to provide power for Pacific G&E. Utilities in more than two dozen states, including California, are moving to meet mandates to get up to 20% of power sold from renewable sources.

"That's likely to become a national mandate under an Obama administration. Unlike homeowners and small businesses -- the primary customers for solar panels -- utilities are basically recession-resistant customers capable of dishing out huge contracts.

"Sunpower's move in that direction takes it to a whole new level of sustainability and growth. The shares are down on the financial crisis, as bankrupt Lehman is holding shares that could dilute the stock by around 3%. That gives aggressive investors a new opportunity to buy up to 80."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

Which stocks would benefit from a victory by either Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama? To help investors sort through the sectors and stocks best positioned to benefit in a post-election environment, we posed this question to some of the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Importantly, this is not a partisan report; each participating advisor has provided a favorite stock for both candidates, focused not on political preferences but unbiased stock analysis. Below we feature those stocks and ETFs that the advisors believe will be the winners depending on which candidate prevails.

McCain Stocks:

Roger Conrad - Comcast (NYSE: CCW)
Gregg Early - Elbit Systems (NASDAQ: ESLT)
Elliott Gue - Paladin Resources (Toronto: PDN)
Doug Fabian - Market Vectors Nuclear Energy (NYSE: NLR)
Vivian Lewis - Barclays (NYSE: BCS)
Bill Martin - CGG Veritas (NYSE: CGV)'
Yiannis Mostrous - Lonking Holdings (OTC: CIMHF)
Carla Pasternak - Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (NYSE: EVT)
Nate Pile - SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD)
John Reese - General Dynamics (NYSE: GD)
Nathan Slaughter - USEC (NYSE: USU)
Paul Tracy - Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR)
Kelley Wright - CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL)
Tom Vass - Molex (NASDAQ: MOLX)
Martin Hutchinson - Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG)

Obama Stocks:

Roger Conrad - SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR)
Gregg Early - AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV)
Elliott Gue - SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR)
Doug Fabian - Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLI)
Vivian Lewis - Cosan (NYSE: CZZ)
Bill Martin - Geron (NASDAQ: GERN)
Yiannis Mostrous - Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY)
Carla Pasternak - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP)
Nate Pile - Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
John Reese - American Eagle (NYSE: AEO)
Nathan Slaughter - Fluor (NYSE: FLR)
Paul Tracy - Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy (NYSE: GEX)
Kelley Wright - Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH)
Tom Vass - Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR)
Martin Hutchinson - Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR)

SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR - option chain) shares are soaring higher today after Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it has chosen SPWR to supply up to 800 megawatts of renewable energy. On the news, an analyst at Merrill Lynch also upgraded SPWR to "Buy" from "Hold." If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SPWR.

SPWR opened this morning at $87.64. So far today the stock has hit a low of $87.57 and a high of $93.93. As of 12:55, SPWR is trading at $93.26, up $14.69 (18.7%). The chart for SPWR looks neutral and S&P gives SPWR a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a December bull-put credit spread below the $55 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think, but willstill leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 11.1% return in just four months as long as SPWR is above $55 at December expiration. Sunpower would have to fall by more than 40% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

SPWR hasn't been below $55 since March and has shown support around $71 recently. With the way the political climate is shaping up, it looks like some form of solar power should be here for quite a while.

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 SPWR.

Minyanville's Sean Udall dares to share the kind of keen insight and actionable information you won't find in any prospectus. Here he answers a reader's burning question about "green" stocks. For more original thought, visit www.minyanville.com.

Professor Udall,

Do you have any opinions on Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT)? My wife wants me to buy everything "green". Her last "green" company idea was General Electric (NYSE: GE). I know, right? I bought a little just to quiet the noise level. I'm into a little SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) and Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR). Does Zoltek have legs?

Thanks,

Minyan L.

Minyan L.,

First, that's hysterical. Second, a word of caution: Going all green, or all of any one thing, is something I'd never advocate. If you do, you do so at your own risk, as nothing in the market is ever as obvious as it seems, especially when it seems totally obvious.

While today was a mixed day, overall it was far better than it could have been. Financial stocks saw a bit of a rebound as Lehman's world didn't look like it was coming to an end. Ben Bernanke gave a speech today but showed his concerns that rising health care costs are a huge concern for the economy. The NAHB also gave a low builder sentiment reading of 18, which matches recent lows. Oil did hit a new high despite the Saudi's pledge to boost production, but that was on the dollar and it did manage to come off of highs. These are unofficial index level closing prices:

• DJIA 12264.77 (-42.58)
• S&P500 1359.88 (-0.15)
• NASDAQ 2473.08 (+18.58)
• 10YR T-Note 4.245% (-0.016%)
• 52-WEEK LOWS
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Chiquita Brands International Inc. (NYSE: CQB) was the disaster of the day as shares were down some 29% in the final minutes after this mornings warning that cost hikes were going to create a wide earnings miss.