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

• Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BSC) reported a profit that missed expectations by a penny.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) posted higher profits in the first quarter, boosted by global gains.
• Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) first-quarter earnings were in line with expectations.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) posted a bigger-than-expected loss on further write-downs.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) lowered first-quarter guidance led the stock to a new 52-week low.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) beat first-quarter estimates due to strong demand overseas.
• Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
• ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT) raised its first-quarter and full-year earnings guidance.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) beat expectations though first-quarter profits fell
• Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) posted a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss due to write-downs.
• TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD) second-quarter EPS rose 35%, but revenue fell.
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) beat first-quarter earnings expectations thought profits slipped.
• Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) posted its first quarterly loss since 2001 and cut its dividend.
• Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM) swung to a first-quarter loss of more than $1 billion.
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) beat expectations though first-quarter profits fell.

Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) are slightly higher in early trading despite the fact that the company posted a decline for its first-quarter profit. As Trey Thoelcke discussed, analysts were waiting for the sixth-largest U.S. bank to show smaller profit, but the firm was able to beat by 1 penny analysts' predictions.

For the quarter, US Bancorp announced that its profit slipped 4% to $1.09 billion, compared with $1.13 billion, a year earlier. The drop was tied to impairment charges and higher credit losses provision. The bank posted quarterly earnings of 62 cents per share, slightly higher the 61cents per share that analysts expected.

Taking a look at the company's quarterly revenue, we see a growth of 14% to $1.8 billion. For this period, the Minneapolis-based company also saw an increase of 14% in expenses which rose up to $1.8 billion. Quarterly revenue exceeded analysts' predictions for sales of $3.66 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) to post smaller profits in the first quarter. Both banks are scheduled to report results on Tuesday.

M&T is expected to earn $1.55 per share, which is down marginally from the same period in 2007 when it earned $1.57. The company missed quarterly estimates in the past two quarters. In the third quarter of 2007, it fell short of the consensus estimate by 5.3%, and in the fourth quarter by 63.1%.

M&T is based in Buffalo, New York. M&T Bank offers deposit accounts and loans to individuals and small and mid-sized businesses, and its subsidiaries provide brokerage, leasing, loan servicing, and other services. In the past year, its revenues were $4.6 billion and its net income totaled $654 million. Its EPS growth forecast for the year is 14.1%, better than the banking industry average and the S&P 500. Yet the consensus recommendation of analysts continues to be to hold M&T.

The stock has fallen 20.6% in the past year and trades at a P/E of 14.05. Shares closed Friday at $83.62.

The quarter has hardly begun and, with analysts and investors watching nervously, the earnings crunch is about to begin anew. The following 11 big banks are among companies reporting results the week of April 14 to April 18.

These three are expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to be the the top performers in the first quarter, based on earnings growth from the same period of last year:

• State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT): 39%
• Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK): 22%
• Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS): 13%

These also happen to be three of the four forecast top performers from just before fourth quarter of 2007 results were reported back in January.

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

• Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) missed earnings estimates but beat revenue expectations.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) posted a bigger than expected loss, due to subprime-related write-downs.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reported a solid fourth quarter, bringing a hint of optimism to Wall Street.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) missed estimates due to consumer lending issues.
• Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) posted a bigger than expected loss due to large write-downs.
• Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) missed expectations due to market conditions and weather factors.
• Sears Holding (NASDAQ: SHLD) lowered its fourth quarter outlook on weak holiday sales.
• State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT) beat expectations, after a subprime-related charge is excluded.
• TD Ameritrade Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD) net income rose sharply on increased trading activity.
• US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) missed earnings estimates, but is "well capitalized" according to the CEO.
• Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM) swung to a loss due to the credit crunch, as it had warned.
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) reported its lowest quarterly profit in years, as analysts had expected.

See additional earnings highlights. Also, Jim Cramer ponders the ennui of the new earnings season. Peter Cohan mulls whether this will be the worst earnings period for the lending industry since the Great Depression.

Upcoming results to watch for include Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), and Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

The record loss from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) has overshadowed the results from other lenders, US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT), that also reported today. The news there wasn't as bad.

US Bancorp reported that fourth-quarter profit fell 21%, partly due to one-time charges. The company had warned about the effects of the real estate slowdown, but it appeared to sidestep the worst of the problems plaguing other lenders. The company's CEO made it a point to explain that the nation's seventh-largest bank is "well capitalized." U.S. Bancorp's net income fell to $942 million, or 53 cents per share, from $1.19 billion, or 66 cents per share, year over year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected profit of 59 cents per share.

State Street reported Tuesday that fourth-quarter earnings fell 28% after the company took a charge to cover fallout from its subprime investments. Excluding the charge, earnings rose to $540 million, or $1.38 per share, from 86 cents per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, whose estimates excluded one-time items, had expected earnings of $1.35 per share. Revenue rose 53% to $2.48 billion from $1.62 billion in the same period last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $2.39 billion.

Among lenders scheduled to report on Wednesday are JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS), and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"For the investor who has some money with which he or she is willing to take some risk, I suggest they take a look at the regional banks ETF iShares Dow Jones US Regional Banks (NYSE: IAT), which I've selected as my top speculative pick for 2008," notes Leonard Goodall, CFA and editor of No-Load Portfolios.

"I recommend this ETF for two reasons, a fundamental reason and a timeliness reason. From a fundamental perspective, most of the regional banks in this portfolio have good solid financials and they know their areas of service well enough to avoid the worst aspects of the current real estate crisis.

"The three largest holdings in the fund -- US Bancorp, Suntrust Bank and PNC Financial -- all have records of consistently improving earnings over the last five years. US Bancorp and Suntrust have raised their dividends each of the last five years, and PNC has raised its dividend in three of the five.

"Purchase of the fund now is timely because its price has been pushed down along with all financial stocks that have been the victim of the subprime mortgage crisis.

With just ten more shopping days until Christmas, it's time for a stocking stuffer wish list. With the recent market selloff, bargains are abound. If you think the 15% off sales in your favorite department store are interesting, here are stocks that are REALLY on sale, and would make the perfect stocking stuffer.

For American Express (NYSE: AXP), the shopping season is going better than all the pessimists thought it would and the credit card company should stand to gain. In addition, since the market tends to be a leading economic indicator that looks out six months into the future, I would expect a strong pickup in growth in the second half of '08, which should also help earnings. With this stock trading down to levels not seen in 15 months, the stock is looking attractive for a turnaround.

ClickSoftware (NASDAQ: CKSW) is the leading provider of mobile workforce management and service optimization solutions. With mobile applications just starting to come online into the market, this company could be a real winner. This stock isn't for the weak of heart, having dropped 43% from the 52 week-high. That being said, business is shaping up to be really strong for '08.

When BloggingStocks contributor Georges Yared recently took a look at lenders that could rise up out of the recent subprime-related credit mess, he focused on Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) as strong contenders.

Well, the European markets have been struggling with many of the same credit concerns as in the U.S. Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN) has gone looking for investment opportunities in European markets, and found such contenders as Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), France Telecom (NYSE: FTE), and Cadbury Schweppes (NYSE: CSG). However, like Mr. Yared, Morningstar analysts found themselves focusing on a pair of wide-moat lenders that had been unfairly punished by reactions to the current problems.

The markets appear to be stabilizing and the investing world is getting its arms around the magnitude of the credit issues. But, invariably what happens in tough times is the good come down with the bad. Several pure mortgage players have been eviscerated in the mortgage debacle as subprime and otherwise suspect loans have come back to roost. However, do not lump Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) into this category.

These three domestic banks have given very solid results for investors for both the March and the June quarters. Yes, they did take their reserves for bad loans to higher levels, but it did not cost them a quarterly miss or forward guidance reduction. The diversification of their earnings and revenue streams are just too powerful to be affected by the mortgage issues. Also, these three banks did not play in the riskier portion of the mortgage markets.

These banks however do stand ready to pick up market share of the mortgage market when the dust settles.

As the market absorbs the Fed's recent interest rate cut, investors will look to lock in yields. These big three pay superb dividends and have a terrific history of raising those dividends. USB yields 5.1%, Bank of America also pays 5.1%, and Wells Fargo pays 3.5%. All three sell at a discount to the S&P 500 current 2007 price earnings ratio of 15.5 times. They also have aggressive share buyback programs in place.

Normally I recommend bank stocks for superb yields and moderate growth. In this environment, these three stocks will offer great yields but also superb growth prospects. I can see price appreciation of 50% over the next two years for these three major players. The risk/reward profile is compelling and all three are strong buys.

Georges Yared is the CIO of Yared Investment Research and the author of Stop Losing Money Today.

January's earnings period is heating up, with Apple and Motorola reporting this upcoming week. Also there are two more interesting industry conferences coming on the heels of the CES and Macworld.

Monday January 15

• The 96th Annual National Retail Federation Conference will be held in N.Y.
• The North American International Auto Show 2007 will be held in Detroit.

Tuesday January 16

• US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) will report Q4 earnings, conference call at 2pm. The bank is expected to report solid EPS but declining revenue. Wall Street will be looking to evaluate USB's comments on where it sees the U.S. economy heading in 2007.
• American Power Conversion (NASDAQ: APCC) will hold a special shareholder meeting at 2pm to vote on the proposed merger with Schneider Electric.

Wednesday January 17

• Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) will report Q1 2007 earnings, conference call at 5pm. Investors and analysts will be looking for further details and clarification on the iPhone, and will also be looking to see how much progress the company's Macs are making against rival PCs.
• Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) will hold its annual investor meeting at 3pm in St. Louis. Investors will be waiting to hear any news on the merger with Delta & Pine Land (NYSE: DLP), which was announced last August, but has been delayed by antitrust concerns.

Thursday January 18

• Harley Davidson Inc (NYSE: HOG) will report its Q4 2006 earnings, conference call at 9am. The focus of the report will be the company's inventory, order backlog and its ability to keep up with customer demand. Wall Street will also be looking at Harley Davidson's ability to reduce the time it takes to get new motorcycles to market.

Friday January 19

• Motorola, Inc (NYSE: MOT) will report its Q4 2006 earnings, conference call at 7:30am. Investors will look to see if Motorola's earnings release does anything to ease concerns brought on by two recent downgrades, from Buy to Neutral/Hold, one which claimed "uncertainty over U.S. market share trends in 2007."

U.S. stocks were slightly higher on light trading volume. The Dow was up 0.45%, the NASDAQ 100 up 0.35%, the S&P 500 up 0.35%, while 10-year bond rates decreased to 4.6030%. The CBOE VIX was up .02 to 11.38.

• Telik Inc's (NASDAQ: TELK) January option implied volatility collapsed after disappointing data. Telik was recently down $11.47 to $4.79. TELK Phase 3 trails related to its cancer drug Telcyta (treatment for non-small cell lung cancer & ovarian cancer) "did not achieve statistically significant improvement in overall survival." JANY & STFL downgraded Telik to sell. Telik's January option implied volatility was at 85, according to Track Data, below a level of 215 from last week, suggesting decreasing risk.
  

• Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) January 55 calls were active on 6,163 contracts as Lilly rallies. Eli Lilly recently rallied .43 to $51.77, after a Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. ruled its 2011 Zyprexa patent was valid. Lilly faced pressure last week on documents leaked to the NY Times indicating Zryprexa (schizophrenia treatment) had understated weight gain and diabetes risk. Lilly's Zyprexa accounts for approximately 25% of Lilly's sales & 50% of its EPS. Lilly's January option implied volatility of 19 was near its 26-week average of 19, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risks.
  

• U.S. Bancorp's (NYSE: USB) calls active on company going ex-dividend on 12/27/06. USB goes ex-dividend on 12/27/06, paying a dividend of .40 cents. USB total intra-day call option volume was heavy on over 962,946 contracts, according to Track Data. Heavy call volume was attributable to traders hoping to take advantage of option exercises, call pricing discrepancies and low option transaction commission fees.
  

Liquid stocks with option implied volatility above 90, according to Track Data: AtheroGenics (NASDAQ: AGIX), Momenta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MNTA), Dendreon Corp (NASDAQ: DNDN), Escala Group (NASDAQ: ESCL), and Northfield Laboratories (NASDAQ: NFLD).

Option volume leaders today were Telik Inc, Altria Group (NYSE: MO), Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU), and Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Options analysis provided by Paul Foster, options strategist for Theflyonthewall.com.