Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL) closed down $1.51 to $38.96. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said his department will increase oversight of federal student financial-aid programs in a letter to Senator Harkin, according to Bloomberg. September put option implied volatility is at 53, November is at 54; above its 26-week average of 48 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

US Bancorp (USB) closed down 20c to $22.24. USB overall option implied volatility of 35 is above its 26-week average of 32, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

CBOE Mini-NDX-MNX down $1.18 to 182.03; overall volatility at 20.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

"Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffet is a disciple of the teachings of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, who made their fortunes by buying businesses that were selling for less than the value of their working capital (current assets minus current liabilities," notes Vita Nelson.

The editor of The Moneypaper explains, "The pair developed a Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) model to determine if a company was worth its market price. Their formula subtracts all liabilities, including short-term debt and preferred stock, from a company's current asset balance"

Yes it can. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) can outperform Apple Inc. (AAPL) in 2010. That was my thesis in December (see Buffett's Berkshire vs Jobs' Apple for 2010?) and I still believe all the Apple hype in the world will still succumb to a solid value proposition in the long run.

While Apple was reaching new all time highs Berkshire was treading water through 2009. However, after a monster run-up Apple is taking a breather.

Last week, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) led off the coming parade of earnings from the big banks when it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, though its revenue fell short of estimates.

Plenty more earnings from the financial sector are due out this week. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters anticipate fourth-quarter earnings growth from American Express Co. (AXP), Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK), Hudson City Bancorp Inc. (HCBK), SLM Corp. (SLM) and US Bancorp (USB).

Late Monday, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) unveiled its plan to sell $1.2 billion worth of stock in order to repay its TARP loan to the U.S. Treasury Department. The company priced 42 million shares at $28.75 a piece, a discount of 3% to the stock's close on Monday.

Even though BK passed the government's stress test with no trouble, the bank is nonetheless eager to raise funds and pay off its debt to the government. Other financial firms selling stock to repay TARP loans include Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB).

However, investors seem none too pleased with BK's dilutive stock offering. The security shed 2.5% within the first 10 minutes of today's trading, extending BK's retreat from double-top resistance at the $33 level. The shares first shied away from this region in mid-April, and pulled back from the $33 neighborhood again last week.

It is being reported today in the Business Journal that the safest bank in the United States is Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC).

According to Global Finance, which will publish its analysis, "World's 50 Safest Banks" in its April issue, international banks dominate the rankings, which show the effects of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and credit crisis brought on by large Wall Street players. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is the top-rated U.S. bank at No. 21. European banks now dominate the rankings, with only four U.S. banks among the listing.

US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is scheduled to discuss fourth-quarter 2008 results tomorrow in a conference call at 9:00 AM Eastern. Results will be presented by Richard K. Davis, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, and Andrew Cecere, vice chairman and chief financial officer. Dial 1-866-316-1409 (U.S. and Canada only) to listen to the conference call; the conference ID number is 78901067. To listen in to the webcast of the conference call, visit Q4 2008 U.S. Bancorp Earnings Conference Call (registration required).

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect US Bancorp to report that earings for the quarter fell 58.5% from a year ago to $0.22 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to total $3.8 billion, 7.5% lower than a year ago. US Bancorp has fallen short of earnings estimates in three of the past five quarters, by as much as 31.2%.

For the full year, analysts are looking for earnings of $1.72 per share on revenue of $14.9 billion, compared to $2.43 per share and $13.9 billion in the previous year.

The consensus forecast for US Bancorp's long-term EPS growth is 7.6%, which is less than the S&P 500 average. The share price fell to a multiyear today and is about 49% lower than it was a year ago.

See BloggingStocks' US Bancorp coverage for more information concerning the Minneapolis-based company.

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

I think it's fair to say that there's much trepidation about the earnings season that picks up steam this week. And for better or worse, numbers from the big financials have begun to roll in. Last week we saw profit sink for JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and significant losses from Bank of American Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), and Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB).

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) to be among those financials reporting fourth-quarter earnings growth this week. They anticipate that Bank of New York will post a profit of $0.70 per share, compared to $0.67 per share a year ago and $0.72 in the previous quarter. Revenue is expected come to $3.8 billion, about the same as it was a year ago. Bank of New York has fallen short of earnings estimates in two of the past five quarters, by as much as 11.1%. For the full year, analysts are looking for $2.78 per share (+5.8%) on $14.8 billion (+4.2%). The consensus recommendation of analysts is to buy BK, and the long-term EPS growth rate forecast is 10.7%. Shares are 48.7% lower than a year ago. Other financials expected to report quarterly earnings growth this week include SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) and M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB).

Jack Adamo has been a bull on U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and is now recommending doubling the position that he holds in his model portfolio. Here's the latest from his Insiders Plus newsletter.

"US Bancorp is accepting $6.6 billion in new capital from the TARP program. Tier One capital will rise from 8.5% to 11.4% as a result of the new deal.

"The company will issue preferred stock to the U.S. Treasury at an annual rate of 5% for five years, increasing to 9% per year thereafter if the company has not redeemed the shares. I doubt they'll go unredeemed.

"The Treasury Department would also receive 10-year warrants entitling it to buy common stock of U.S. Bancorp with a value equal to 15% of the amount of the preferred stock issuance.

"With Tier One capital already at 8.5%, USB obviously didn't need the Fed infusion. It said it saw it as a good opportunity to get cheap capital with which to take advantage of any acquisition opportunities. I agree with that.

"Those terms are very good. Compare them to the arm-twisting terms some companies have paid, e.g., the 10%, plus warrants, that Buffett charged GE. Incidentally, Buffett added 3 million shares of USB to his holding in Q3.

"I said about 18 months ago, before the market carnage started, that U.S. Bancorp was the single stock that I felt most comfortable with. That hasn't changed.

"With a dividend of 6.5%, a great balance sheet, and opportunities to take business from weaker banks in the years ahead, this is a truly safe place to put money for solid total returns for years to come."

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.

The FDIC took over three banks yesterday, bringing the total number of bank failures so far this year to 22. As I posted, the FDIC likes to close banks on Friday after hours so they can reopen as branches of the acquiring bank on the following Monday morning. But the U.S. better be working overtime this weekend because Citigroup (NYSE: C) is going to need a merger partner or a government rescue to keep it from becoming history's biggest bank failure.

Of the three banks that failed Friday, two were in California -- Downey Savings and Loan Association (with $12.8 billion in assets and deposits of $9.7 billion), based in Newport Beach, and PFF Bank & Trust of Pomona (with assets of $3.7 billion and $2.4 billion in deposits) -- and the third was in Georgia: The Community Bank, with $681 million in assets and $611.4 million in deposits in Loganville.

In each case, the FDIC arranged for a healthier bank to take over the deposits, branches, and some of the assets of the failed one. U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) acquired the deposits of the two California banks that were brought down by Option ARM mortgages -- which allow a borrower to skip payments and add the amount to the loan principle -- and housing construction loans. Bank of Essex, of Tappahannock, Va., bought all the bank deposits and $84.4 million of The Community Bank's assets -- the FDIC took on the rest.

Wall Street's optimism in last week's preview about the earnings of tech stocks wasn't misplaced, as there were many more positive surprises than negative ones among the stocks we looked at. This week will bring plenty more data for investors in and watchers of the sector to mull over. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), for example, are expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to post modest earnings gains from a year ago, to $1.11 per share (on $8.1 billion in sales), $0.72 per share (on $31.3 billion in sales), and $0.47 per share (on $14.8 billion in sales) respectively. All three of these companies ended the week closer to their 52-week lows than highs, and analysts on average consider them each a buy.

Here's a look at some of the week's biggest expected earnings gainers and decliners in the sector:

• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU): $1.25 per share (+44.0%) on revenues of $134.7 million (+103.2%)
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM): $0.44 per share (+38.6%) on revenues of $1.3 billion (+33.8%)
• QLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QLGC): $0.31 per share (+29.0%) on revenues of $170.0 million (+21.2%)
• FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR): $0.32 per share (+28.1%) on revenues of $275.2 million (+44.0%)
• Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR): $0.30 per share (+26.7%) on revenues of $927.4 million (+26.2%)
• Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT): $0.75 per share (+17.3%) on revenues of $391.6 million (+11.1%)
• Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX): $0.29 per share (+17.2%) on revenues of $8.7 billion (+57.3%)
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC): $0.19 per share (+10.5%) on revenues of $3.7 billion (+12.9%)

"Recent valuations in financial stocks suggest either 'the world is coming to an end' or there are some great values," says Gregory Dorsey.

Here, the contributing editor to the top-notch Leeb's Income Performance Letter takes a look at one such "bargain" in the sector: U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB).

"So far, the financial sector has written off more than $300 million in assets. By some accounts the damage will rise to $1 trillion or more before all is said and done.

"The selloff, which at its nadir was marked by a 55% year-over-year decline in the KBW Index, pushed the constituent members down to a collective 0.64 times book value and a dividend yield of 9%.

"At those levels, either the world is coming to an end or there are tremendous bargains for investors with the courage of their convictions. Looking hard at the data, we can only conclude the latter is the case, provided you're careful with your investment choices.

After the implosion of IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE: IMB) and news of the deterioration of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) last week, there's bound to be a certain level of trepidation as the earnings crunch begins this coming week and many big financial companies report. Here's a look at what Wall Street was expecting (see The week in preview: Expectations as the earnings crunch begins for expectations of other reporting companies.)

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting the following of companies to report lower earnings when compared to the same period of the previous year.

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM): 44 cents EPS (-63.3%) on sales of $16.4 billion (-13.2%)
• Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): 51 cents EPS (-59.2%) on sales of $680.2 million (-7.3%)
• Zions Bancorp. (NYSE: ZION): 75 cents EPS (-47.6%) on sales of $627.3. million (+2.7%)
• Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NYSE: HBAN): 23 cents EPS (-32.4%) on sales of $617.1 million (+50.7%)
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF): $1.31 EPS (-30.7%) on sales of $4.4 billion (+7.8%)
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): 50 cents EPS (-25.4%) on sales of $10.7 billion (+7.7%)
• M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB): $1.50 EPS (-23.1%) on sales of $756.6 million (+1.6%)
• BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT): 69 cents EPS (-16.9%) on sales of $1.8 billion (+5.9%)
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB): 60 cents EPS (-7.7%) on sales of $3.8 billion (+8.3%)
• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC): $1.16 EPS (-7.2%) on sales of $1.9 billion (+8.5%)

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) closed at $25.27 Monday. WFC July option implied volatility of 51 is above its 26-week average of 40 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) closed at $30.95 Monday. USB June option implied volatility is at 39, July is at 35; above its 26-week average of 31, suggesting larger risks.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

The model portfolio of Insiders Plus gains 48% last year; here, editor Jack Adamo reviews two of his portfolio holdings -- both bank stocks being accumulated by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

"U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) reported a slight decrease in Q1 earnings of 62¢ per share versus 63¢ last year; the shares rose 2.8% the next day. Compared to the disastrous results of its peers, this small decline in earnings was a home run.

"That's a testament to the company's savvy managers. USB steered clear of the toxic problems that choked most banks. Only 2.7% of its loans are subprime.

"Warren Buffett's Berkshire-Hathaway continues to buy the stock steadily. Recent SEC filings show that in the fourth quarter of 2007 Berkshire increased its share of the Minneapolis-based bank by 3 million shares to a total of 75 million.

"This represents 4.4% of its shares outstanding, and up tremendously from its stake of 23 million shares just a few years ago. The Wizard of Omaha knows what he likes and why he likes it.

"Meanwhile, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) reported Q1 earnings of 60¢ per share down 9% year-over-year, but up 46% from the December quarter. Like USB, Fargo shares continue to be accumulated at Berkshire Hathaway.

"The stock is a solid long-term buy, with good prospects of steadily raising its 4.2% dividend. It has capital appreciation potential to boot, especially after the housing hangover abates."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.