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

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) reported better-than-expected Q3 results but shares fell anyway.
• Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) posted strong Q3 results but shares sold off on a disappointing guidance.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) said lower Q1 earnings fell short of analysts expectations.
• Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) topped Q3 profit and revenue estimates, lifting shares.
• Geron Corp. (NASDAQ: GERN) posted a narrower-than-expected Q3 loss, sending shares sharply higher.
• Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) reported lower Q2 earnings and sales on weak demand for cars.

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

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Q2 profit fell short of estimates as same-store sales declined.
• Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) Q2 earnings beat very low expectations and same-store sales fell.
• Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) reported better-than-expected numbers for Q2, sending shares upward.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) posted a better-than-expected Q4 profit though revenue declined.
• China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. posted a record Q2 profit after restrictions on fuel prices were lifted.
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) said its Q2 earnings declined, but they still topped analysts' expectations.

Canadian banks are scheduled to step into the earnings spotlight this week, with third-quarter reports coming from Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD). While Canadian banks on the whole held up better than their U.S. counterparts during the financial crisis, these five are expected to report that their earnings are still declining in the most recent quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for EPS for these banks to have fallen from 15% to 25% from a year ago. Their long-term EPS growth forecast is for between 10% and 12%, which is in the same range as U.S. rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), but better than Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C). Earnings multiples for these Canadian banks are 10x to 12x, but none of them have a First Call consensus recommendation is to buy. The Motley Fool, though, considers TD as a value stock and RY a stock poised to pop. All of them are trading much closer to their 52-week highs than lows, and shares of all are up more than 100% since March lows.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dow Chemical (DOW), Smart Modular (SMOD), Wolverine World Wide (WWW), Win-Dixie Stores (WINN) and Blue Nile (BLUE) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• UBS is positive on the ethylene cycle over the next two years and believes Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) can beat 2008 consensus estimates, initiating shares with a Buy rating.

• JMP Securities started Smart Modular (NASDAQ: SMOD) with a Strong Buy as a unit volume growth theme without much dependence on commodity memory chip pricing.

• Citigroup expects further upside given Wolverine World Wide's (NYSE: WWW) strong portfolio of brands, further growth opportunities through line extensions and international growth. The firm started Wolverine World Wide with a Buy rating and $33 target.

• Winn-Dixie Stores (NASDAQ: WINN) was started with a Market Perform rating, citing low levels of profitability and unproven ability to drive sustainable profitable sales.

• American Technology believes the valuation of Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) leaves little room for upside, despite a highly attractive business model and strong fundamentals, and started shares with a Sell rating and $45 target...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Susquehanna started King Pharma (NYSE: KG), Sepracor (NASDAQ: SEPR) with Neutral ratings and Sciele Pharma (NASDAQ: SCRX) with a Positive rating.

• Citigroup initiated shares of Quicksilver Inc (NYSE: ZQK) with a Hold rating.

• Longbow started Mips Tech (NASDAQ: MIPS) with a Buy rating and $12 target.

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

According to a federal indictment alleging 25 counts of coupon-redemption fraud, nine executives from International Outsourcing Services (IOS), the nation's largest clearinghouse for grocery- and retail-related coupons, have been accused of involvement in an ongoing coupon-redemption scheme that is claimed to have injured a laundry list of companies, including SC Johnson, Kimberly-Clark Corp.(NYSE:KMB), and Winn-Dixie Stores (NASDAQ:WINN). Federal attorneys claim that Wisconsin firms alone have been bilked as much as $15 million by fraudulent redemption practices. Coupon redemption program assistance organizations estimate that fraudulent coupon redemption costs product manufacturers as much as a half billion dollars a year.

A news story reports that in answering the indictment, IOS denied the allegations and said the company plans to "vigorously defend against these charges." IOS takes a firm stand that through a 40 year history of providing its services, it has never faced tort action in regard to its coupon-redemption practices, even in the face of routine audits performed by the many of the manufacturers it serves.

U.S. attorneys maintain that the indictment is the result of a long-standing and intensive investigation by members of the U.S. Attorney's office, with additional resources and support provided by the FBI and others. Already, 17 individuals have been charged and convicted in Wisconsin, 10 in Ohio, and 3 in Mississippi in connection with this investigation. Law enforcement indicates that the previous convictions involved an independent broker and an IOS sales manager.