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

• American Public Education Inc. (APEI) received an analyst upgrade following the Q4 report and guidance.
• Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) traded higher after it reported swinging to a profit in Q4, but revenue declined year over year.
• Blackstone Group (BX) reported adjusted Q4 earnings, compared to a year-ago loss, and postive renvenue too.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) higher Q2 earnings beat estimates, but shares fell on so-so revenue results.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA) lower Q4 earnings beat expectations but net income for the full year rose.
• Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) topped analysts' Q4 earnings expectations but shares fell after it warned of lower margins.

Let's see now. Consumers are more pessimistic this month than last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average loses 100 points on the news. Unemployment is better in one month, worse in another. The DJIA goes up on the good news, down on the bad. Home Depot has a good quarter, raises its dividend, and forecasts a better year for 2010. The stock goes up 50 cents on a day when the market is down 100 points. Other stocks are light on revenues. They go down 10% or more.

The market always sends mixed messages. There has never been a time when all the news is good. That's impossible. If all the news is all good, it means the economy is really thriving. Then investors worry about things being too strong, afraid that inflation will come back, so they sell stocks. When things seem totally awful (see 2008 and 2009 as examples), some investors see nothing but upside potential (see Warren Buffett and General Electric (GE) purchases), and they buy stocks. Most of the time, however, the news is good and bad. There is never a straight upward or downward line for the DJIA or for any stock for a long period of time unless the stock goes out of business, then the line is flat.

You've got to take notice of The Home Depot Inc.'s (HD) fourth quarter. Check out Trey Thoelcke's article devoted to retail earnings published this afternoon. It provides a snapshot of data for the chain. It's impressive.

Besides beating earnings expectations, what most observers should focus on is the fact that this is the first quarter in a very, very long time that has seen appreciation in the same-store sales metric. Not a bad change of pace, huh? Those negative comps were becoming a little boring, quite frankly. Furthermore, the chain actually increased its quarterly dividend payout. This isn't insignificant; it clearly signals, in theory at least, a fundamental shift.

Tuesday morning was a big one for retail earnings, with Home Depot, Macy's, Sears and Target reporting good news.

Barnes & Noble (BKS) total sales came to $2.2 billion in fiscal third quarter, a 33% increase year over year. Earnings were $80.2 million, or $1.38 per share. However, same-store sales slipped 4.7% from a year ago to $1.4 billion, despite strength from BN.com due to demand for the Nook. The company expects comps to decline in the fourth quarter, and forecast full-year earnings below consensus estimates.

U.S. stock futures were lower Tuesday morning as investors were cautious about the strength of the economic recovery, awaiting several key indicators to get a better feel of the recovery, including data on consumer confidence and the housing market.

U.S. stocks closed generally lower on Monday following a choppy session devoid mostly of economic news. Investors are still jittery about possible interest rate hikes following the Federal Reserve's surprise move to raise the discount rate last week. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to give a testimony on Capitol Hill starting Wednesday, perhaps giving more clues about the Fed's direction.

Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW) is much higher today than it was a year ago. In fact, it's near a 52-week high; at roughly $23 per share, the stock could eventually double the 52-week low of $13. With that in mind, how does the company look after the fourth-quarter report?

Lowe's, which competes with Home Depot, Inc. (HD), made 14 cents per share, three pennies higher than what was booked in the comparable period. Yeah, doesn't sound like much, but on a percentage basis, that translates to 27% growth. And it stacks up nicely against the fiscal-year performance, as Lowe's saw a decrease in earnings per share.

Atlanta-based big-box retailer Home Depot Inc. (HD) is scheduled to discuss its fourth-quarter and fiscal year financial results in a conference call Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 9:00 AM (ET). Catch the live webcast of the call (later archived) at the company's website.

During the three months that ended in January, Home Depot announced an upgrade of its self-checkout system and an agreement with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO), as well as declared a quarterly dividend. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the world's largest home improvement retailer to report fourth-quarter earnings of $0.17 per share, down two cents year over year. Revenue for the period is expected to have fallen 3.7% to $14.1 billion.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Home Depot (HD) to outperform from perform on expectations that comp sales growth in the home improvement retail sector will accelerate. The firm has a $37 price target for Home Depot shares. The firm also reiterates an outperform rating on Lowe's (LOW).
• UBS upgraded Mattel (MAT) to buy from neutral, citing solid demand in core brands, strong free cash flow and improved cost structure, among other reasons. The firm raised its target to $26 from $21.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Dreamworks (DWA) to overweight from market weight, citing upcoming releases and increased international expectations. The firm raised its target to $47 from $40.
• TD AmeriTrade (AMTD) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Whole Foods (WFMI) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Whiting Petroleum (WLL) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

During my tenure at BloggingStocks I have expressed my opinion often about the contribution that dividends make to your overall return. Most shrewd investors, and especially "my pal Warren," know this and understand why I re-emphasize the point when I make my annual selections.

By now I hope you have had a chance to peruse my picks for 2010. If not the links below will give you another opportunity.

This year's selections do not seem to offer the same dividend opportunities of years past and my first three choices have none at all. That changes with this pick. Home Depot (HD) is distributing a 3.09% yield.

It's getting tiring to relate the demise of various companies to the residential market collapse, high unemployment and so forth, but certainly this company has been greatly affected. In addition, Home Depot was already struggling to recover from a "me first" CEO who happened to be forced out with the small stipend of $200 million, leaving behind shabby stores with questionable customer service while at the same time facing strong competition from Lowe's Cos (LOW).

One of the easiest stock picks for me to make this year is also one I made last year and for many of the same reasons. In a time of economic turmoil, high unemployment and tight liquidity, what could be more practical than pawn shops and cash advance outlets? EZCORP (EZPW) made me money last year and I expect more of the same as it continues to expand.

Most investors wish they could have gotten in on the ground floor of the hugely successful The Home Depot Corporation (HD), McDonald's Corporation (MCD), or Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) franchises while they only had a few hundred outlets. In the case of EZCORP that is still possible.

To arrive at this years ten picks I scoured business journals and editorials, online and off. I also ran through a series of stock screens repeatedly over the last few months filtering for five primary value metrics identifying stocks worthy of further consideration.

The 5 data points were price-to-sales (P/S), price-to-book (P/B), price-to-cash flow (P/CF), dividend yield and return-on-equity (ROE). I did look at other things but these were the subject of my initial focus.

The Street.com's Jim Cramer says that he's making it his mission in 2010 to call out people in the media who provide no value.

Have you ever noticed that with every good housing report there are endless caveats:

1. Prices are still down year over year.

2. The home tax credit of $8,000 moved the house, and that will go away.

3. Home mortgages are artificially low because of the Fed.

4. Banks have more foreclosures on their balance sheets than before.

5. Foreclosures continue to occur.

6. Everything will slip back to imbalance when the credit goes away.

The contenders list is down to twelve stocks and three puts. I will not be trimming the list today. Instead, I will be reviewing possibilities among four more stocks of well established companies.

There are the two largest home improvement stores, Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's Cos (LOW) as well as the two largest payroll companies, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex Inc. (PAYX). They are all fine, well-managed companies, so this will just be a numbers game along with a sense of whether the economy is going to reward investors in 2010, or if it's too early.

After reading an unbelievable sell recommendation by one of my BloggingStocks colleagues, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In Thirteen Dow stocks that are doomed, we are informed that 13 of the 30 are going down and we should all bail out before it is too late.

I find this silly on many levels. For one, 13 stocks amount to a large-cap index fund and since large-cap stocks have lagged the market the probability that they will outperform going forward is real and has many investors promoting them.