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Stock futures were mixed Monday morning, indicating stock would start on a down note a week full of economic data. This morning, investors are focusing on rising oil prices and existing home sales data to be released at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Also, over the weekend, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke commented from the Fed's yearly retreat, saying that problems in credit markets not yet over and are a threat to economy. Meanwhile, economists are saying inflation is catching up to the credit crisis as the major concern for the economy.

American International Group's (NYSE: AIG) credit ratings may be downgraded by Fitch due to uncertainties over AIG's exposure to mortgage backed securities. AIG was down 1.5% in after-hours Friday.

The Australian government approved Chinalco 14.99% stake in Rio Tinto's (NYSE: RTP) but warned the Chinese firm against buying more shares without prior approval. Alcoa (NYSE: AA) backed the purchase. RTP shares were up over 1% in Australian trading.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) will pay around $192.8 million in cash to acquire chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s (NYSE: AMD) digital TV business, the companies announced Monday.

If you are involved in the market right now and watch the volatility with swings up and down, it might be easy to forget that trading volume is very thin and that moves can be exaggerated easily. Today's numbers, with a recession in Europe and stagflation rising in the U.S., were discounted by traders looking ahead and interpreting data out on the calendar. The good news in housing is that existing houses are finally moving, but the bad news is that they are selling under replacement cost.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA 11615.93 (+82.97)
S&P500 1292.93 (+7.10)
NASDAQ 2453.67 (+25.05)
10 YR T-Note 3.892% (-0.055%)
52-Week Lows

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is a bit of a mystery. This had very unusual call option buying seen in the stock, yet shares were down marginally on the day by less than 1% at $31.96 before the closing bell. This stock has been the subject of rumors before, so anything is possible.

Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) was a winner today. Shares were up 10% at $21.20 right before the close on reports that it was cutting 1,000 newspaper jobs or about 3% of its workforce.

Hansen Natural Corp. (NASDAQ: HANS) was a huge winner after Nelson Peltz' Trian Funds disclosed an ownership stake. Shares were up over 10% at $29.79 in the final minutes of the trading day, and this is up almost 40% even after poor earnings recently.

PMI Group Inc. (NYSE: PMI) was a big winner today after the company sold off Australian operations for $920 million in a capital raising effort. Shares were up almost 60% at $4.45 in the final minutes before the close.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) shares were up almost 8% at $8.80 right before the close after Jim Cramer interviewed Martha Stewart herself and said the stock is cheap at $8.00.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Metals and Mining sector, Lamar Advertising and Rigel Pharmaceuticals were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Banc of America initiated the Metals and Mining sector with an Equal Weight rating and believes investors should take a selective approach to stocks in the group. The firm initiated Alcoa (NYSE: AA) and RTI International Metals (NYSE: RTI) with Buy ratings and a $44 target and $41 target, and started Allegheny Tech (NYSE: ATI), Century Aluminum (NASDAQ: CENX) and Titanium Metals (NYSE: TIE) with Neutral ratings and a $64 target, $58 target and $12 target, respectively.
  
• Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR) was initiated at Caris with an Above Average rating and $40 target. Caris is positive on the company's North American focus and exposure to the aggressive deployment of digital boards.
  
• Stanford believes Rigel Pharma's (NASDAQ: RIGL) lead drug R788 has the potential to be the first oral drug for rheumatoid arthritis and expects clinical news flow and partnerships to serve as catalysts. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $30 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Thomas Weisel assumed Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) with an Overweight rating and $90 target.
  
• International Flavors (NYSE: IFF) was initiated at Lehman with an Underweight rating.
  
• JP Morgan started Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC) with an Underweight rating.

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

• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) Q2 earnings decline on materials costs but beat analysts estimates (see transcript).
• Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) solid Q3 results were accompanied by a share buyback program.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) warned that Q2 results will include a delay-related charge of 22 cents per share.
• Cash America International Inc. (NYSE: CSH) predicted Q2 earnings above previous guidance.
• EZcorp Inc. (NASDAQ: EZPW) predicted better-than-expected Q3 results due to strong sales.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) beat Q3 expectations and raised its Q4 guidance.
• Flow International Corp. (NASDAQ: FLOW) swung to a better-than-expected Q4 profit on strong demand.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reported mixed Q2 results and offered an uninspiring Q3 outlook (transcript).
• Helen of Troy Ltd. (NASDAQ: HELE) Q1 results were colored by write-downs and other charges.
• International Speedway Corp. (NASDAQ: ISCA) Q2 earnings soared while revenue slipped.
• Levis Strauss Q2 profitability plunged due to declining sales and higher administrative costs.
• Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) topped Q2 estimates but lowered its guidance (see transcript).

As the new earnings season kicked off, Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) posted better-than expected results, despite a decline in earnings, and Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE: PBG) topped Wall Street expectations as well. This just goes to show that there is some good news in earnings if you know where to look. Here are a few recent, less-prominent examples.

Flow International Corp. (NASDAQ: FLOW), which makes industrial waterjet equipment, swung to a better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $13.3 million, or 35 cents per share, helped by a boost in sales due to strong demand and an income tax benefit. Revenue rose 21% to $63.3 million. Shares are creeping up from a 52-week low of $6.81 a week ago.

Motor sports company International Speedway Corp.'s (NASDAQ: ISCA) second-quarter profit rose 41% to $26 million, or 52 cents per share. However, revenue slipped 3% to $174.9 million as admission and food and merchandise sales declined. Results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and shares fell to a 52-week low of $36.36.

Apparel and footwear company Wolverine World Wide Inc. (NYSE: WWW), second-quarter profit of $16.8 million, or 33 cents per share, topped Wall Street expectations, as strong international results linked to the weaker dollar largely offset increased product and freight costs. Revenue climbed 7% to $267.4 million. But shares fell $3.11 to $23.46 in morning trading.

U.S. stock futures were lower early Wednesday morning as oil prices rebounded following Iran testing a long-range missile. Oil has dropped over $9 the past two days, allowing the market Tuesday to stage a rally on financials. Today, ahead of the crude inventory report, it seem oil will renew its center stage focus, damping mood despite somewhat encouraging results from aluminum giant Alcoa Tuesday after the close.

On Tuesday, after having a shaky start, U.S. stocks closed with significant gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed will try to further help brokerages with emergency funds to tap. This helped financials rally from recent doldrums. Of course, having oil prices easing by the biggest two-day drop in almost four months helped push stocks higher as well. The Dow industrials ended 152 points higher, or 1.36%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 51 points, or 2.28%, and the S&P 500 added 21 points, or 1.71%.

But oil prices this morning are again moving higher after Iran test-fired nine missiles, renewing fears of a conflict that could cut global oil supplies. Also today, traders are waiting for the weekly report on fuel inventories from the U.S. Department of Energy due at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

Alcoa's Q2 2008 earnings transcript
Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA)
Q2 2008 Earnings Conference Call

Management Summary

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Q2 2008 Alcoa earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the presentation over to your host for today's conference, Mr. Greg Aschman, Director of Investor Relations. Please proceed, sir.

Greg Aschman, Director of Investor Relations

Thanks, Kim. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for attending Alcoa's second quarter 2008 analyst conference. On today's conference Chuck McLane, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer will review the second quarter financial results. Klaus Kleinfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer, will highlight current market conditions, industry fundamentals and review Alcoa's strategic priorities. Bill Christopher, Executive Vice President and President of Alcoa's engineered products and solutions business will provide an overview of this business, including performance improvements and growth potential.

If you look at financial sites' headlines, they mostly say (nearly scream through the titles) that Alcoa beat the Street.

And it's true. Analysts estimated some set of earnings numbers for the aluminum giant, and Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), reporting after the close, beat those numbers. Specifically, Alcoa reported a second-quarter profit of $546 million, or 66 cents a share, on revenue of $7.6 billion, beating what analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for, a profit of 65 cents a share on sales of $7.37 billion.

But really, those earnings were down from $715 million, or 81 cents a share, a year earlier, and even if the recent quarter's charge of $39 million, or 5 cents a share, is taken into account (bringing earnings per share to 71 cents), profit is still lower. However -- and perhaps that's the silver lining Wall Street is looking at -- sales rose 11% when the divested business revenue is excluded from last year's revenue.

U.S. stock futures were lower early Tuesday morning, the day when one of the worst earnings season in decades is about to kick off. Financials, credit market and economy jitters only compound the bearish sentiment out there.

If we told you that a $3.00-plus drop in the price of oil wouldn't cause a major stock rally, it might only not be a surprise the bears who believe we are headed lower no matter what. Today was one where the markets spent much time in negative territory and then recovering towards the end of the day before making one last dive. If you think it was a quiet day, we had nearly a 300-point difference between today's high in the morning and the lows before today's recovery. These are today's unofficial closing levels:

• DJIA 11,227.72 (-60.82)
• S&P500 1,252.64 (-10.26)
• NASDAQ 2,243.11 (-2.27)
• 10-YR T-Note 3.93% (-0.043%)
• 52-Week Lows
• Top 10 Analyst Calls

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) saw a severe downgrade after Lehman cut it to Underweight on its premium to peers and weakness tied to Theme Park exposure. Shares were down over 2% at $30.22 in today's final minutes.

As the second half of the year begins, the bear market has nervous investors looking for any sign of a shift in the direction of the market. When the new earnings seasons kicks off Tuesday, Alcoa Inc.'s (NYSE: AA) second-quarter results may offer the first glimpse of what to expect going forward.

Pittsburgh-based Alcoa has missed earnings estimates in just two out of the past five quarters. When the leading aluminum producer reported first-quarter results back in March, its net income of 44 cents per share fell short of the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial by four cents, and were down from 79 cents per share in the same quarter of 2007. For this current quarter, analysts expect earnings of 68 cents per share on $7.4 billion in revenue.

In recent news, power supply issues led Alcoa to idle its Rockdale, Tex., facility. The company announced a deal for bauxite mining and alumina processing in Vietnam. Alcoa was named one of the world's most ethical companies and recognized for the best safety performance in its industry. And back in early May, Klaus Kleinfield became Alcoa's president and CEO. For analyst upgrades and downgrades, as well as other news that could influence Alcoa's results, see BloggingStocks' Alcoa coverage.

Alcoa's long-term earnings per share growth forecast is 21.6%, which is less than the metals and mining industry average but better than the S&P 500. The consensus recommendation from analysts is to buy Alcoa, and has been for more than 90 days. The share price has been falling from a recent high of $44. 77 in mid May, and closed at $32.78 on Friday. Shares are down 10.3% year to date.

Bellwether General Electric (NYSE: GE) also reports later in the week, and may also help set the tone for the quarter and the rest of the year.

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

U.S. stock futures were mixed early Monday morning after the long holiday weekend to start a week that is also set to kick off second quarter corporate earnings. While oil weakness and the dollar strength helped the mood on the Street, there is much concern over earnings.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on a short trading day Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 73 points, or 0.65%, but it wasn't enough to pull it out of bear-market territory it fell into during last week. The S&P 500 also climbed 1 point, or 0.11%, but the Nasdaq composite fell 6 points, or 0.27%, on Thursday.

No economic data is scheduled for release Monday, so investor will likely continue to focus on energy prices while anticipating the beginning of earnings season. Oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel Monday to just over $143 a barrel as the dollar strengthened. Still, the dollar is expected to resume its decline and as Mideast tensions continue, traders don't expect oil to decline much further.

Meanwhile, investors in general don't anticipate corporate America to deliver good earnings. The season will officially kick off Tuesday, when Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) reports after the close. General Electric (NYSE: GE), reports Friday. The question seems to be more how bad results will be, and if they would signal a bottom from which stocks could recover.

The new quarter brings with it a new earnings season. While the earnings crunch doesn't begin in earnest until the following week, Alcoa as usual helps kick things off this coming week.

One of the world's leading producers of aluminum, Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is scheduled to report second-quarter results Tuesday after market close. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial on average expect the company to report net income of 68 cents per share on revenue of $7.4 billion. That's down 16% from EPS a year ago. Alcoa has missed estimates in two of the past five quarters -- by four cents in the previous quarter. Analysts have recommend buying AA for more than 90 days. Shares have fallen 10.3% year to date, but the long-term EPS growth forecast is 21.6%.

Beverage distributor Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (NYSE: PBG) is scheduled to report its second-quarter results Tuesday morning. Analysts are looking for earnings of 75 cents per share, up 6.6% from the same period of the previous year, on revenue of $3.6 billion. PBG has offered up positive surprises recently, by a penny in the previous quarter. However, analysts recommend holding PBG, and have for more than 90 days. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 9.1%, which is better than the industry average. Shares have fallen 27.6% year to date.

Monday, July 7

• San Francisco Fed Reserve Bank President Yellen to speak about the U.S. economic outlook at the University of California/San Diego with a Q&A session.
• Aracruz Cellulose (NYSE: ARA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 11:00am.

Tuesday, July 8

• Richmond Fed Reserve Bank President Lacker to speak about U.S. economic outlook to the National Economists Club in Washington with a Q&A session expected.
• Gulfmark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: GLF) to discuss the acquisition of Ridgon Marine at 9:00am.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.
• Hansen Natural Corporation (NASDAQ: HANS) to give Business News update at 5:00pm.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Tower sector stocks, Tesco Plc and Alcoa were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• RBC Capital upgraded American Tower (NYSE:AMT), Crown Castle( NYSE::CCI), SBA Comm (NASDAQ:SBAC) to Outperform from Sector Perform citing recent weakness in the tower sector group and a continued favorable outlook.
  
• Merrill upgraded shares of Tesco (Other OTC:TSCDY) to Buy from Neutral as they believe it is the only proven growth stock in the sector.
  
• Soleil upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) to Hold from Sell on valuation following the recent weakness.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) and Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) were upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  
• L-3 Comm (NYSE:LLL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen.
  
• Jacobs Engineering (NYSE:JEC) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Morgan Joseph.