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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.

While more and more software becomes free, there is one market for which consumers and businesses are willing to shell out money. Yes, it's security software.

A mega player in the space, McAfee (NYSE: MFE), reported its latest earnings report Thursday, a day after its main rival Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) reported its own quite strong results.

Ever since Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL) introduced the iPhone to the world, other cell phone companies have been working hard to compete. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is hoping to find success with the Motorola Droid, which will come with a $199 price tag.

The phone will be running on Google's Android operating system, and could be a serious contender against the iPhone, and while most people knew this phone was coming, the real news is that it will start to be sold next week at Verizon's across the nation.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) issued Q3 data on Monday. According to the press release, the telecommunications entity made, on an adjusted basis, 60 cents per share. Disappointing, since that's six pennies less than last year's comparable number. However, it was a penny ahead of analyst expectations, according to Reuters.

Of course, when discussing Verizon, what tends to receive focus is cash flow. As we all know, the company is a famous dividend play. Many investors consider this angle to be not only valuable, but an added safety element as well.

Analyst upgrades:

• Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, which believes Verizon wireline margins troughed in Q3 and that Street estimates have been reset to more achievable levels.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital, which believes the company is gaining analog market share and shares are attractively valued at current levels. The firm maintains a $31 price target.
• Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm believes this year's run-up in the stock was primarily due to the company's spin-off of MSG, but the firm believes the stock can rise further based on fundamentals.
• Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan following the company's Q3 results due to valuation and its above-average growth. The firm raised its target to $51.50 from $47.
• RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) was upgraded to Hold from Underweight at KeyBanc, which said that its recovering sales trends were encouraging.
• Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush as it believes the divestiture of its Asian business coupled with growth in its Fly.com unit will drive 2010 growth. The firm raised its target to $17 from $13.

U.S. stocks are set for a higher open Monday, ready to rebound following Friday's losses. With not much in the way of economic news today, investors looked ahead to more earnings reports, counting on them to continue to exceed expectations. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), the second-largest U.S. phone company, is due to report earnings this morning.

The upcoming GDP report due out Thursday is really the highlight of this week as it could reveal a better picture about the U.S. economy and its recovery.

More here: Before the bell: Stocks set to rebound as more earnings on tap

Verizon Communications' (NYSE: VZ) shares have pulled-back from a high above $32 registered earlier this year, but you can view this move lower as a way to establish or to add to a VZ position, which is I'm reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended on February 12, 2009 at a price of $29.86.

Verizon, which boasts 6 million landline subscribers, is still viewed by institutional investors as more old economy than new economy -- this despite being the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. with about 88 million wireless subscribers. Further, VZ's FiOS broadband service continues to exceed expectations, and the company's recently raised dividend adds to the positive mix: not bad, for a 'stodgy' old company.

Many investors need income, especially as they reach retirement. They look for ancillary cash flow to supplement their Social Security payments and any retirement benefits from a company for which they've worked. But those aren't the only investors who should be interested in income.

That's because studies show that dividends are a significant contributor to overall performance of a stock. When held for years, a stock's dividend can help diminish the volatility of a stock's price and keep returns reasonable, especially in down markets. Here are five stocks that have decent income as well as potential capital gains. All are exceptionally financially strong.

Wall Street appears ready to claim a third straight day of gains as stocks continue a rally cheered by brighter economic news and expectations of higher corporate profits. All three major U.S. indexes -- the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite -- were higher in premarket trading Wednesday morning.

Yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average had its second-straight day of double-digit point gains, picking up 131.50 to end at 9,731.25 after Australia boosted interest rates citing an improved economy and earnings expectations that rose for the just-concluded third quarter.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says Research In Motion's troubles are an exception to the greatness of the mobile Internet theme.

No, this isn't meant to be a bullish article. I am just trying to put Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) (Cramer's Take) in perspective because I think that people will confuse the greatness of the mobile Internet theme with the hazards of investing in the BlackBerry maker.

First, you have to ask yourself, what really went wrong with RIMM? Was it demand? No, demand was strong. They actually guided to the upper end of units. The issue was average selling price because it has gotten more competitive out there.

"The Dogs of the Dow strategy has a long-term history of outperforming the Dow Jones average," notes technical expert Gerald Appel.

In his Systems & Forecasts, he explains, "The theory is that the highest yielding stocks are undervalued and should have the greatest change of appreciating." Here, he reviews the five highest yielders.

"In calculating a formal track record for the strategy, dividend yields are ranked on the last trading day of each year. However, there is no reason why you are limited to ranking stocks only at the end of the year.

"The current market climate appears favorable for using this strategy to garner investment income, since market risk appears below normal and investment income is getting hard to come by.

"Our favorite and steadiest U.S. telecom recommendation is Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ)," says Martin Weiss.

He explains, "We've always liked their steady-Eddie business and their tradition of paying handsome, predictable dividends." Here's the latest from the "conservative portfolio" section of his The Safe Money Report.

"I remain optimistic that now is a good time to be purchasing high-yielding assets," says growth and income expert Bryan Perry.

Indeed in his industry-leading The Cash Machine, the advisor adds two growth and income picks to his buy list: AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ). Here's his assessment.

"Even if you are forecasting a recovery in mid to late 2010, you should be aggressively buying strategic high-income assets over the next three to six months.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says if the company you're looking at is a player in the mobile Internet space, it's probably a good bet.

Does it have smartphone exposure, or doesn't it? That is the question. When I look at what's moving in tech and what's become sullen and gloomy, there's only one compass: smartphones. Think about what's moved this week: Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) (Cramer's Take), Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) (Cramer's Take) and ADC Telecom (NASDAQ: ADCT) (Cramer's Take). These are terrific plays in the smartphone food chain and are included in the "Mad Money" Mobile Internet Index.

ADC Telecom is Chinese Internet infrastructure, and we know that China's spending $40 billion to build out infrastructure that can allow aggressive adoption of smartphones. Tellabs has been waiting for next-generation telecom orders -- smartphones. I think the fact that it announced a giant buyback -- it matters when the stock is this small -- is the signal needed to suggest they are getting orders.

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), the high-profile cable and Internet provider, produced some good second-quarter stats on Thursday. Reuters says that the 33 cents per share earned in the period beat estimates by 7 cents. According to the company press release, sales increased over 4% and operating cash flow expanded by over 5%. Free cash flow, however, was flat in Q2.

That wasn't a big deal, though. The free cash covered both the dividend and the monies used to repurchase shares. In fact, Reuters reported that the buyback activity in the quarter represented a resumption of the program. We can take that as a positive sign of confidence from management.