U.S. stock futures climbed Thursday as data showed yet another decline in jobless claims figures. Investors are also awaiting a meeting of European leaders with Greece's debt problems in mind. A testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is also in focus Thursday.

Initial jobless claims fell declined by 14,000 to 442,000 -- the lowest level in six weeks -- as the rebound in the economy encourages companies to make fewer cuts in payrolls. The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits decreased 54,000 in the week ended March 13 to 4.65 million, the lowest since Dec. 20, 2008.

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

• Cintas Corp. (CTAS) received an analyst's downgrade following its Q2 earnings report.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) shares spiked after it posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings.
• Finish Line Inc. (FINL) posted surprise Q3 earnings, ending a streak of quarterly losses.
• Giga Media Ltd. (GIGM) was downgraded due to its disappointing Q2 report and lack of visibility.

Shares of ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) rose early Monday morning after the packaged foods giant posted strong fiscal second quarter results and raised its full-year guidance.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company reported net income of $239.7 million, or $0.54 per share, for the three months that ended in November. That compares with $168.4 million or $0.37 per share in the prior-year quarter. However, net sales for the quarter decreased 2.4% from a year ago to $3.17 billion.

Del Monte (DLM) had a fine second quarter. Net sales went up by over 6%. Earnings per share more than doubled to 31 cents. Analysts were expecting only 21 cents of per-share profit, according to Earnings.com.

Management seems to be striking a proper balance between pricing strategies and the need for volume growth. That's a tough thing to do, and it can't always be done, but Del Monte is obviously utilizing its brand equity to full advantage. Smart marketing campaigns have helped to highlight the company's trademarks and communicate product value.

Heinz (HNZ) reported second quarter results earlier in the week. Should shareholders be thankful for the data in the press release? I would guess that those who aren't the type to buy and sell on a dime, and are holding for the long haul, will find this consumer-products company's numbers good enough.

The business made 76 cents per share from continuing operations. Last year, a profit of 86 cents per share was recorded on the same basis. However, as several news items have mentioned, there was a gain of 18 cents per share in the comparable quarter relating to hedging activities. So, the current quarter actually turns out to look a lot better once a little context is attached.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares rose after it reaffirmed its full-year earnings and sales outlook.
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) will have low double-digit EPS growth, predicts one analyst.
• AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) posted a decline in earnings but a small rise in sales, sending shares lower.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings and higher revenue.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) rallied to a new 52-week high after topping analysts' Q2 earnings expectations.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its full-year guidance.

ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) issued Q1 numbers on Tuesday. The market wasn't too impressed by them, but they weren't bad, actually. Net sales were lackluster, I'll admit. They dropped about 3%. Earnings per share from continuing operations, on the other hand, really shined. They increased well over 60% to 38 cents. Net income from continuing operations on a dollar basis soared over 50%.

Even better, that 38-cents-per-share statistic was firmly ahead of Wall Street expectations. According to our earnings preview, analysts were looking for 34 cents per share.

Much of the focus this week will no doubt be on the FOMC meeting on interest rates and the subsequent decision, as well as on the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh, were the agenda will include bonuses for bank executives among other things.

Things will be fairly quiet again on the earnings front as the next earnings season has yet to ramp up. However, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters do have high hopes for a handful of companies that will release results this week.

Del Monte Foods (NYSE: DLM), a supermarket brand whose colleagues include ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) and Kraft (NYSE: KFT), was way up in afternoon trading. When a stock like Del Monte gains 9% on great volume, you know something big must have happened. Well, it was the company's fiscal Q1 results that made investors want to buy today. After checking over the news, I can honestly say that I see the market's point.

Sales increased 12% during the quarter, and earnings from continuing operations calculated out to 30 cents per share, a huge improvement over the loss observed in the comparable period. According to Earnings.com, Wall Street was only looking for a measly four pennies for the bottom line.

The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM), a food manufacturer famous for its jelly and baking products, reported a great first quarter on Friday. Adjusted earnings per share increased 12% to 92 cents. According to Reuters, management was able to beat expectations by a whopping 12 cents.

This is quite impressive given the fact that an analyst quoted by Reuters believes that more people eating at home are helping to fuel Smucker's success. I say this because, if people are deciding to dine at home more often, they are most likely doing so because of the recession.

H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ), a food company that shares space at the supermarket with products from Kraft Foods, Inc. (NYSE: KFT), ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), issued first-quarter data on Thursday. Even though the effect of currency translations continues to put a cloud over the top-line performance, management did end up beating earnings expectations.

Net sales came in flat, and net income was 67 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 5 cents less, according to Earnings.com. Shareholders should be happy about that. When I covered Heinz's last quarter, I noted that expectations were essentially beat by a penny.

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

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) beat earnings expectations but revenue was hurt by currency effects.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) strong Q1 results beat estimates but same-store sales fell.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) lower Q1 earnings and strong sales both topped expectations.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) higher Q4 earnings were in line with expectations, and shares slipped.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Q4 results were higher, but it warned of continuing challenges.
• Hennes & Mauritz (OTC: HMRZF) reported strong Q2 numbers, though same-stores sales slipped.

Food processor ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), whose products share space at the supermarket with Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Kellogg (NYSE: K), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), is down in Thursday's afternoon trading by over 6% as I write this. The company released earnings for the fourth quarter earlier this morning. Sales increased 8% according to the press release. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at 41 cents per diluted share. This result benefited from an extra week.

The per-share profit compared very favorably to the 18 cents earned in last year's similar quarter. However, in terms of analyst expectations, the performance was relatively unimpressive. Earnings.com indicates that 41 cents is what the market was looking for.

Shares of Del Monte (NYSE: DLM) are up over 9% in early afternoon trading. And the volume is doing gangbusters business. The market is responding to the company's fourth-quarter results. The numbers did tell an overall fun story.

To begin with, revenues saw a big jump of 20%. As many news items have pointed out, price increases helped out. It should also be pointed out that the company's press release indicated that an extra week skewed things a bit. That's okay, though, it was still a good top-line performance. Earnings per share from continuing divisions came in at $0.35, which meant that Del Monte grew the bottom line by 75% (a couple elements affecting the perception of this profit expansion was a better tax situation linked to a positive change in California tax code and a $0.04 per-share transformation expense recorded in Q4 2008). Analysts said the company might earn $0.26 per share. That's a pleasant difference, isn't it?

Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) hasn't been a bad stock. Its recent performance is firmly in the green. Shares of Hormel have increased in value by 8% year-to-date. Over the last six months, the stock is up by roughly 16%.

Now we come to the food entity's second-quarter report, which was issued on Thursday. Do the numbers indicate that the stock will continue to trend higher? Or is now the time to sell?