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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) said its Q3 profit declined despite the popularity of Guitar Hero.
• Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) said Q3 revenue surged and its offered impressive cash flow numbers.
• Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) easily beat Q3 earnings estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) lower Q1 results topped estimates and sent shares higher.
• Cognizant Technology Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was upgraded following its strong Q3 results.
• Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) received an analyst's upgrade following the Q3 results.

U.S. stock futures drifted a little lower (later a little higher) Thursday morning following Wednesday's Federal Reserve's statement that it was keeping rates at record low levels. However, earnings from tech giant Cisco accompanied by an upbeat outlook could give a boost to tech. Also this morning, investors will watch as retail chain-stores report October sales.

[Update: Futures now point to a higher open following retail sales data, earnings and lower claims numbers.]

On Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed and relatively flat after the Federal Reserve decided to keep rates steady. While conceding the economy has picked up, policymakers said this was not enough to hike interest rates, saying an increase will instead depend on when the labor market and inflation pickup. Given that there have been no inflationary pressures and that unemployment is expected to rise, the dollar weakened yesterday and short-term Treasury yields fell. The Fed also cautioned consumer spending would remain strained. Of course, the market would have liked to see a stronger show of confidence.

Maybe days with no solid economic data are the best after all. The Saudis denied that OPEC was considered moving away from oil being quoted in US Dollars and gold put in new all-time contract highs. T. Boone Pickens was also out with his new 2010 oil price predictions this morning.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,731.25 +131.50 (1.37%)
S&P 500 1,054.72 +14.26 (1.37%)
Nasdaq 2,103.57 +35.42 (1.71%)

Analyst Calls: Top Upgrades and Top Downgrades
Top Day Trader Alerts
Top Rumors of the Day

The world's largest auto maker, Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) announced Tuesday that is was about to issue the biggest recall in the company's history, as problems with some floor mats has led to numerous accidents and at least five deaths.

The recall involves eight different models of Toyota and Lexus vehicles manufactured and sold in the U.S. over the past six years, and include the popular Prius hybrid. Apparently, there is a problem with the driver side floor mats that result in the mats coming loose and jamming down the accelerator.

Although Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) has created specific marketing companies to help it stir up more consumer interest in vehicle purchases in the U.S., the world's largest automobile company now wants to spend as much as $1 billion in the fourth quarter of this year to bump up sales as much as possible.

Not only that, but the auto company is adding two more hybrid Prius models and is enhancing the margins its dealers receive. Will all of this add up to a large rise in Q4 sales for the automaker? As signs continue to sprout up that the economic recession is nearing an end, customers may start flocking to non-U.S. cars in Q4 now that the "Cash for Clunkers" parade has ended gas efficiency continues to top of the lists of customers shopping for a new car this fall and winter.

Yesterday, Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) announced that it will launch a voluntary safety recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that will impact roughly 96,000 Toyota and Scion vehicles sold in the U.S. thanks to possible brake problems.

The problem occurs in extremely cold temperatures in the 2009 and 2010 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix, along with the 2008 and 2009 Scion xD vehicles, all of which come equipped with 1.8 liter engines. Toyota will notify vehicle owners from 19 affected states in early September 2009. Toyota dealers will install a newly designed intake air connector to correct the problem.

Today was one of those directionless trading days after so many gains that there was absolutely no way to know if the markets would be up or down until the last few seconds of the day. We had a very strong durable goods reading for July and even home sales figures remained high.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow 9,543.52 +4.23 (0.04%)
S&P 500 1,028.12 +0.12 (0.01%)
Nasdaq 2,024.43 +0.20 (0.01%)

Top Analyst Calls
Most Unusual Volume

Even with the cash-for-clunkers program in full effect, demand for new automobiles is the lowest it's been in years. This has heightened competition among automakers, who are being forced to both improve their products and discount their prices. Consumers in the market for a new 2010 vehicle may be treated to a discount.

Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM), for example, plans to introduce a less expensive Prius, and the 2010 Nissan (OTC: NSANY) Sentra will see its sticker price drop by anywhere from $130 to $1,080, based on the features the buyer opts for. Other vehicles that will hit the showroom floors at a discount include the Mercedes-Benz E350 mid sized sedan and the Lexus RX 350, discounted by $3,300 and $700, respectively.

Now that the "new GM" has risen, some of the old ideas are starting to resurface in the media. One of the freshest ideas is here again, coming off the lips of GM CEO Fritz Henderson.

The Chevy Volt, GM's all-electric passenger car slated to hits the streets sometime in 2011, will get "230 miles per gallon" according to the automaker's CEO. That's great -- but why mention the MPG figure for an electric car?

Although Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) has bypassed the now-out-of-bankruptcy General Motors as the largest automaker in the world, many of its cars in the U.S. market are, well, boring. It's true that fuel efficiency is now top-of-mind on the U.S. auto buyer's agenda, but the love for fast sports cars has never gone away. It's just been suppressed.

The new Camaro from GM is proof -- it's affordable, sexy, and a true sports car in its modern glory. It is amazing what having a desirable car can do for an automaker's image, even though one car does not make a company (far from it).

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) indicated today that it will create two separate marketing companies to ensure the world knows even more about the cars and trucks it produces. One of the companies will focus on the U.S. market, while the other will look at the global arena outside the U.S. Both companies will light up operations at the first of next year, but possibly by the end of this year.

I found an interesting slideshow over on U.S. News & World Report that takes a look at the cars that have been hurt the most by the recession. I was not surprised to see the likes of Chrysler, Dodge, Saturn, and Chevrolet on the list -- these brands have a good deal of problems. However, I was very surprised to see Toyota (TM) included in the list. This is Toyota folks, the car company that all car companies should emulate - right? Wrong. It appears that the car giant didn't expect the Toyota Tundra pickup to drag on sales as much as it has, which has dragged sales down. If there is one thing that American automakers know how to do, it is to build big, gas-sucking, diesel-belching, trucks. So don't tread in our realm, Toyota!

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it's 20 years too late, but at least GM won't take down the auto industry anymore.

This new GM, this small GM, the one that doesn't care about share but cares about sales and quality and maintenance, may actually be what we needed about 20 years ago.

We have been worried about General Motors (OTC: GMGMQ) (Cramer's Take) for the last 20 years -- too big, too bloated, worrisome obligations. We still have the last one -- there's a lot of obligation still, much of it borne by us not by "them" -- but the one thing this reorganization will take off the table forever is, "How bad will the inevitable collapse of GM be for the country?" I say that because the one thing that we know after it emerges from bankruptcy Friday is that GM, at last, NO LONGER MATTERS.

Who said big oil was a dying business? Fortune has released its Global 500, their "annual ranking of the world's largest corporations," and topping the charts is Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), which, much like a Mariah Carey song, bumped up into the coveted number-one slot after some time at number three. The Netherlands-based oil company trumped its U.S. rival, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) by $15 billion in sales and saw its revenue spike nearly 29% from 2007.

Speaking of Exxon, the company once again had a tiger in its tank, ranking number two in the world as oil futures bounced around in a nearly $100-dollar range, hitting $146 per barrel at its heights.

Although Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) was first out of the gate with a gas/electric hybrid vehicle back in 1997 with the Prius, the holy grail for much of the consumer automotive industry has been a 100% electric vehicle that lasts a while on a charge, is big and roomy, and has a long range.

Oh, and it must remain comparable (read: affordable) in price to its fossil fuel cousins. The former GM's Chevy Volt project was a very good stab at this (who knows where that project is heading, though), but what about world automotive leader Toyota?