It was a big day for aerospace giant The Boeing Company (BA), which celebrated the inaugural flight of the biggest plane the company has ever built.

The plane, the Boeing 747-8, was originally planned to get off the ground over a year ago, but the delay did not dampen the mood at today's take off. Hundreds of employees and spectators on hand to watch the massive 253 foot jumbo jet take flight for the first time.

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

• Apple Inc. (AAPL) posted its highest quarterly revenue ever, easily beating estimates, as iPhone sales doubled.
• Boeing Co. (BA) swung to a larger-than-expected Q4 profit but guidance fell short of analysts' estimates.
• Chevron Corp. (CVX) fell short of analysts' earnings estimates for Q4, sending shares lower.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) shares rose after optimistic statements by the CEO ahead of Q2 results.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) shares surged after it beat Q4 expectations by a wide margin and cash flow improved.
• Ford Motor Co. (F) reported its first annual profit in four years due to cost-cutting and improved market share.
• Halliburton Co. (HAL) reported lower Q4 earnings but beat estimates by a penny, and revenue also fell.

Aircraft builders Boeing Co. (BA) and General Dynamics Corp. (GD) posted solid fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, but with disappointing guidance for the year.

Chicago-based Boeing said it earned $1.3 billion, or $1.75 per share, compared with a loss of $86 million, or $0.12 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 2.9% from a year ago to $17.9 billion as Boeing doubled commercial aircraft deliveries for the period. A survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters predicted a $1.36 profit on $17.6 billion in revenue.

Today was potentially a fairly quiet trading day when you consider how volatile the day could have been. We had Tim Geithner and Hank Paulson both getting grilled over American International Group, Inc. (AIG) again in front a House Panel, we had an FOMC rate decision, and tonight is the State of the Union speech from President Obama. Throw in disappointing housing data in December new home sales and you had a potential powder keg. Stocks spent most of the day in the red, but a move late in the day wiped all that out.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,236.09 +41.80 (0.41%)
S&P 500 1,097.25 +5.08 (0.47%)
Nasdaq 2,221.13 +17.40 (0.79%)

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U.S. stock market futures were higher Wednesday morning as upbeat earnings report from late Tuesday and early Wednesday boosted sentiment. Meanwhile, investors also awaited the Federal Open Market Committee policy statement later in the day as well as President Barack Obama state of the union address.

As Fed chairman Bernanke fights for another term at the helm of the federal bank, the Federal Reserve may take a chance the housing market can stage a comeback without its support and announce today it will stick to the plan to end a $1.25 trillion program of mortgage-debt purchases in March. The Fed will release its policy statement at 2:15 p.m. Eastern.

Ford (F) stared into the abyss that was 2009 and came away from the edge unscathed. Of the three major U.S. auto manufacturers, it stayed out of bankruptcy, never borrowed money from the government, and now it's gaining market share while others continue to lose it. So is the stock a buy?

Maybe. The famous and famously wealthy investor George Soros took a large position in the stock on November 17, about 7.3 million shares. Let's say he paid the high of the day that day of $9 a share. Now the stock sells a little over $11 as this is written. Mr. Soros made 22.22% on his investment so far. Not bad for less than two months. So he's made money. The stock has not traded above $11 since 2005 and is up 327% in the past year. So is there any room left on the upside?

Today's stock market was up more than it was not throughout the trading session, yet the feeling was more of an up-day after better than expected retail data and after more and more data points to a decent jobs figure for Friday's unemployment and non-farms payrolls data. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,607.69 +34.01 (0.32%)
S&P 500 1,141.65 +4.51 (0.40%)
Nasdaq 2,299.00 -2.09 (-0.09%)

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Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded Intel (INTC) to outperform from neutral and has a $26 target on the stock. The firm's checks indicate tier-one PC OEMs have raised their 1H10 procurement forecasts, which could lead to Intel outperformance.
• Citigroup upgraded UnitedHealth (UNH) to buy from hold on expectations the company will benefit from a sector rotation into Managed Care in 2010. The firm raised its price target on shares to $39 from $30.
• UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to buy from neutral based on strong capital and liquidity positions, building investment banking pipelines, and expectations for a turn in EPS/ROE, among other reasons.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded the U.S. Refining group as it believes demand is improving and margins could expand in 2010. The firm raised its rating on Sunoco (SUN) to hold from sell and its target on shares to $25 from $18, and upgraded Tesoro (TSO) and Frontier Oil (FTO) to buy from hold.
• Boeing (BA) was raised to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) was upgraded at UBS to buy from neutral.
• Investors Bancorp (ISBC) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.

U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday morning, indicating Wall Street is ready to extend Monday's gains when markets open. Unlike Monday, where mergers and deals were the center of attention, this morning investors will focus on economic data, including GDP and housing.

Stocks rallied on Monday, pushing the Dow back into positive territory for the month, even as it rose 0.8%, less than the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500, both of which gained 1.1%. From Alcoa (AA) being upgraded, to deal-making, to a health care bill viewed as favorable for insurers, investors' mood was festive, albeit at lower volumes as expected for this time of year.

U.S. stock futures advanced Friday morning, indicating Wall Street is ready to reverse the negative trend of the last few days. Several strong and better-than-expected company reports late Thursday contributed to the changing atmosphere as investors regained confidence in companies' profit prospects.

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.

Boeing (BA) closed at $55.60. Boeing plans to fly its new 787 Dreamliner for the first time as early as this week. BA December option implied volatility is at 30, January is at 33, February is at 35; versus its 26-week average of 34, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Yahoo (YHOO) closed at $15.74. YHOO January option implied volatility is at 29; April is at 32; below its 26-week average of 42, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Boeing (BA) hung its future on the Dreamliner, but this messy project has turned into quite a nightmare for stockholders. The next-generation plane is two years late after five delays ... so I'll believe this launch when I see it.

It's tough to trust a company that is this poorly run.

Next: Dog of the Dow #5: Chevron (CVX)

Broader economic indicators like GDP and housing numbers seem to be pointing up lately. But despite this, the Dow 30 are stuck in a death spiral. This arbitrary index of outdated stocks is a poor sample of Wall Street right now and just can't seem to get its act together.

Investors who place so much emphasis on the Dow Jones Industrial Average do so at their own peril. Not only are the Dow 30 very disconnected from Wall Street and the broader U.S. economy, this lineup also contains some of the worst stocks out there right now.

We started seeing some divergence again as stocks rose while the dollar was up and oil was down. Maybe markets will go back to acting more on their internal fundamentals and their own technical patterns rather than that of the dollar or the price of oil, as crude closed under $70 and as stocks stayed strong. Inflation was rather tame at 0.7% in commodity imports if you take out the price of oil. Overseas market strength kept a solid floor under any selling attempts by bears today.

Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,471.50 +65.67 (0.63%)
S&P 500 1,106.41 +4.06 (0.37%)
Nasdaq 2,190.31 -0.55 (-0.03%)

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