Less than two weeks ago, Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) and CenturyTel, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) announced a merger that would result in CenturyTel owning 50.5% of the combined company for a deal valued at around $22 billion once Qwest's debt was included. Qwest shares jumped on the news, and CenturyTel shares fell. Both stocks are up today following their earnings announcements this morning.

With earnings season about half complete, let's take a look at how companies' first quarter of the year is shaping up. Of the companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date, 83% of reported results above analyst expectations according to Thomson Reuters. If the trend continues, and the quarter ends with 83% of companies beating estimates, it will mark the best quarter for the S&P 500 since at least 1994 (when the data started being tracked).

Cool, wet weather in April combined with an earlier Easter and one less shopping day conspired to reduce sales for the month. The news is not all bad, though, as some retailers are still projecting a profitable quarter as they have been able to stem discounting and work through inventories. Among the April retail sales winners were Costco (COST), Limited Brands (LTD) and TJX Corp. (TJX). Among the retail stock losers were Target (TGT) and Kohls (KSS).

Mexico is the 11th most populous nation in the world, with the 15th largest area of any country and the 13th largest nominal GDP on the planet. So why is it that U.S. investors often overlook economic opportunity south of the border? There are a lot of companies there with big potential -- including blue chip telecom stock Telefonos de Mexico (TMX), beverage giants Coca Cola Femsa (KOF) and Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX) and construction leader Cemex (CX).

The Coca Cola (KO) and its iconic Coke brand soft drink is one of the world's most recognizable stocks. Coke has been serving up the fizzy cola drink since the 19th century, and over the past six decades the beverage giant's stock also has delivered big-time returns to shareholders. Like most major conglomerates, KO stock took a hit from October 2008 to March 2009, but for the remainder of that year Coke stock fought its way back and became a huge winner.

Apple (AAPL) recently announced that it sold 1 million iPads within the first 28 days after the April 3, 2010 launch of the device in the US. In comparison, it took 74 days for Apple to sell 1 million iPhones in 2007 and Amazon (AMZN) sold only about 1 million Kindle e-reader devices in total throughout all of 2009.

When Beazer Homes (BZH) reported earnings this morning, the dramatic rise of homebuilders' share prices came to a screeching halt. Beazer earnings and related BZH stock news is weighing on the entire homebuilding industry today. Beazer is down about 15%, Pulte Group (PHM) is down nearly 5%, Lennar Corp. (LEN) is down about the same amount, and Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) is down more than 5%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is also down about 4%.

When Beazer Homes (BZH) reported earnings this morning, the dramatic rise of homebuilders' share prices came to a screeching halt. Beazer earnings and related BZH stock news is weighing on the entire homebuilding industry today. Beazer is down about 15%, Pulte Group (PHM) is down nearly 5%, Lennar Corp. (LEN) is down about the same amount, and Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) is down more than 5%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is also down about 4%.

Telecom stocks as a group slightly outperformed the market in April. Diversified telecommunications blue chips like AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) didn't have much to write home about -- T stock dropped -1.2% on the month after one-time charges held back ATT earnings, and VZ stock dropped -4% after a 7-5% earnings slump. But several pure wireless telecom stocks such as Sprint (S), Leap Wireless (LEAP) and Metro PCS (PCS) performed very well.

Burger King Holdings (BKC) typically has to fight off chief fast food rival McDonald's (MCD) when it comes to prices and promotions. But recently MCD stock has taken a back seat to inner struggles at BKC as Burger King franchisees fight corporate BK execs over a $1 double cheeseburger promotion. The disagreement got legal late last year via a lawsuit on behalf of Burger King franchisees that went all the way to a federal court in Miami.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE:DUK) reported higher-than-expected EPS and revenues for the first quarter of 2010. On the other coast, Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) had a clear miss on EPS although revenues were higher than expected.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is the world's largest oil company that is not state run. Over the past decade, XOM stock has seen share price appreciation and consistent dividend payouts that has made it an attractive holding for investors seeking a crude oil stock with solid returns. But recently, there have been some leaks in this energy stock's platform. In fact, if you own Exxon Mobil stock, it may be time to consider rotating out of your position despite creeping crude oil prices.

Blockbuster (BBI) could benefit from the news that Movie Gallery will close all of its 2,415 U.S. stores and liquidate its inventory. Though Movie Gallery already declared bankruptcy, the movie rental chain had hoped to stay alive after some restructuring. Movie Gallery also operated locations under the Hollywood Video and Game Crazy brands, and all will be closed at an undetermined date. Netflix (NFLX) may also benefit.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) reported today that sales for April 2010 rose nearly 25% from April 2009, to 167,542 vehicles. Ford's results were better than analysts' expectations.The industry is still seeing sales gains as a result of buyer incentives. According to Edmunds.com, Ford's combined incentives totaled $3,374 in April, Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM) spent $2,498 per vehicle on incentives, and Honda Motor Co. (NYSE:HMC) spent $1,787 per vehicle.

Privately-held commodity trading company Glenocore International AG and Xstrata plc, a publicly-traded mining company on the London and Swiss exchanges, are discussing a merger that would create a mining and trading group valued at about $85.4 million. In another big mining transaction, NorskHydro ASA (NYSE:NHY) has agreed to buy several aluminum and bauxite assets from Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) for $4.9 billion.

Akamai, the leading web content delivery company, grew revenues by almost 9% in 2009 despite the economic recession and expects to grow its revenues by mid double digits in 2010.