BlackRock Inc (BLK), one of Wall Street's most iconic money management stocks, reported strong first-quarter earnings that were up more than 400% over the 2009 numbers. However, BlackRock earnings still fell short of the consensus profit forecast. BLK earnings estimates on Wall Street were a bit higher.

Eagle Materials Inc. (EXP), a housing stock that produces wallboard and cement products, reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings today that significantly topped profit forecasts. Eagle Materials earnings actually pulled into the black, with fourth-quarter net earnings of $1.9 million or 4 cents a share, compared with projections of a loss by most Wall Street analysts. The consensus earnings estimate was a loss of -2 cents a share.

The latest batch of major bank earnings is in the books, and the news has been stellar. Bank of America (BAC), Citibank (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) all reported better-than-expected earnings over the past two weeks, and all appear to be fully on the path to recovering from the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. And while not all of these banks have fully recovered from the ravages of the meltdown, their recent earnings showings have many investors pining for a bigger slice of the pie via increased dividends.

The oil field services sector got a bump of about 2.5% earlier this week when Halliburton (HAL) reported results and indicated that the outlook for the rest of 2010 was looking better. So far today, the sector is up nearly 7% on a similar earnings outlook from Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), even though the company's revenues dropped in the quarter. Even Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT) is getting a nice boost on Schlumberger's coattails.

When you're looking for stocks to add to your portfolio, a good thing to ask yourself is "What are those who are 'in the know' buying?" Those in the know could be analysts, or they could be top stock advisors. Insider buying is a key indicator of success, and some big-name stocks including Simon Property Group (SPG), Enterprise Products (EPD), CVS Caremark (CVS), DirecTV (DTV) and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) have all seen high levels of insider buying lately.

Tobacco companies may get more than their share of bad press for some things, but when it comes to earnings the companies do much better. Three of the world's largest tobacco companies -- Phillip Morris (PM), Altria (MO) and Reynolds American (RAI) -- have recently announced first quarter results, and while those results are mixed, there are still plenty of tobacco users to go around.

While the price tag of $100 or $200 may be jaw-dropping to those who grew up sporting jeans to mow the lawn or lounge on the couch, it's not uncommon in today's retail marketplace. Companies like Joe's Jeans (JOEZ) and True Religion (TRLG) are peddling trendy jeans for teenagers, and companies like Ralph Lauren (RL), Aeropostale (ARO) and The Gap (GPS) commonly market premium jeans for the older crowd with a price tag of $75 to $150.

The oil field services sector got a bump of about 2.5% earlier this week when Halliburton (HAL) reported results and indicated that the outlook for the rest of 2010 was looking better. So far today, the sector is up nearly 7% on a similar earnings outlook from Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), even though the company's revenues dropped in the quarter. Even Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT) is getting a nice boost on Schlumberger's coattails.

The recent jump in auto sales are attributable to manufacturers' incentives and a significant increase in Chinese buying. It's not totally unexpected then that parts suppliers should be seeing some black ink from the sales jump. Those companies include Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) which just reported earnings.

2010 is becoming the year of the dividend as a common theme for investors. And the mover toward exchange-traded funds, ETFs and ETNs, has been a growing trend for years. So what about marrying the ETF world to the dividend world? The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND), SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond ETF (JNK), SPDR S and P Dividend ETF (SDY), Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) and JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (AMJ) do exactly that.

It's been a busy week for dividend increases. Blue chip stocks like personal products giant Procter and Gamble (PG), health care stock Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) and utility Southern Company (SO) all raised dividends. Small cap stocks also got in on the action of raises to dividend yields, including computer assessment technology provider Renaissance Learning (RLRN), chemical company Sensient Technologies (SXT), semiconductor stock STMicroelectronics (STM) and packaging giant Sonoco (SON). Here are the details:

CenturyTel, Inc. (CTL), which is re-branding itself as CenturyLink, has offered $10.6 billion in CenturyTel stock to acquire Qwest Communications (Q). Under terms of the deal, CenturyTel will also assume $11.8 billion of Qwest's outstanding debt, valuing the acquisition at $22.4 billion, or about $6.02/share of Qwest stock. The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2011, and current CenturyTel shareholders will own approximately 50.5% the merged company.

CenturyTel, Inc. (CTL), which is re-branding itself as CenturyLink, has offered $10.6 billion in CenturyTel stock to acquire Qwest Communications (Q). Under terms of the deal, CenturyTel will also assume $11.8 billion of Qwest's outstanding debt, valuing the acquisition at $22.4 billion, or about $6.02/share of Qwest stock. The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2011, and current CenturyTel shareholders will own approximately 50.5% the merged company.

What's the best way to store computer data? More and more often the answer to that question includes the word "cloud." For most of us, the cloud refers to the large public off-site storage sites offered by Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT) but also Seagate Technology (STX), Western Digital (WDC) and VMware (VMW).

Burger King (BKC) has is turning up the heat in its war with McDonalds (MCD) for early morning sales. In selected markets, BK is advertising the availability of a "Burger King brunch" in a quest to cash in on the lucrative breakfast market. This is only a few months after announcing Burger King will carry coffee made by Starbucks as early as September to provide a more flavorful alternative to its BK Joe coffee.

While these leveraged ETFs can deliver huge returns when Wall Street moves in the right direction, they can do serious damage to your nest egg when the tables are turned.

Armchair quarterbacks are a dime a dozen each earnings season, breaking out their crystal balls and predicting which stocks will post strong earnings and sales and which ones will miss expectations. Take them with a grain of salt, but here are five earnings predictions for top stocks Boston Scientific (BSX), Caterpillar (CAT), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), Dupont (DD) and Norfolk Southern (NSC).