This year's selections do not seem to offer the same dividend opportunities of years past and my first three choices have none at all. That changes with this pick. Home Depot (HD) is distributing a 3.09% yield.

It's getting tiring to relate the demise of various companies to the residential market collapse, high unemployment and so forth, but certainly this company has been greatly affected. In addition, Home Depot was already struggling to recover from a "me first" CEO who happened to be forced out with the small stipend of $200 million, leaving behind shabby stores with questionable customer service while at the same time facing strong competition from Lowe's Cos (LOW).

The Street.com's Jim Cramer says that he's making it his mission in 2010 to call out people in the media who provide no value.

Have you ever noticed that with every good housing report there are endless caveats:

1. Prices are still down year over year.

2. The home tax credit of $8,000 moved the house, and that will go away.

3. Home mortgages are artificially low because of the Fed.

4. Banks have more foreclosures on their balance sheets than before.

5. Foreclosures continue to occur.

6. Everything will slip back to imbalance when the credit goes away.

The contenders list is down to twelve stocks and three puts. I will not be trimming the list today. Instead, I will be reviewing possibilities among four more stocks of well established companies.

There are the two largest home improvement stores, Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's Cos (LOW) as well as the two largest payroll companies, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex Inc. (PAYX). They are all fine, well-managed companies, so this will just be a numbers game along with a sense of whether the economy is going to reward investors in 2010, or if it's too early.

Lowe's (LOW) stock has meandered since the September 16, 2009 Buy rating at $21.60 per share, but I'm nevertheless reiterating my buy rating. Here's why:

Lowe's has now posted three straight less-worse-than-expected quarterly earning performances, and the view from here argues that both home improvement revenue, and more broadly, U.S. home sales (new and existing) have bottomed, providing an adequate tailwind for the stock. Further, any higher-than-expected store traffic in 2010 will be a bonus. The First Call FY2009/FY2010 EPS estimates for LOW are $1.22 to $1.35.

Today was another up-day that started out strong and stayed strong. Retail sales helped trump a weak NY Fed manufacturing number, and Ben Bernanke said he sees no asset bubbles in the US markets today.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

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Lowe's (LOW) kicked off the week's earnings reports by posting third-quarter earnings of 24 cents per share, matching the consensus estimate. Revenue checked in at $11.4 billion, which -- while 3% lower than a year ago -- was better than the expected revenue of $11.28 billion. LOW's same-store sales dropped 7.5%.

Looking ahead, Lowe's forecast fourth-quarter earnings between nine and 13 cents per share and full-year earnings between $1.16 and $1.20 per share. Both of those forecast ranges surround the expected 10 cents per share and $1.20 per share, respectively. Lowe's also noted that it seems that some of the home markets feeling the biggest crunch in the economic crisis are stabilizing. Nevertheless, the home-improvement firm was negatively hit as customers were putting off larger purchases thanks to the economic situation.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says that as numerous stories are mulled over anew, the reasons for selling seem silly.

The lack of important data today forces market participants to revisit stories that got tossed out over the last few weeks simply because of earnings ennui. People are now doubling back to see what they have forgotten, or more important, why they sold certain stocks they most likely shouldn't have.

For example, why did JPMorgan (JPM) (Cramer's Take) go from $47 to $44? Bad loans? Credit quality? No, not really. Nothing like that. Why did Goldman Sachs (GS) (Cramer's Take) go from $192 to the $170s? Some of it was Meredith Whitney, but there is also a sense of entitlement that makes the firm hated, as if somehow it is too much of a pariah to invest in.

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.

Today started out strong with a weaker dollar ahead of tomorrow's FOMC meeting. We have a slew of data coming out the rest of the week and tomorrow's commentary on securities purchases and liquidity programs should likely beat out the notion that rates are still staying at near-zero percent.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,829.27 +50.41 (0.52%)
S&P 500 1,071.63 +6.97 (0.65%)
Nasdaq 2,146.30 +8.26 (0.39%)

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On Tuesday morning, Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) issued a cautious earnings outlook for the coming year. On a more positive not, the home-improvement giant actually expects same-store sales to increase, bringing an end to several years of same store sales declines.

LOW's announcement was accompanied by a reiteration of its expectations for the fiscal year. It expects to open 66 stores this fiscal year, and as many as 45 in the next fiscal year (which starts on January 30). For the coming year, LOW believes it will earn $1.24 to $1.34 per share with revenue growth of 3% to 4% and a same-store sales rise of roughly 1%. The current estimates from the Street call for earnings of $1.34 per share and a 3% revenue increase.

Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) has broken through resistance at $20, hence I'm issuing a Buy rating for the company's shares. .

Lowe's has posted two consecutive less-worse-than-expected quarters, and the calculation here argues home improvement revenue will improve in the next year, and more broadly, the U.S. housing sector has bottomed, providing another modest tailwind. Lowe's also reported stabilizing customer traffic in Q2.

Retail sales numbers jumped more last month than they have in three years. It would be understandable to assume that this was due to the "cash for clunkers" program, which ran through August, but even excluding auto-sales retail numbers were higher than expected.

Core retail sales (which excludes autos and gasoline) was up 1.1% in August, which was almost 300% higher than anticipated. The question at this point is whether that number would have been even better and ultimately more beneficial for the economy if the government had not siphoned so much spending into autos.

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) strong Q2 results beat expectations due to rising same-store sales.
• Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Q3 earnings topped low expectations and revenue declined.
• Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) posted better-than-expected Q3 results but shares fell on weaker margins.
• Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) CEO said its new advertising efforts will boost sales over the long run.
• Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) had a better-than-expected Q2 profit but same-store sales fell.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ) reported solid Q2 numbers and raised its full-year guidance.

Most investors got slammed last year, down 50% or more in their investments. Didn't matter if they owned stocks or real estate, they got hammered. Many have to start over. And if they're near retirement, it's scary. Years of patient investing wiped out, gains that were made over a long time disappeared frighteningly fast.

But now it's time to begin fresh, to rebuild. What's the safest way to regain some or all of the losses without suffering another wipeout?

Another day, another dollar. The difference is that yesterday's loss became today's gain. There was a weak wholesale inflation reading that kept the inflation hawks at bay and less-bad, or better than, expected earnings did the rest.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,214.54 +79.20 (0.87%)
S&P 500 989.53 +9.80 (1.00%)
Nasdaq 1,955.92 +25.08 (1.30%)

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