Want some indication of the strength of corporate America?  Take a look at two separate, but related numbers: 1) the ‘beat rate’ on Revenues (or what many refer to as ‘top-line’ earnings) vs. 2) the ‘beat rate’ on earnings per se (EPS or profits).

Here’s the former:

What does it mean?  Essentially, that about 50% of the time, corporate America is falling short of Wall Street’s expectations in terms of overall sales.  Whether that sheds more light on corporate America or Wall Street’s analysts is an open question.  But taken together with the following statistic, we gain a little more clarity.

Here is the EPS beat rate for this earnings season – what’s more commonly known as ‘the bottom line’ or profits.

First, take note that (thus far) this earnings season matches up as well as or better than any quarter in the last decade.  Note, too, that the chart is a week old and the latest numbers have come in better than depicted above – closer to 80% than 70%.

Taken together with the first chart, we get a story that looks like this: overall sales are down.  The consumer and corporate buying urge is plainly not…

With the boom in global demand for alternative-fueled vehicles, now may be a good time to break out your Periodic Table of Elements from science class.  It’s time to learn something about lithium.

Represented by the symbol “Li,” lithium is the lightest and least dense of the solid elements. Lithium production has been growing for decades thanks to its use in small batteries.  Powering a car with electricity takes more than a few AAA cells, but it can be done.  The idea is increasingly popular as oil prices remain historically high.

This is good news for Chile. This slender South American country is the largest lithium producer in the world.  It is also good news for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile ADR (NYSE:SQM), often referred to by its English translation of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile (NYSE:SQM). The firm is a top holding in the first lithium-specific ETF. Obviously, the boom in lithium demand could be a boon for SQM. Driven by demand for hybrid and electric cars, lithium demand is expected to swell to 250,000 tons annually up from current levels of 100,000 tons.

Wall Street is taking note of the bullish trend. Several…

To start the news day, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has recently announced through a press release that they will be providing $10 million in grants to non-profit lenders over the next year.  This grant, it is hoped, will help these non-profit lenders by providing collateral for more funds from US small business departments, such as the Small Business Association and the Department of Agriculture.  To access loans from these small business programs, non-profit lenders must set aside loan loss reserves of up to 15%.  The SBA and USDA then provide micro loans through these non-profits to small businesses and start-ups.  It’s hoped that the multiplier effect will provide up to $100 million in small business lending in the next 12 months.

In overall market news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ and S&P 500 are all up modestly to start the day.  Optimism over the continued economic recovery was spurred forward today by reports of increased earnings forecasted for later this year by some major companies (Such as Sony and Southwest Airlines).  In addition to the aforementioned optimism on the market, the US Labor Department is reporting that new claims for unemployment benefits have fallen to 457,000 (a decrease…