Of the millions of business across America, only a small percentage are incorporated. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons is the cost. For example, in California there is a whopping $800 franchise tax fee. Yes, in today's tough economic environment, this is certainly a big deal.

Another problem is the paperwork, which can distract from your business.

But if you want to operate a sustainable business, you should really think seriously about incorporating. The benefits often outweigh the costs. Let's take a look:

Last week's retail sales numbers were encouraging. And some shopping mall favorites take their turns in the earnings spotlight this week: JCPenney (JCP), Nordstrom (JWN), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Kohls Corp. (KSS) and Macy's (M). Overall, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to see earnings growth from these retailers for the first quarter.

Texas-based department store operator JCPenney declared a quarterly dividend and tendered a debt offering in its first quarter. Earnings for that period are expected to have more than doubled from a year ago to $0.24 per share. Revenue for the three months that ended in April, however, is expected to have inched up 1.4% in the past year to $3.9 billion. And analysts expect to see year-over-year earnings and revenue growth in the second quarter. JCPenney's per-share earnings have come in within pennies of consensus estimates in the past five quarters, beating by two cents in the fourth quarter.

European Union leaders have agreed to set up an emergency fund to stop the spread of the Greek crisis and shore up the euro. The amount of the fund was not disclosed, but leaders say it will be in place before Asia starts trading.

The catalyst for setting up the fund was the collapsing euro, which fell 4.3% last week. In addition, spreads on Greek, Spanish and Portuguese bonds widened last week, further indicating a lack of confidence in the EU. European banks have suffered big losses, especially those with exposure to Greece, Portugal and Spain.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) saw shares rise following its report of better-than-expected Q1 earnings.
• Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH) posted a Q2 profit and revenue growth, and announced a stock offering.
• CBS Corp. (CBS) reported improvements in both Q1 net income and cash flow, but shares declined.
• Clorox Co. (CLX) posted Q3 earnings that were higher than analysts had expected and offered weak guidance.
• First Solar Inc. (FSLR) reported quarterly earnings that easily topped analysts' expectations.

On April 20, 2010, a BP (BP) oil rig ruptured and toppled into the ocean, killing 11 crew members and initiating a massive oil spill. Now, BP engineers have deployed a 98-ton container with which they hope to contain the primary oil leak.

An estimated 210,000 gallons have poured into the gulf each day since the leak began. So far, efforts to stop the gushing oil have been unsuccessful. First, robots tried to shut the valves that control the oil flow. This did not work. So now this four-story metal "funnel" has been suspended just above the oil leak. Engineers hope to lower it onto the sea floor within days. Doing so requires pin-point precision, and they are battling darkness and high underwater pressure.

Some amazing information has come to light regarding AT&T (ATT), Verizon (VZ), Caterpillar (CAT) and Deere & Co. (DE). It would seem that these companies (among a host of others, I'm sure) have initially determined that dropping health coverage for employees could significantly benefit their bottom lines, and thus benefit investors.

No Surprise Here

As reported by CNNMoney.com, when the health reform bill finally received the president's signature, many large companies began to assess the potential costs of the legislation. At the same time, much was made of the large write-downs that companies took in reaction to changes brought on by the new law.

So ... how was your trading week? Mine wasn't so hot. But I guess we need to keep sifting through all those stocks that are now sporting claw marks courtesy of the growling bears who are now in control to figure out which ideas should be given a round of due diligence and which ones should be thrown by the wayside.

Let's check out Sara Lee (SLE). I like the one-year chart. The 52-week low on the stock is $8.71; the 52-week high is $14.36. The shares closed down by a mere three pennies on Friday to settle out at $13.44.

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

• American International Group Inc. (AIG) said its Q1 earnings doubled, easily topping analysts' expectations.
• Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) said Q1 revenue grew, but disappointing earnings dragged down shares.
• Chevron Corp. (CVX) had strong Q1 earnings and boosted its dividend, but Gulf spill concerns weighed on shares.
• CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) Q1 earnings topped consensus estimates but it also said same-store sales slipped.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) said its lost $8 billion in Q1, less than a year ago, and requested further bailout funds.

If you believe the economic recovery is just beginning, then the sell-off this week was a welcome opportunity. If you bought any stocks two weeks ago, you were hurting, but if you were looking to buy, opportunity was at the front door. Will the rally that started last July when the DJIA traded at 8058 continue? Or is this the apex, having touched 11,309 (up 40% in less than a year), and the only direction is down? I don't think so. Here's why.

The U.S. economy is recovering. All the data from manufacturing to housing sales, even employment (224,000 non-farm workers were added in April, 290,000 total workers found new jobs), show improvement.

Car sales were up 25% for most automakers in the month of April compared to last year's April. Factory orders rose 1.3% in March, helped by higher demand for machinery, appliances, and primary metals. Analysts thought the number would be negative .1%. Pending home sales rose a seasonally-adjusted 5.3% in March. Again, analysts thought the number would be 4%. Pending home sales for the year to date are now up 21.1% from a year ago.

With reference to the Greek debt crisis, Moody's said: "banking systems faced very real common threats if doubts were raised about their governments' abilities to pay debts."

Moody's was referring specifically to the UK, Irish, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish banking systems. Banks shares have fallen sharply across Europe. In France, Societe Generale (SCGLY) was the biggest loser, with its share price falling 7%. It holds $3.8 billion of Greek government debt.

Investors, and certainly those adults who've experienced a job loss during the recession, don't need to be snow-stormed with data to know how severe the U.S. recession has been.

Even so, the New York Times (NYT) has published a telling chart. Starting with the 1974-1976 recession, the chart tracks the ratio of that month's non-farm payrolls to non-farm payrolls at the start of the recession. Basically, the chart is a ratio of how many jobs the U.S. economy added per month in the recession vs. monthly job creation at the start of the recession.

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) reported first-quarter numbers on Thursday. Judging by the market's reaction today, Wall Street is behind them. Wall Street might be behind them for a very specific reason: when it comes to defensive stocks, Kraft is right up there with dividend-paying companies such as The Coca-Cola Company (KO) and The Procter & Gamble Company (PG).

I'll tell you, the current price action is pretty cool right now. With about 90 minutes to go before the closing bell (which is the time I'm writing this), shares of the food manufacturer are up $1.06, or 3.6%, to $30.27. Volume is strong. The 52-week high on the stock is $31.09.

The stock of utility and nuclear power generator Entergy Corp (ETR), which I first wrote about on May 12, 2009, at a price of $74.31, has meandered over the past six months, but I still like the shares at this juncture. Here's why:

Although, Entergy's planned spin-off of its nonnuclear assets into a new company called Enexus Energy has been delayed, due to delays in regulatory approvals by New York State, earnings should increase 3% to 5% in 2010, excluding one-time charges.

Playboy (PLA) has already cut its staff and cut its office space ... but you know things are bad when Hef starts cutting back on the amount of skin his Bunnies are baring.

According to industry reports, Playboy is planning on a mix of new sites aimed at tackling a tamer market -- and none of them involve nudity. According to Playboy insiders, the company is developing a "free, safe-for-work site" its calling TheSmokingJacket.com, as well as additional subscription content with a slightly tamer feel.

Broadening your appeal beyond a core product is no easy task. But if done successfully, it can forever change the fortunes of a company. Just look at Nintendo (NTDOY) and its efforts to make video games mainstream and not a niche product for pimply-faced teenagers.

Stocks might have seemed like a buy, but the selling continued for second day as Greece and Europe weighed on equities. The economy created 290,000 jobs in April and unemployment was listed as 9.9%. The market tried to go positive several times, but was stopped in its tracks. The flight to quality today means a flight to gold.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,380.43 -139.89 (-1.33%)
S&P 500 1,110.88 -17.27 (-1.53%)
Nasdaq 2,265.64 -54.00 (-2.33%)

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