Deere & Co. is best known for its tractors and farm equipment. These vehicles are often painted with a distinct yellow and green palate. It appears the outlook for Deere & Co. is fairly good for this year.

Deere & Co. raised its full-year profit outlook after reporting a 16% rise in quarterly earnings that surged past market expectations.

The world’s largest producer of farm machinery by sales also said demand was recovering at its construction-equipment unit.

Rising farm incomes led Deere to boost its fiscal full-year profit target to $1.6 billion from the $1.3 billion indicated in February. Machinery sales are seen up 11% to 13%, compared with its earlier 6% to 8% rise, including a 21% to 23% rise in the fiscal second quarter.

Many experts predicted much smaller gains for the tractor and farm equipment manufacturer. But in times of hardship, people will use the brands that are trusted the most rather than risking investments on untried equipment or products.

No one should be surprised to find credit card companies making higher profits during a recession. With the cruddy economy, it is not at all surprising that more consumers are taking more credit card debt on than before. However, Visa has posted great first quarter numbers, with profit jumping 33%.

“Our performance was fueled by higher than expected payments volume growth,” Joseph Saunders, chief executive of Visa, said in a statement. “We are increasingly optimistic that economic growth will gradually improve.”

“We remain confident in delivering our guidance for fiscal year 2010,” he added.

Visa said it processed 10.6 billion transactions in the three months ended March 31. That was up 14% versus the same period a year earlier.

It will be interesting to see if Visa can make this growth sustainable or if this is just a cyclical gain because of the recession.

Walgreen’s, which so many people have long dead in the water, appears to be making strong gains in the second quarter. A profit that rose 4.6% in the last quarter attests to these gains, which virtually no experts saw coming. In an industry dominated by Walmart, Walgreen’s is still able to compete.

To spur front-of-the-store sales as consumers focus on thrift, Walgreen has been removing discretionary goods and adding private-label and staple products. The company said its store revamp initiative, called Customer Centric Retailing, has been successful so far.

“It’s produced good economics for the company; we have already seen a $500 million reduction in inventory,” Mr. Wasson said. Walgreen expects to have about 2,500 to 3,000 stores in the new format by the end of fall 2010.

If Walgreen’s can continue this rate of growth, while cutting out the fat, they’ll be able to present a real alternative in the grocery industry.

It is appropriate, on the weekend of the Superbowl, to discuss business in relation to that great annual sporting event, watched by millions. New Orleans, whose team–the Saints–is attending the Superbowl for the first time in franchise history, has apparently experienced a big surge in consumer spending. In a town where good news has been needed ever since Hurricane Katrina blew through, this is nothing compared to the Saints making the Superbowl–but it sure doesn’t hurt.

There’s actually research suggesting that sporting success is good for the local economy. A winning team can grow a region’s per capita income by as much as $100 per year, researchers Michael Davis and Christian End found in a 2008 study published in Economic Inquiry.

As fans become more confident about their team’s success, they not only spend more but become more productive at work, the study reports. That drives a noticeable boost in the local economy. While a Super Bowl appearance is important, Davis says steadily mounting success is the real key.

So it appears a Superbowl appearance isn’t quite as big of a deal as a team that performs well from year to year. I’m sure New Orleans residents will be happy to root for the Saints to do well next year too–you know, for the economy’s sake!

General Motors was almost universally hated a couple of months ago when they accepted a “bailout” from the U.S. Government in the aftermath of the recession. While that feeling likely still lingers in many quarters, General Motors is at least proving that they are trying to cut the fat out of their budget and maximize profits.

Exhibit A, General Motors is attempting to find a buyer for Saab, their Swedish-originating car company that has largely fallen flat in the last year or so. In 2006 their sales hit a crescendo of 133,000 vehicles in a year–so they obviously have the capability for success. That division of the company has been in free-fall ever since GM announced it was going to focus on it’s more classic brands. Beijing Auto Industry Corp. has reportedly expressed interest, but GM is saying they will close down the car company if no “suitable buyer” can be found by the end of December.