Profits dropped but overall sales and optimism are growing at Kellogg, which announced its second-quarter results yesterday. The integration of the Pringles chips business is "going well," says president and CEO John Bryant. The recent acquisition from Procter & Gamble is leading the company's full-tilt charge into the snacks aisle and opening opportunities overseas.

The headlines offer little sunshine for Detroit this morning -- combined U.S. market share for the Big Three slipped 4.5 percentage points to 43.1% -- but they come heavily asterisked, including the fact that (Fiat-controlled) Chrysler's sales were up 13% and, as a "Wall Street Journal" story put it a couple of days ago, now "is propping up its majority owner."

The fact that Pfizer has cut costs has been exciting Wall Street for the past year, with the share price rising 25% during that time. The fact that it has some promising new products in the pipeline and is dedicating itself to "reinventing" its research and development, as Bloomberg News puts it, should excite Madison Ave. and Broadcasters Row, such as they remain.