For Investors Only -- GE, Verizon, AAPL

GE: earnings up 57 percent.

Verizon: earnings double.

AAPL: profits up 54%, I believe, but missed analysts' targets, so the shares dropped. But this is what folks missed because they were focused on iPhones and iPads: Apple sold a record number of computers this past quarter. With the rest of the PC market on a decline (due to tablets and smart phones, I find it remarkable that Apple had a record quarter -- of course, much of it was probably due to back-to-school shopping. But I just bet that the fourth quarter -- Christmas -- will be huge for AAPL.

What an awesome time to be accumulating shares in American companies when the market is so depressed. Verizon: earnings double -- sure, there's a lot of non-revenue explanations, but I've always said "the business of the business" is what counts and VZ has done very, very well.

I own shares in none of these companies and will not be buying any. I just look at these because they were in the news the last couple of days, and they reflect on the market in general.