Insurance companies just bought themselves a year. Claiming that a proposed tax on health insurance would force them to charge higher premiums, carriers were able to convince senators to defer this particular measure for a year.

This comes as a benefit to UnitedHealth Group (UNH), WellPoint (WLP) and smaller companies writing health insurance policies. Manufacturers of medical devices have won some relief, as well, though the drug business didn't. An earlier plan to tax cosmetic medical procedures was also scrapped.

Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), a manufacturer of a whole host of medical devices involved with the management of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, released its Q1 data on Tuesday. Revenues increased 6%, and adjusted earnings per share came in at 79 cents (some of the adjustments were related to restructuring and litigation issues).

The company was able to grow the adjusted-per-share bottom line by 10%. In addition, according to Reuters, Medtronic beat estimates by a penny. Shareholders should keep in mind, however, that the quarter benefited from an extra week.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss as steel prices rise.
• Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) posted a better-than-expected Q2 profit on strong overseas sales.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares jumped after it beat earnings, missed revenues, and offered guidance.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) shares declined after it posted a higher-than-expected profit but lower revenue.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) disappointing results were a sign that the bulls are in charge, said Jim Cramer.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Q2 earnings and sales declined, dragged down by finance and NBC units.

Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), an expert in medical devices and a colleague of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), reported earnings for the second quarter on Monday after the closing bell. Wall Street liked the results. Shares of the company were bid higher by 5.8% in the after-hours session.

Net sales increased 7%. On an adjusted basis, Boston Scientific made 20 cents per share. According to Earnings.com, the business was supposed to bring in only 13 cents per share. Thus, management did a superb job of beating the analysts at their precious game. Unfortunately, Boston Scientific made the same amount of adjusted profit in the year-ago period, so there wasn't any growth on the bottom line.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q3 results to reflect improved visibility. The firm raised its target price to $6.50 from $3.
• Citigroup upgraded Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) and Potash (NYSE: POT) to Buy from Hold and Agrium (NYSE: AGU) to Hold from Sell as it believes stronger grain fundamentals more than offset China contract risk. The firm raised its target on Mosaic to $72 from $48, on Potash to $145 from $83 and on Agrium to $55 from $36.
• Fulton Financial (NASDAQ: FULT) Was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
• Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) was upgraded at Deutsche Bank to Buy from Hold.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Consol Energy (NYSE: CNX) to Buy from Hold following the company's lowered guidance as 2009 is fully contracted with a 26% price increase. The firm raised its target to $40 from $38.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Buy from Hold on valuation as it thinks the sell-off on the company's Q4 miss and cautious guidance is overdone.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) to Outperform from Market Perform because the firm thinks the outlook of the company's two main markets is improving. The firm believes the company's valuation is attractive. Thomas Weisel upgraded Boston Scientific to Overweight from Market Weight citing valuation and improving fundamentals.
• Goldman added MasterCard (NYSE: MA) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Accuray (NASDAQ: ARAY) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.