Mixed Messages

So, yesterday morning, I am looking at the headlines as Google News presents them and I see this series of headlines:
   
DETROIT | Thu May 2, 2013 7:39am EDT. DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as its North American business was better and its loss in Europe was smaller than Wall Street estimated.
GM earnings fall 11% on Europe losses - USA TodayUSA TODAY
GM net income falls 14 pct to $865 million in 1Q Boston.com
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If I just read headlines, I would be confused... Did GM do well? Or poorly? Could GM's earnings be strong and still fall 14%?

I suppose the Wizards of Wall Street can make sense of this. Of course, reading the story from Reuters, I come to realize that, even though it faltered, GM beat the rather dismal expectations of someone, or some ones (never named), on "Wall Street".

And, I read this phrase/sentence:

Excluding one-time items, GM earned 67 cents, topping the analysts' estimate of 54 cents, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell 2.4 percent from last year to $36.9 billion, and was just above the Wall Street target of $36.6 billion.

It's no wonder so many people rely on "experts" for investment advice. And it's no wonder why I do not.