The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 134 points to 12,503.87 (1.09%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 68 points (2.46%) to 2,847.21, and the S&P 500 rose 1.60% or nearly 21 points to 1,316.00.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) raised to ‘buy’ at SocGen; Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) raised to ‘buy’ at Argus; and Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) cut to ‘hold’ at BB&T.

Earnings reports since markets closed on Friday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is down -2.1% at $32.71; Hastings Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: HAST) is up 15.2% at $2.05; Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is up 12.3% at $6.75; Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is down -10.1% at $25.60 (more coverage here); Tech Data Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD) is up 0.7% at $47.78; and Tudou Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: TUDO) is up 11.3% at $33.37.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to get earnings reports from Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO), Best Buy, Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES), Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL), Williams Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM), and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is down -11% at $34.03. Following Friday’s massively-hyped IPO and the CEO’s weekend wedding, a falling share price was probably inevitable. More coverage here.

Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE) is up 25.2% at $69.96 after posting a new 52-week high this morning of $70.97. The company is being acquired by Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) for $11.8 billion. More coverage here.

Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: WPRT) is up 12% at $26.57. The natural gas engine maker has a deal with Volvo for a new truck engine.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – Existing home sales
10:00 a.m. – Richmond Fed manufacturing index
11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
1:00 p.m. – 2-year note auction

Paul Ausick

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Cut to Sell at UBS.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Market Underperform at JMP Securities.

Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY) Cut to Hold at BB&T.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Raised to Buy at Argus.

Donaldson Company. Inc. (NYSE: DCI) Reiterated Outperform and raised estimates at Credit Suisse.

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Market Underperform at JMP Securities.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Reiterated Buy at Argus.

Kirkland’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Cut to Market Underperform at JMP Securities.

Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.

Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN) Started as Neutral with $25 target at Goldman Sachs.

Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) Raised to Buy at Societe Generale.

Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Safeway (NYSE: SWY) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

Splunk, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) Started as Overweight at Barclays.

TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ: ZBRA) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

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JON C. OGG

Avon was, perhaps, angling for a bidding war between Coty and Richmont Holdings Inc., a private equity firm that has been said to be preparing a bid for Avon. But for Richmont — and Avon — the price of poker just went down. Restless shareholders, collapsing credit ratings, terrible earnings, and a bribery investigation in China, coupled with a new CEO and a hapless board of directors, all combine to make one wonder why Coty was interested in the first place. If Richmont were to decide to walk away as well, who knows where the share price may end up.

Investors clearly don’t think that a share price north of $24 is in the cards any long. Avon’s stock price has dropped to $18.55, which is a little better than its intraday low of $18.10 this morning, but still well below its closing price of $20.73 last night. The 52-week range is $16.09.$30.42.

Paul Ausick

Coty wrote to Avon’s board yesterday and said:

We received encouragement from many of your shareholders, research analysts and others in the financial community. Despite this support, your total lack of engagement with us leads us to believe that you remain reluctant to explore a friendly, negotiated combination on a reasonable timetable. Two months is enough. Consequently, as our deadline to begin discussions expired today, our proposal is withdrawn. It is time for Coty Inc. to move on and pursue other opportunities.

Coty went to a great deal of trouble to make the bid. It lined up partners, including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B), and debt from JP Morgan Securities. Its efforts involved large amounts of management time and Coty’s reputation with the financial world. All the work to reach a deal will not end yet. Avon is too compelling a target, and Coty has too much invested in a successful buyout.

Coty’s best leverage is that, though Avon’s shares raced from $18 to $24 immediately after its bid, those shares certainly will sell back to $18, and perhaps less, as investors despair about Avon’s troubles. These include SEC investigations, slowing sales and several failed restructurings.

Avon might make a case for a quick turn, buts its CEO, Sherilyn S. (Sheri) McCoy, formerly of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), has only just begun her job. The challenges she faces are so complex and the company’s culture so entrenched that bettering Avon’s prospects could take a number of quarters — if they can be bettered at all.

Avon’s board faces a shareholder revolt because of the Coty decision. The board will have to contend with institutional investors who wanted the Coty bid to improve their fortunes. Avon also may have to wrestle with more downgrades of its debt. Each day that passes, it is more a victim of its own long-term failure to find a formula similar to the one that made it a premier retailer for years.

Coty has the Avon board painted into a corner. Coty can afford to wait, but it will not have to wait for long. Avon’s shareholders will quietly beg it to come back. And that will be enough to prompt it to make another offer. Avon should hope the offer is as high as the last one.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Panasonic may force a partnership to build OLED TVs. (Reuters)

Trouble at Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) may prompt low-ball bids for many of the its assets. (Reuters)

New data from the government will show the extent to which people over 55 cannot find jobs. (Reuters)

Coty withdraws its $10.7 billion offer for Avon (NYSE: AVP). (Reuters)

Facebook raises the target of its IPO to $34 to $38, which could push a valuation as high as $106 billion. (WSJ)

LightSquared files for Chapter 11. (WSJ)

The chairman of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) steps down over governance violations. (WSJ)

Investors are upset that Chesapeake had to take a $3 billion loan. (WSJ)

Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) to offer a low-cost smartphone. (WSJ)

Eurostat says EU industrial production fell in the March. (WSJ)

California governor Jerry Brown shows a series of planned cuts as projections for the state’s deficit rise to $15.7 billion. (WSJ)

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Intellectual Ventures buy 500 patents as the chip maker girds for patent wars. (WSJ)

JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) CEO Ron Johnson may be unable to work the same magic he did at Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stores. (WSJ)

JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon encourages a culture of risk at the bank. (WSJ)

Facebook still faces the question of how well it can do with smartphones. (FT)

Some EU officials would like to see eased terms of Greece’s austerity commitments. (Bloomberg)

A chip supply shortage could hurt smartphone sales. (Bloomberg)

Apple may launch a thin laptop powered by Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) chips. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Falling Oil Prices

Futures for Brent crude continue to sink closer to $100. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said that the $100 level would be ideal for his nation’s finances and, he believes, those of the portion of the world that imports oil. Also weighing on futures is the financial fate of the EU and the growing recession there. For the time being, the beneficiaries of the drop in prices are large oil-consuming nations like the United States, China and India. The crippled economy in Europe has more than offset concerns about supply due to tensions over Iran and lower output from refineries. But the apparent advantage for the U.S. cuts another way. The slowdown in Europe that has pushed oil prices down means that U.S. exports to the same regions will begin to fall. Corporate earnings for the first quarter from a number of multinationals show the process already has begun.

Avon Mulls Options

Avon Products (NYSE: AVP) said it will take a week to decide whether it will negotiate a new, sweetened deal from Coty. Coty has just gotten financial support from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B). Coty raised its offer to $24.75 a share from $23.25. Avon’s board has a number of compelling reasons to take the offer. The first is the legacy of former CEO Andrea Jung, who ran the company into the ground, mostly by mismanaging its overseas operations. It also has been alleged that on her watch there may have been bribery problems overseas. The SEC has begun to investigate Avon. A new CEO, Sherilyn McCoy, formerly of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), has been appointed by the Avon board. That should not stop the board from saving the company and preventing a sharp drop in its stock if Coty is rejected. Avon has no viable turnaround plan, and, in the best case, it will take quarters for McCoy to implement one, if she can at all.

Big Box Office

The Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) super-hero movie “The Avengers” was the top grossing movie at the U.S. box office this weekend. The same was true in many other countries. Estimates are that the film has taken in $373 million in North America since it opened. Added to overseas ticket sales, the number is closer to $600 million. Only a few films in history have taken in $1 billion — a number “The Avengers” almost certainly will pass. Among films that have approached the figure or exceeded it are those in the Transformers, Batman, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises, and the two most successful movies of all time — James Cameron’s “Titanic” and “Avatar.” “The Avengers” probably will not make it past these Cameron movies, But it will become a franchise with more releases, which will line the pockets of the Disney film studio operations.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Read: America’s Hottest Brands

Generally, most brand analysis done by the business press is biased toward dollar valuations and contributions to corporate earnings. Obviously, financial success is one factor that demonstrates how well a brand is regarded by consumers. But brand valuation is a financial view, and not one that relies entirely on consumer perception. Based on analysis performed by brand expert company CoreBrand, 24/7 Wall St. wanted to see brands through the eyes of the consumer. For this reason, Corebrand examined brands from the standpoint of favorability and familiarity.

One of the most notable results of the analysis is the high ranking of brands not normally present on most highly valued brands list. When they are evaluated through the consumers’ eyes, however, brands that belong to companies that are struggling financially can still be high on a consumer-perception weighted list. These brands, naturally, are used by a large number of people. More than that, the consumer interaction with the product and services associated with the brand is positive.

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Avon (NYSE: AVP) would not appear high on most brand valuations lists. The two have struggled too much as companies and in the stock market to be high on any business-weighted brand list. They are, however, at the top of the list of brands with high favorability and familiarity. The Avon lady and Dell laptops still carry weight with consumers.

Financial success does not exclude consumer success; they usually go together. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Ford (NYSE: F) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) do extremely well according to CoreBrand’s ranking. Each of these corporations has posted large profits over the past few years. Their shareholders have also done well. The products and services from the companies have boosted sales fairly consistently.

24/7 Wall St. examined the “hottest” brands list from independent brand valuation firm CoreBrand. CoreBrand looked at the largest brands where both favorability and familiarity increased, measured by overall reputation, perception of management and investment potential. 24/7 Wall St. then ranked the six brands with the greatest increases in favorability from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011.

These are America’s hottest brands.

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) ex-CEO Scott Thompson has thyroid cancer. (WSJ)

Greece will have elections because parties could not form a coalition. (Reuters)

Growth problems in China prompt leaders to look at stimulus actions. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) may buy TV maker Loewe. (Reuters)

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) receives a $3 billion loan to help finances while it sells assets. (Reuters)

LightSquared is likely to file for bankruptcy protection. (WSJ)

A Wall Street Journal panel of economists predicts slow by ongoing growth. (WSJ)

Nissan says the value of the yen will force production out of Japan, (WSJ)

Leaders in Canada look to China for growth as U.S. markets ease. (WSJ)

Facebook, Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) and Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) are rapidly buying start-ups. (WSJ)

Carl Icahn invests in Chesapeake Energy. (WSJ)

General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) Europe operation will fight unions over the ability to cut costs. (WSJ)

Walt Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) “The Avengers” leads the box office again over the weekend. (WSJ)

Angela Merkel loses support in elections in a key German state. (NYT)

Avon (NYSE: AVP) may accept a bid from Coty. (FT)

French President Hollande promises to protect jobs just as several large companies prepare to cut them. (Bloomberg)

JP Morgan may fire its entire London trading staff. (Bloomberg)

India inflation rises to 7%. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

A new CEO, Sherilyn McCoy, formerly of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), has been appointed by the Avon board. That should not stop the board from saving the company and preventing a sharp drop in its stock if Coty is rejected. Avon has no viable turnaround plan, and, in the best case, it will take quarters for McCoy to implement one if she can at all.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The offer is contingent on Avon’s willingness to allow Coty to conduct due diligence:

We need to confirm our synergy estimates, the availability of which will be critical to our final valuation and the reinvestment required to implement a turnaround of Avon. In particular, we are very interested in understanding the components of your SG&A expense line item as we evaluate how to increase economic opportunities for your representatives relative to controlling overall corporate spending. We also need to better understand your ongoing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation and litigation, and what it will cost to address operational and financial problems and these liabilities.

Coty’s offer is good until Monday, May 14th, at which time Coty will withdraw its proposal. If Avon does not respond by that date, Coty “will have to inform the public markets of the circumstances of our withdrawal.”

Avon’s shares are up about 3% in pre-market trading at $22.15 in a 52-week range of $16.09-$30.62, indicating, perhaps, that investors don’t think that Avon will agree.

Paul Ausick