Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Maintained Neutral but cut target to $190 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Outperform but lowered estimates at Baird; Lowered target to $225 at Jefferies.
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ: AMCC) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) named as the Value Stock of the Day at Zack.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) named as Bear of the Day with under current price objective target by Zacks.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) named as Bull of the Day with way above-consensus price target at Zacks.
Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE: SXC) Reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Websense Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) Reiterated Outperform and raised target at $42 at Credit Suisse. 

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JON C. OGG

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 22 points to 12,734.63 (-0.18%), the NASDAQ fell about 13 points (-0.46%) to 2,805.28, and the S&P 500 fell -0.57% or nearly 7 points to 1,318.45.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) cut to ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer; Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) started as ‘perform’ at Williams Capital; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) cut to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley; and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘underweight’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) is down -3.66% at $77.29; Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT) is up more than 19% at $28.40 after posting a new 52-week high of $29.20 earlier today; AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is down -2.65% at $29.41; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is down -0.92% at $32.40; Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is up 1.95% at $111.18; Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) is down more than -11% at $17.03; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) is up 0.95% at $82.51; McCormick & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MKC) is up 0.90% at $78.55; Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) is down more than -20% at $7.18; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) is up 1.61% at $45.96; and Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) is up 0.34% at $49.88.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

VIST Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: VIST) is up more than 62% at $11.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $11.50 earlier today. The bank holding company has agreed to be acquired by Tompkins Financial Corp. (AMEX: TMP) in an all-stock deal at an 86% premium to last night’s closing price, or about $85 million.

RealNetworks Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK) is up more than 35% at $9.98. The digital media company has sold a video codec and a number of patents to Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) for $120 million.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) is down nearly -21% at $15.13. The biotechnology company lost its bid for an injunction against certain competitors.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up about 22% at $116.01. The digital video streaming and rental company reported a better-than-expected number of new subscribers after markets closed last night.

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ: EFSC) is down more than -19% at $12.51. The bank holding company will restate earnings for 2010 and the first three quarters of 2011 and expects to dilute 2010 earnings by half as a result.

Stay tuned for Friday. New York Fed President William Dudley is giving a speech in the morning. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – US GDP report
• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

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Paul Ausick

We have compiled Thomson Reuters estimates, when the earnings are due, and what the share pricing has been on each, and added in additional color if applicable.  There are a few additional themes we would watch: dividend coverage, how a strong dollar is impacting earnings and competitiveness, making earnings on cost monitoring while revenues may be soft, and exposure to Europe.

TUESDAY

E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), or just DuPont, reports on Tuesday morning.  The chemicals giant is expected to have earnings of $0.33 EPS and $8.53 billion in revenues. Shares are just under $50.00 and the 52-week range is $37.10 to $57.00.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is due Tuesday morning.  The drug, medical products, and consumer products giant is expected to report earnings of $1.10 EPS and $16.28 billion in sales.  With shares close to $65.00, the 52-week range is $57.50 to $68.05.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is due to report on Tuesday morning and estimates for the fast food giant are $1.29 EPS and $6.80 billion in sales.  Shares are within yet another hair of another all-time high and it has recently talked up sales and has already raised its dividend.

Travelers Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TRV), the most forgotten financial stock of the DJIA, is expected to report earnings of $1.52 EPS and $5.47 billion in sales.  With shares above $61.00, the 52-week trading range is $45.97 to $64.17.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is due to lead of the telecom sector on Tuesday morning and earnings are expected to be $0.53 EPS on $28.4 billion in revenues.  With shares around $39.00, the 52-week range is $32.28 to $40.48.

WEDNESDAY

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is due Wednesday morning and the aerospace and defense giant is expected to report $1.00 EPS and $19.4 billion in revenues. With shares around $75.50, the 52-week range is $56.01 to $80.65.

United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) may be the conglomerate with the most upside in 2012 according to analysts.  The earnings are due Wednesday morning and the consensus targets are $1.46 EPS and $15.07 billion in revenues.  With shares under $77.00, the 52-week range is $66.87 to $91.83 and the consensus price target is $89.44.

Read Also: Why The DJIA Could Peak Up 12% at 13,678 in 2012

THURSDAY

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is due on Thursday morning and estimates are $0.45 EPS and $31.94 billion in sales.  Shares are back above $30 around $30.40 and the 52-week range is $27.20 to $31.94.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is expected to report Thursday morning and estimates are $1.73 EPS and $16.04 billion in sales.  With shares back above $105.00, the 52-week range is $67.54 to $116.55 and the consensus price target is now $115.28.

FRIDAY

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is due with earnings Friday morning and the oil giant’s consensus estimates are $2.93 EPS and $71.08 billion in sales.  With shares around $106.40, the 52-week range is $86.68 to $110.99 and the consensus price target is $124.95.  Keep in mind that Chevron is the second highest weighting in the DJIA due to its high share price.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is due to post the consumer product giant earnings report Friday morning.  The consensus estimates are $1.08 EPS and $22.2 billion in sales.  Shares are trading around $66.10 and the 52-week range is $57.56 to $67.72 and the consensus target is $72.37.

We will be releasing more detailed previews the day ahead of each DJIA earnings report this coming week.  Additional data will be around forward earnings estimates for guidance, what the implied valuations are, color on what to look for in addition to earnings, as well as opinions from analysts, what the charts are showing, and what the options traders are expecting for a price move.

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Of the DJIA components, the five with the most implied upside were Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX). If the model is right on the near-12% gains, then the peak on the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA) would be roughly $136.47 assuming that the ETF tracks the index tick by tick. Remember, that “cheapest” does not always mean that these stocks will go much just higher just because an analyst thinks so.  There is a saying that “cheap stocks usually get cheaper.”

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) closed out 2011 at $8.65, leaving an implied price target gain of 44.2% to the $12.48 consensus price target.  Alcoa’s game is simple and that is that it has to still maintain that the aluminum market can double by the year 2020.  Shares were brutalized last year as the 52-week range was $8.45 to $18.47.  It is hard to imagine that this was a $30 stock and higher before the recession.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is of course the “most upside” stock because it was the worst performing DJIA stock of 2011.  It lost more than half of its value.  At $5.56, it has an implied upside of what is truly unbelievable at 72.3% to the $9.58 target.  This frankly sounds too good to be true even if Warren Buffett tried to prop it up.  The problems are almost too great to bother naming here at BofA.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is heavily dependent on emerging markets for mining and infrastructure, so it is of course highly cyclical.  The 2011 close-out price of $90.60 compared to a 52-week range of $67.54 to $116.55.  The consensus Thomson Reuters price targets of $114.50 implies an upside of 26.3% and the dividend is about 2%.  As go the emerging economies, as goes Cat!

Read Also: Is Apple Still Great for 2012?

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is hard to argue against for a management team, but it is in the battered banking sector.  This now trades well under book value and the sector is its anchor.  If the sector improves, investors will probably seek safety behind Jamie Dimon.  At $33.25, there is an implied upside of 39.3% to the $46.33 price target from Thomson Reuters.  Keep in mind that the 52-week trading range is $27.85 to $48.36 so even the leader is down by a third of its value.

United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) was a bit surprising to see on the list as the conglomerate was shown to have 21.5% upside from the current $73.09 price to a target of $88.79.  That would still not even be a year high, as the range of the last year was $66.87 to $91.83.

These were meant to just be some of the caveats and expectations for the 5 DJIA components with the most implied upside of the 30 components making up the index.  As we noted with out implied 13,678 peak value in the DJIA for 2012, it almost sounds too good to be true.

There is something to consider, and it may be serious.  What happens when you question your own numbers that a model generates?

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JON C. OGG

In 2010, the methodology called for a target of 11,455 and the DJIA closed out at 11,577.51 for the year. In 2011, the methodology called for a blended peak consensus of 13,042.06. While the DJIA closed 2011 up 5.5% at 12,217.56 for the year, the peak 2011 DJIA price was 12,928.50. Using stock market projections often feels like a game of horseshoes, or a bit like throwing hand grenades, because being close enough is generally all that matters. The blended DJIA price target peak for 2012, using the 24/7 Wall St. methodology is 13,678, or a gain of 11.96%.

Amazingly enough, this year’s projected figure may actually be understated because this removes the wild card performances of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM). Bank analysts have price targets that are still much higher than current prices and these have a low weighting in the actual share price weighting of the DJIA methodology. For that reason, the 13,678 is based upon 28 components. If we included the target using our methodology with just J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) shares, we would get an expected gain of 12.9% to 13,793; but if we also include the large upside targets to Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), then the DJIA target would be 14,035 for a gain of 14.88%.

There are caveats that have to be considered, particularly for a projected gain of almost 12% in 2012. The first is that analysts as a group are often too bullish, and the second is that this is intended to represent a peak level of 2012 rather than a year-end call. Only one of the 30 DJIA components, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), is trading above its consensus price target from Thomson Reuters due to fresh highs in the stock. Many DJIA stocks closed well under their 52-week highs, but most consensus price targets on the 30 DJIA components would actually hit new 52-week highs in 2012 if the analysts are correct. A solid fourth quarter for U.S. stocks is part of why the analysts are still excited on individual stocks in 2012.

2011 was a very volatile year. The United States lost its prized Triple-A rating by S&P, emerging markets cooled off, the European Union went into meltdown mode, and all the while the big American companies managed to grow earnings, buy back stock at a feverish pace and even managed to grow their dividends. The last quarter for the DJIA was actually up about 12% versus 5.5% for the year. The broader market of the S&P 500 was up 11% in the fourth quarter but managed to close out the year literally 0.04 points lower than a year earlier.

The best of the 30 DJIA stocks was McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) with a gain of about 31%. It rose so much that analysts now only see about 3% upside, based on year-end price target objectives. The three highest price components helped the DJIA gain as follows: International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) rose about 27%, Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) rose almost 20%, and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) rose over 30%. Warren Buffett even bought about $10 billion worth of IBM shares.

There were also many big losers out of the 30 DJIA components. A 58% drop in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) shares made it the worst performer of the 30 DJIA stocks. Other big losers were Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) at -43%, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) at -38%, and even J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was dragged lower by almost 20% as the bank stocks slid. A couple of key components were barely changed. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) managed a small gain of almost 1.4% and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) closed down 1.5%.

The DJIA projection methodology has come within about 1% in each of the past two years. Does it seem too good to be true for 2012? With how sensitive the economy is today, it feels like it may be too good to be true. 2011 was so volatile and the DJIA performance of 5.5% compared to basically a total wash on the S&P 500 performance. Is it fair to question a methodology that worked for the past two years? If the DJIA hits 13,678 in 2012, that would compare to a high of 12,928.50 over the past year.

There are at least some things that could drive such a bullish projection. 2012 is an election year and that has often helped stocks. Will the gridlock of today interrupt 2012? The recession is now two and a half years in the rear-view mirror. The problems at the end of 2011 are likely to act as continued headwinds in 2012. Europe is still on the border of crisis. China is not posting the blazing growth needed to drive mature economies. Many segments of the manufacturing sector have excess capacity and moderate demand. Still, traditional valuations of stocks today are very low by historic standards. Companies are still raising dividends and still repurchasing stocks.

The Dogs of the Dow have a yield of roughly 4% for 2012. The 10-Year Treasury yield closed out 2011 at only 1.87% and the 30-Year Treasury Bond closed out 2011 with a yield of only 2.89%. After a rough glance, it looks like 24 of the 30 DJIA stocks have a higher yield than the 10-Year Treasury Note, and 13 of 30 even outyield the 30-Year Treasury Bond. This sets up a scenario where income-oriented and yield-hungry investors may use the DJIA and other established dividend players as competition for income rather than buying Treasuries.

Will Ben Bernanke’s promise to keep interest rates exceptionally low through mid-2013 hold true? Even if it does hold true, by the end of 2012 that promise will have only six months or so left to it. Are not markets supposed to be price exploration mechanisms for the months and year ahead?

Of the other 30 DJIA stocks, there are some good things to look forward to and some headwinds at the same time. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is trying to turn itself around. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) recently gave a big revenue warning, and that may hold back more interest in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) both made good gains in 2011 despite a patent expiration cliff and less-than-exciting drug pipelines. And Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is entering 2012 after a near 14% gain and is acting like it wants to surge to new multiyear highs.

If the implied gains of almost 12% do somehow manage to come true in 2012, the implied peak target on the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA) would be roughly $136.47, if the performance of the ETF matches the index performance tick for tick.

Returns of holiday online gifts are expect to reach a record. (Reuters)

Venezuela says it will pay Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) only $225 million for its assets in the country, which is only a third of what the U.S. company was awarded in arbitration. (Reuters)

Total will pay Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) $2.3 billion for a stake in its shale oil assets. (Reuters)

Bridgewater Associates says it is still bearish for 2012. (WSJ)

Sarkozy and Merkel will meet ahead of an EU meeting to further to address the region’s debt crisis. (WSJ)

More PC companies to introduce ultrabooks, small computers meant to compete with tablets. (WSJ)

California farmers face an unprecedented drought. (WSJ)

Ohio shuts programs used to dispose of waste water from oil and gas drilling as earthquakes increase. (WJ)

Technology increases the oil yield from Prudhoe Bay. (WSJ)

Italy needs to issue 118 billion euros in the first quarter and Spain to issue 60 billion euros. (WSJ)

A lack of electricity will hurt India’s growth. (WSJ)

Car sales drop significantly in Spain and France, based on figures for December. (WSJ)

Sales of German and French debt this week will indicate the capital market reaction to EU problems. (WSJ)

Fidelity Investments may offer ETFs. (WSJ)

Online gambling could help Facebook, Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). (WSJ)

Consumer debt makes an ongoing rise in consumer spending unlikely. (NYT)

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) locks out workers in Canada because of a contract dispute. (NYT)

BP (NYSE: BP) says that all of the $21 billion it spent for its Gulf clean-up should be paid by Halliburton (NYSE: HAL). (NYT)

Hedge funds make huge bets against the euro as the year ends. (FT)

Junk bond issuance moves higher sharply in the fourth quarter. (FT)

India removes barriers to a number of foreign investments. (FT)

The funding gap for U.S. corporate pensions rises to $450 billion among S&P 500 companies. (FT)

Electric car sales falter as General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) Volt and Nissan’s Leaf sell poorly. (FT)

The world’s largest economies hold$7.6 trillion in debt. (Bloomberg)

U.S. auto dealers post their best year in the past five. (Bloomberg)

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) are in an increasing battle for mobile chips. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) wins a patent case over HTC in the smartphone wars. (Reuters)

Olympus will sell shares to Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Fuji Film to help its battered balance sheet. (Reuters)

A new set of loans to the IMF will be set to help struggling EU nations, but the UK did not contribute to the 150 billion euro fund. (Reuters)

In a sign of worsening trouble for the financial firm, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) shares trade below $5. (Reuters)

LightSquared, Falcone’s wireless company, is nearly out of money. (Reuters)

Sony sold 321,000 PlayStation Vitas in its first two days on sale. (Reuters)

A tax increase in the U.S. for 2012 is more likely as Congress wrangles over a budget. (WSJ)

An ITC ruling against HTC may hurt the efforts of Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android. (WSJ)

Google and KKR (NYSE: KKR) will invest in a new solar venture. (WSJ)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) permission to drill in northern Alaska. (WSJ)

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) says its sales growth has improved. (WSJ)

FBI reports show crime dropped for the fourth straight year. (WSJ)

Spain will try to cut its deficit by more than $21 billion next year. (WSJ)

The number two executive at Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Tom Rutledge, leaves for Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR). (WSJ)

Winn-Dixie is taken private by BI-LO  for $560 million. (WSJ)

The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) may sell 16 local newspapers. (WSJ)

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) has set plans for online coupons. (WSJ)

China may allow its citizens to invest more overseas. (WSJ)

A new UK plan will make banks and investment houses legally different entities by 2019. (NYT)

Japan will buy a new F-35 fighter jet from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). (FT)

The European Central Bank says contagion remains the greatest risk of the EU financial crisis. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

If you add up the past 12 SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA) dividend payments, the DJIA yield has been almost 2.5% over the last year. The good news is that the yield is already higher if you include the hikes that are likely to be announced. The price of the DJIA today should offer what will be closer to a 3% dividend yield in 2012.

The list of the 30 DJIA components is very long, but we have reviewed each and all of the following: Alcoa (NYSE: AA), American Express (NYSE: AXP), AT&T (NYSE: T), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), 3M (NYSE: MMM), Merck & Company (NYSE: MRK), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV), United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), Walmart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and finally Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS).

We have broken out each DJIA component to review the history and expected dividend action individually. While this is a no short read, dividend and income investors better pay close attention here. Value investors should pay attention as well. It is these DJIA components that are often considered as the prize of the sector and many peers are facing the same trends today and tomorrow. Our review focuses on when the last hikes have been seen, when the next dividend hike will come, and what the price and implied upside to the Thomson Reuters consensus price target offers. We also even have shown an expected income payout ratio on each if applicable to further show which companies can boost their payouts ahead.

Alcoa is still hanging its hat on the notion that the aluminum market will double by 2020, so we have to at some point expect the DJIA component to boost its dividends again in the years ahead. Still, the company is trying to accumulate more liquidity and the current climate is a choppy one for metals players. The dividend has been stuck at $0.03 since the first of 2009 and it was $0.17 per quarter before then. Any hikes might only be nominal until the business climate becomes a bit more steady and predictable. The 1.1% is very unimpressive for a DJIA component and we have no great dividend ambitions in the near-term for Alcoa, even if only 10% to 15% of expected 2012 income is slated for payouts. At $10.35, the consensus price target of about $13.25 is well under the 52-week high of $18.47.

American Express has had its dividend steady at $0.18 per quarter since its January 2008 payment and the current yield is only 1.4%. The company’s credit metrics keep improving and its payout is not quite 19% of expected earnings next year. Still, this is a financial stock and it is hard to a financial stock to boost dividends right now. It has no branch bank operations but the climate remains tenuous. At $49.70, the consensus price target is around $55.75 if you trust price targets on financial firms.

AT&T has had four quarters in a row of $0.43 and it has a history of raising its dividend each year. The question that hangs over it is the regulatory block over the T-Mobile buyout and the huge penalty that AT&T will ultimately have to pay out of it cannot clear regulatory hurdles. This is one of the dividend stars with a 5.8% yield but it also pays out more than 70% of its expected income. Another hike is possible, but our take is that the dividend yields are now so high that telecom giants will only ratchet them up slightly. At $29.20, the consensus price target is $31.90.

The State Department will look for a new route for the Keystone pipeline to satisfy opponents. (Reuters)

Private equity firms may take an initial 20% stake in Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and buy the balance later. (Reuters)

Bernanke warns on the dire state of Europe. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will release software to address short battery life in the iPhone 4S. (Reuters)

Facebook is close to a privacy settlement with the FTC. (WSJ)

Without an economic recovery, the Federal Housing Administration will run out of money. (WSJ)

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to sell juice. (WSJ)

Purchases by Walmart (NYSE: WMT) push beef prices higher. (WSJ)

The slowdown in Europe may threaten EU exports. (WSJ)

Libya increases its oil production. (WSJ)

Mario Monti probably will be the next prime minister of Italy. (WSJ)

It may take a long time for the European Financial Stability Facility to raise the trillion dollars plus that it needs. (WSJ)

Shareholders in Olympus want the ousted CEO to return. (WSJ)

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) will buy China-based ERA Mining Machinery. (WSJ)

Viacom (NYSE: VIA) says the advertising market has slowed. (WSJ)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) will be part of a New York State settlement on mortgage foreclosures. (WSJ)

China makes its largest purchase of U.S. cotton in eight years. (WSJ)

Mortgage rates drop below 4%. (WSJ)

Government regulations in China damaged the real estate market in the past few months. (NYT)

Investors use the sale of Italy’s debt as a sign they do not believe in the euro. (NYT)

Regulators will audit more futures firms because of MF Global. (NYT)

Swings in the value of sovereign debt in the eurozone  hurt the power of the ESFS. (FT)

Universal is close to a deal to buy EMI for $1.9 billion. (FT)

The super committee has made little progress on the U.S. deficit. (FT)

Spain’s National Statistics Institute says GDP was flat in Q3. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

After reviewing and filtering all of these research reports, we end up with the top analyst calls of the week.  The top analyst calls of the week were in the following stocks: American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK); Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY); ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C); J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM); Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT); Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL); Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN); Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND); Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI); OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN); SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK); Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO); Vical Inc. (NASDAQ: VICL); and YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW).

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was down on Friday, but earlier in the week it was added to the #1 Strong Buy List at Zacks.  Despite its performance and valuations, we still see this one as a favorable stock for most investment portfolios.

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) saw shares slide this last week but we had an analyst duel.  Wells Fargo raised Annaly to Outperform on Thursday, but Ladenburg Thalmann cut the rating to Neutral from Buy.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) was given a much better upside call against Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) by BMO Capital Markets mid-week, but this call goes against what the consensus analyst group is calling for.  BMO raised ARM to Outperform and simultaneously downgraded Intel to Market Perform in the call.

Banking Sector Alert: On Tuesday afternoon came a bank sector downgrade by S&P Capital IQ, where Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) were both downgraded to “Hold” from “Buy.” On Wednesday morning Credit Suisse actually raised Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) to “Outperform” and it gave a $48 price target.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was one of the few infrastructure players given a positive call by a new round of research calls by Morgan Stanley this last Wednesday.  The firm started Caterpillar with an “Overweight” in a call which was cautious among many infrastructure and farming equipment makers.