The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 76 points to 12,932.01 (-0.59%), the NASDAQ fell more than 11 points (-0.39%) to 2,946.27, and the S&P 500 fell -0.43% or nearly 6 points to 1,363.71.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) maintained as ‘buy’ with a target price of $19 at Argus; Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) maintained ‘outperform’ with a target price of $166 at Credit Suisse; Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) raised to ‘hold’ at Argus; BP plc (NYSE: BP) cut to ‘underweight’ at Barclays; and Synacor Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNC) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) is down up 5.5% at $65.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $66.18 earlier today (more coverage here); Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL) is up 4.1% at $4.04 (more coverage here); OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) is up 10.5% at $4.85; Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) is up 1.4% at $5.11; The Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) is down -4.3% at $4.66 (more coverage here); Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST) is up 18.4% at $12.64; and Pioneer Drilling Co. (NYSE: PDC) is up 5.5% at $8.03.

On Wednesday we are scheduled to get earnings from AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL), Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: DTG), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), and priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) is down -36.8% at $79.50. The fashion accessories company revealed a weak forecast today. More coverage here.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is down -24.6% at $8.81. The drug maker’s earnings were not as strong as expected. More coverage here.

Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (AMEX: AVL) is down -24% at $1.67 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.58 earlier today. The rare earths miner is delaying a feasibility study. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser are giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade report
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 1:00 p.m. – 10-year note auction

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Paul Ausick

AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Reiterated Buy with $145 target at Argus.

BP plc (NYSE: BP) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) Raised to Hold from Sell at Argus.

China Petroleum & Chemical (NYSE: SNP), or Sinopec, named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) Raised to Outperform at R.W. Baird.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) Raised to Buy at Needham.

El Paso Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE: EPB) Started as Outperform with $38 target at Credit Suisse.

Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) maintained Buy with $19 target at Argus.

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE: LPX) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Manulife Financial (NYSE: MFC) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Millennial Media Inc. (NYSE: MM) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Equal-weight at Barclays.

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) maintained Neutral with $57 target at Goldman Sachs.

Synacor Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNC) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) Raised to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Maintained Outperform with $166 target at Credit Suisse.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox.  We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

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JON C. OGG

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 65 points to 13,029.19 (0.5%), the NASDAQ fell more than 7 points (-0.24%) to 3.000.45, and the S&P 500 rose 0.12% or nearly 2 points to 1,378.53.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) cut to ‘sell’ at Credit Agricole; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) started as ‘neutral’ at UBS; Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; and Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) started as ‘overweight’ at Barclays.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is up 1.4% at $19.41 (more coverage here); McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is up 0.7% at $95.90 (more coverage here); Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) is up 1.6% at $76.50 after posting a new 52-week intraday high of $77.09 (more coverage here); Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) is down -0.4% at $34.55; Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) is down -8.1% at $35.38; Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) is up 0.05% at $53.96; Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) is up 11.7% at $30.09 (more coverage here); Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is down -12.2% at $35.55 (more coverage here); KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is down -0.06% at $7.87; American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is up 1.1% at $38.29; Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP) is up 0.8% at $77.08 (more coverage here); Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is flat at $1.16; and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is down -7.8% at $26.61.

We have a preview of next week’s big earnings reports here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is down -8% at $6.19. The coal miner announced another mine closure today, along with a lowered production estimate. Patriot is scheduled to report earnings after markets close today.

Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is down -28.6% at $19.89. The network equipment maker missed earnings expectations. More coverage here.

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) is down -12% at $4.92. The dhip maker missed EPS estimates today and offered a lower-than-expected forecast.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6- month bill auction

Have a great weekend.

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Paul Ausick

The New York Times reports that Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) and the lending arm of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) are offering credit to sub-prime customers and that HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HBC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) “are among those tiptoeing again into subprime lending.”

Consumer advocates suggest that banks are once again preying upon people who are the least sophisticated when it comes to borrowing and who are the most in need of credit though among those most at risk of being able to make repayments. Lenders point out that current deleveraging has opened up the market for new credit. Lenders also note that new credit offers are being more carefully monitored than they were before the financial crisis.

If we are seeing the beginning of a new push to expand credit availability to sub-prime borrowers in the same way that credit exploded before 2008, that is not likely to turn out any better than it did before. But with stagnant wages, still-high unemployment, and a reduction in hours worked, a bit more credit availability could help keep the US economy on its slow-motion growth path.

Paul Ausick

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 6 points to 13,239.06 (0.05%), the NASDAQ rose more than 23 points (0.75%) to 3,078.32, and the S&P 500 rose 0.40% or nearly 6 points to 1,409.75.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) raised to ‘buy’ at Jefferies; Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) raised to ‘outperform’ at BMO; Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) cut to ‘underperform’ at Bernstein; and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Hastings Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: HAST) is down -XX% at $XX; and InterOil Corp. (NYSE: IOC) is down -XX% at $XX. After markets close today Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) and Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) are scheduled to report earnings.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) is down more than 5% at $4.64. The Chinese solar maker lowered estimates for the fourth quarter and issued soft estimates for 2012. More coverage here.

QR Energy Inc. (NYSE: QRE) is up more than 4% at $23.27. The oil & gas upstream company announced an acquisition this morning. More coverage here.

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMPE) is up nearly 42% at $3.80. The drug firm reported good results on new drug to treat macular disease. More coverage here.

Ceres Inc. (NASDAQ: CERE) is up more than 15% at $17.52 after posting a new post-IPO high of $18.70 earlier today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Minneapolis Fed President Naryana Kocherlakota are giving a speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
• 11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction

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Paul Ausick

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) Started as Hold at KeyBanc; Started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Raised to Outperform at BMO.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) Raised to Buy at UBS.

Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.

Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) Started as Equal weight at Barclays.

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ: WYNN) Reiterated Buy and target raised to $140 at Citigroup.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (NYSE: YGE) Started as Equal-weight at Barclays.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox.  We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

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JON C. OGG

Boeing (NYSE: BA) signs a $22.4 billion deal with Lion Air. (Reuters)

Moody’s says it might cut the AAA ratings of the UK and France. (Reuters)

The FTC continues to examine the Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) deal to merge with Medco (NYSE: MHS). (Reuters)

Chinese hackers may have compromised Nortel security for a period that lasted nearly a decade. (WSJ)

Japan’s central bank will buy more assets as its eases monetary policy. (WSJ)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) tests a tablet PC with a smaller screen. (WSJ)

EU leaders still have not approved a deal with Greece. (WSJ)

McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) presses pork suppliers to treat their pigs better. (WSJ)

AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Wireless to sell a 4G version of the iPad. (WSJ)

The Federal Housing Administration will run out of reserves this year. (WSJ)

Institutional Shareholder Services attacks the dual-class stock of Facebook. (WSJ)

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) will begin to sell huge digital presses that cost as much as $2 million. (WSJ)

Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) sets some bonuses that exclude the cost of the purchase of iPhones. (WSJ)

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) and partners will put $4 billion into new copper mines (WSJ)

Teamsters to strike Hostess if it cuts salaries and benefits. (WSJ)

Citic Securities of China applies to underwrite U.S. stocks. (WSJ)

Increases in the purchase of small cap stocks may show investors are willing to take on more risk. (NYT)

Capital One’s (NYSE: COF) deal to buy ING Direct continues to face a slow approval process. (NYT)

Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK) to sell $12 billion in assets as natural gas prices fall. (FT)

India’s inflation hits a 26-month low. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

American Express beat its estimates for the fourth quarter but shares went down from rising loan loss provisions and as its revenues were short of plan.  AmEx managed to grow expenses at a slower rate to help its beat earnings expectations.  The company increased its provision for loan losses with some $409 million.  AmEx serves mostly higher credit customers.

Capital One serves the masses with its credit cards and few branches, but it also managed to have soft earnings as non-interest expenses and its sales and marketing costs rose.  Earnings were down to $0.88 per share, down from $1.52 in the fourth quarter a year earlier and under the consensus analyst estimate of $1.56. Capital One’s non-interest expenses rose to $2.62 billion from $2.09 billion in the year earlier.  Expenses of $2.0 to $2.5 billion are also apparently higher than what many analysts were expecting. It is important to keep in mind that Capital One has two major acquisitions which should close during the first half of this year.

AmEx ended up only losing a couple percent on Friday and its shares are up only marginally with a gain of $0.04 to $50.08; Capital One shares are up $0.16 at $46.19 after closing down about 5.6% on Friday.

JON C. OGG

We have compiled basic earnings previews and shown Thomson Reuters estimates from the following: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT); Bank Of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK); U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB); Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS); American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS); and Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF).

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is set to report earnings on Wednesday morning and the earnings estimates have been coming down more than just marginally ahead of the expected earnings report.  It is no longer expected to have the name “Golden Slacks” attached as a nickname right now.  The current target is $1.24 EPS on $6.54 billion in sales, but the earnings targets were above $2.00 EPS recently and the street expected almost $3.00 just about 90 days ago.

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is set to report earnings on Wednesday morning and the consensus estimate for the trust and custodial bank is expected to rise about 8% to $0.94 EPS.  Bank Of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) is set to report earnings on Wednesday morning and the earnings estimates are $0.53 EPS and $3.75 billion in revenues.  We will be waiting to see if any of the charges to trust and custodial customers taking the cash holdings operations to a cost rather than as an interest bearing account will have made a difference.  That seems to have gone away but it may have just been lost in the shuffle.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is expected to report earnings on Wednesday morning.  The estimates are $0.63 EPS on $4.76 billion in sales.  Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is also due Wednesday morning and estimates are $0.68 EPS and $972.3 million.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) is due on Thursday after the close and earnings estimates are $0.98 EPS and $7.92 billion in sales.  As with the rest of the lenders and credit cards, we expect to hear continued improvements in credit metrics regarding the customer base.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is due to report on Thursday morning.  The most unpopular of the big ‘too big to fail’ money-center banks in America, has a consensus earnings estimate of $0.23 EPS on $24.08 billion in revenues.  This has been the best DJIA stock so far in 2012 even including the last two trading sessions.  It is a bit more than just interesting that earnings estimates have ratcheted higher over the last ten days when estimates elsewhere have been cut so much in banking.  The huge discount to book value is again likely to be less material than in years passed.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is set to report on Thursday morning as well.  Long gone is worrying about the relative book value and long gone is the comparison to Goldman Sachs.  Estimates are for a loss at -$0.57 EPS and $5.57 billion in revenues.

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) is due to report earning on Thursday and this is the credit card bank “for the rest of America.”  The earnings report could be wildly far off of estimates because the bank is in the process of acquisitions which could greatly skew the headline numbers.  A fresh SEC filing showed that monthly data showed a continued improvement in default rates and in late payments in December. The consensus estimate is $1.55 EPS and $4.08 billion in sales.

JON C. OGG

We will be paying extra attention to the money center banks of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC); and then there are the “bankless bank holding companies” of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to consider as rival trading outfits.  Then there is also American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) with much of the same client base as Chase Banks and then the more mainstream Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) to consider as well. On the trust bank side and fiduciary side, there is Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) and State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT).

We have added in color on each group as well as shown trading ranges, implied price targets, and the implied discounts to the stated book values.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is the best of the large diversified money center banks to most investors and it still trades at 0.76-times its stated book value.  The stock is at $36.35, the 52-week range is $27.85 to $48.36, and the consensus analyst price target objective is $46.29. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.91 EPS and $23.05 billion in revenues for the quarter.  Keep in mind that estimates have ticked lower almost each week during the last quarter.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was recently listed as being at well under 0.5-times book value, but the stock has been the top performing DJIA stock.  With shares at $6.87, the 52-week range is $4.92 to $15.31. The consensus target is $9.02.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was recently about 0.52-times stated book value. Shares are trading around $31.27 with a 52-week range of $21.40 to $51.50 and the consensus price target is $41.98.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was recently trading at 1.1-times book value, making Warren Buffett’s favorite bank stock the only of the money center banks not at a discount to its stated book value.  That is partly because the new trading rules and regulations are believed to have the least impact on it out of the money center banks.  Shares are trading around $29.62 with a 52-week range of $22.58 to $34.25 and the consensus price target is $32.37.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) trades at about 0.7-times its stated book value and some now expect a loss when it reports earnings.  At $99.76, the 52-week range is $84.27 to $175.34 and the consensus price target is $128.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) trades at a steep discount even to Goldman Sachs with a price/book ratio of only about 0.52-times stated book.  Shares trade at $17.10 and the 52-week trading range is $11.58 to $31.04.  The consensus price target is currently about $21.80.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) is not at a discount to book value at all at 3.19-times book value because it is classified in such a different manner.  Shares are trading at $48.95, the 52-week range is $41.30 to $53.80, and the consensus price target is $56.63.

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) may not be accurate on book because of the acquisitions and changes there.  It is stated as being 0.75-times its stated book value.  Shares trade at $47.71, the 52-week range is $35.94 to $56.26, and the consensus price target is $56.85.

Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) trades at 0.77-times its stated book value at the custodial and fiduciary bank. Shares are at $21.50, the 52-week range is $17.10 to $32.50, and it has a price target of $25.33.

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is at a premium of 1.08-times its stated book value for the custodial bank.  State Street;s stock is at $43.05, its 52-week range is $29.86 to $50.26, and the consensus price target is $47.36.

Price-to-book and price-to-earnings data provided by Finviz.com, consensus price target (mean target) provided by Thomson Reuters.

Many estimates have been trimmed by analysts of late for the banks and financials.  We still expect modest credit metric improvements in most of the big banks and more importantly expect improvements in customer credit metrics to have improved again.  The difference this quarter is that there should be a tick up in loan demand actually being met by the banks, but don’t expect any huge gains there.

Before you get too excited about the discounts to book value, this may still be more of a ceiling rather than a floor.  Cash may have to be paid out in settlements, carrying cash balances yields literally nothing, and many banking operations remain in a state of muted flux.

Lastly, look for this to impact the wild triple-leverage ETF of the Direxion Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: FAS), but watch the tracking error when the markets are not open.

JON C. OGG