Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas.

CME Group Icc. (NASDAQ: CME) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) Started as Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Reiterated Buy with $96 target at Argus.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Raised to Neutral at Stern Agee.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $58 at Argus.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Raised to Buy at Caris; David Einhorn did not discuss the issue at the Value Investing Congress on Wednesday; Reiterated Buy with $76 target at Canaccord Genuity.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) Raised to Buy with $55 target at Argus.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) Maintained Outperform but cut 2012/2013 estimates and maintained $8 target at Credit Suisse.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) Raised to Strong Buy at Raymond James.

Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Maintained Buy but removed from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

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JON C. OGG

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) Started as Buy at Maxim Group.

Cepheid, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPHD) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE: EGO) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) Cut to Hold at Needham.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) Started as Neutral at UBS.

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) Started as Neutral at UBS.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Started as Outperform at RBC.

Polycom Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) Cut estimates but maintained Buy at Argus.

SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Cut to Hold at ThinkEquity.

SuperValu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) maintained Neutral but cut target to $6 at Credit Suisse.

United Continental (NYSE: UAL) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Neutral at Citigroup; Started as Perform at Oppenheimer; Started as Hold at Jefferies.

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JON C. OGG

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Cut to Neutral at BTIG.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Eaton Corporation (NYSE: ETN) named the value stock of the day at Zacks.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) Reiterated Neutral at Zacks.

LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Hold at Needham.

Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) Reiterated Outperform with $82 target at Credit Suisse.

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Maintained Hold but raised estimates at Argus.

Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) Raised to Buy at Argus.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Credit Suisse has previewed top banks and noted on Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM): “We look BAC, C and JPM to benefit from improved trading in 1Q.” The firm talked up loan growth and demand and sees attractive valuations with improved profitability and greater capital deployment.

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American International Group (NYSE: AIG) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at BofA/ML.

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) Started as Buy with $9 target at Goldman Sachs.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Reiterated Buy with $104 target at BofA/ML.

Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE: DRQ) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Reiterated Buy with $730 target at Argus.

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) Started as Neutral at Citigroup.

Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF) Raised to Buy at Rochdale Securities.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Started as Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Oriental Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: OFG) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.

Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) Started as Outperform with $190 target at Credit Suisse.

Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) Started as Underweight at Barclays.

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE: PEG) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at Argus.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) Started as Neutral at Citigroup.

URS Corporation (NYSE: URS) Reiterated Underperform with $49 target at BofA/ML.

Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.

Zumiez, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Outperform with $12 target at Credit Suisse.
Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Raised to Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann.
Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Astoria Financial Corporation (NYSE: AF) Cut to UNderweight at JPMorgan.
Aurizon Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AZK) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LTD) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Started as Hold at Argus.
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
WebMD Health Corporation (NASDAQ: WBMD) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
WESCO International (NYSE: WCC) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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JON C. OGG

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale; Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
BP plc (NYSE: BP)Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) Cut to Underperform at Stern Agee.
DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) Started as Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Gafisa S.A. (NYSE: GFA) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
j2 Global Communications (NASDAQ: JCOM) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Reiterated Buy with $19 target at Argus.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL) added to U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) Raised to Outperform at Baird; Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research.
Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA) Raised to Buy at Stern Agee; Raised to Hold at Needham.

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JON C. OGG

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) is up more than 6% before market open to $10.27, relative to a 52-week range of $8.83 – $15.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) is up 5.3% premarket to $11.25, relative to a 52-week range of $9.13 – $15.75.

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) is down 3.8% premarket to $5.02, relative to a 52-week range of $4.46 – $7.70.

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is down 29% premarket to $15.96, relative to a 52-week range of $14.02 – $34.30.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is up 4.6% premarket to $11.73, relative to a 52-week range of $9.92-$18.47. Davenport and Co. upgraded the company to buy, with a price target of $18

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) is up 3% to $27.61, relative to a 52-week range of $26.25-$51.50.

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) is up 3.4% to $39.34, relative to a 52-week range of $27.36-$57.77.

Huntington Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) is up 4.39% before market open to $4.46, relative to a 52-week range of $4.56-$7.70. Shares had  previously dropped 10% from Wednesday.

.

What has happened is that the Countrywide acquisition has turned out to be the ultimate disaster.  The bank is going to potentially have to bring up the remaining Merrill Lynch unit heads to help remedy the situation.  By taking over Countrywide before it would have imploded rather than after it imploded, Bank of America’s hole in the balance sheet is one where nobody can tell you where the end is.

What is obvious is that Countrywide (and Merrill Lynch for that matter) is just the first. Most other indications show that competing banks are going to be sued by AIG as well.  If you recall, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) has effectively been accused of betting against its trading partner clients (and worse) in the mortgage mess.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was active in mortgages as well, but the bank at least had the highest credit quality customer base even at the peak of the mayhem.  Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) is down 4.4% at $31.95, also on securitization fears even though Citi is believed to have less ultimate exposure here.

Some of the other banks which lost handily and still have more leverage than investors seeking safety may face some music today too.  Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) is down around $5.10 after a $5.39 close and Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) is down only 2.5% at $4.97.

The big question is whether or not Brian Moynihan is going to be able to keep his role as CEO.  The mess was not his fault and it was inherited, but the situation here has grown and grown for the worse under his leadership.  If Moynihan does leave, there is still one man who won’t get to run the show: Angelo Mozilo.

At the end of the day, every bank and brokerage firm that sold mortgage products has a real defense against AIG.  If anyone should have known what they were buying, it should have been AIG.  The notion that AIG is taxpayer-owned for the most part does not really matter in that sense of the word.

JON C. OGG

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Market Perform at Wells Fargo; Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $65 at Argus.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Reiterated Buy with $19 target at Argus; Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research.
Medco Health Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Maintained Outperform with $280 target at Credit Suisse.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Maintained Sell at Zacks; Reiterated Buy at Gleacher.
Solazyme, Inc. (NASDAQ: SZYM) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.

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JON C. OGG