We have two homebuilder earnings due from Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) and PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM).  Other key earnings to watch will be from the following: Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX); Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX); CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME); Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW); Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW); Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD); International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP); Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K); MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA); Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK); Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL); Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT); Trimble Navigation Ltd. (NASDAQ: TRMB); Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX); YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW).

We have included Thomson Reuters consensus estimates on each company.  On most we have included pricing data and/or other bits of color for traders to consider.

We have two different homebuilders on deck to report.  Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is expected to post -$0.36 EPS on $211.4 million in sales and we would watch cancellation rates on contracts as well as the quality of the earnings.  Second is PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) with an expected positive earnings of $0.07 EPS on $1.14 billion in sales.  Pulte’s cancellation rates and quality of earnings will also have to be monitored.

Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) will show private equity wealth and earnings in the morning.  The firm is expected to report earnings of $0.38 EPS on revenues of $986.75 million.

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) has been down and out for longer than any current and past holder would like to consider.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.08 EPS on $1.91 billion in sales.

CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME) is expected to report earnings of $3.71 EPS and $754 million in sales before the market opens.  With a possibility of a state-relocation and the ongoing pressure of exchange mergers we would be watching this one.  At roughly $244.50, the 52-week trading range is $224.69 to $317.27.

Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) is expected to turn in earnings of $0.30 EPS on $14.19 billion in sales.  The report is due in the morning.

Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is expected to report earnings of $0.19 EPS on $2.58 billion in sales.  The shares are now up over 60% from the lows of the last year and the stock still remains pressured due to the mortgage insurance overhang that has been in place for quite some time.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) has shocked the market by outperforming despite what appears to be a bad use of effort and capital in the large acquisition.  Still, shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.05 EPS and $2.18 billion in sales. 

International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) is close to being within striking range of a 52-week high and it pays well above a 3% yield today.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.61 EPS and $6.5 billion in sales.

Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) is lagging and actually close to a 52-week low with shares around the $49.50 mark. The estimates are $0.63 on $2.99 billion in sales.  The bar is set very low here.

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) will show just what the interchange fee problems look like, but that is not fully reflected at all in current numbers.  The consensus estimates are $3.92 EPS and $1.73 billion in sales. With shares around $357 some are concerned over valuations here.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is reporting early Thursday morning and the company’s higher dividend hike has shares trading very close to 52-week highs with a price of close to $38.70 andf a 52-week range of $29.47 to $39.43.  Estimates are $0.95 EPS and $12.53 billion in sales. To show just how low growth is the estimates of $3.76 EPS and $48.23 billion in sales for all of 2011 are only expected to be $3.83 EPS on $47.62 billion in sales for all of 2012.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) may or may not release.  With its rival’s disaster, we are not doing much legwork here.  Thomson Reuters has a projection of $0.15 EPS and $1.78 billion in sales.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) is key for hotel investors and this one is expected to post $0.57 EPS on $1.42 billion in sales. Starwood has over $1 billion in cash but is still trading at a high 3.7-times book value.

Trimble Navigation Ltd. (NASDAQ: TRMB) is not so widely watched on its own, but it is used as a barometer reading for Garmin.  Trimble estimates are $0.48 EPS and $419.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) has been in the news with new FDA approvals.  We have Thursday as the tentative date and estimates are $0.73 EPS and $523.66 million in sales.

YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is set to report and it is a puzzlement as to how this stock is still alive.  On a reverse split basis the $12.83 price compares to a 52-week range of $7.94 to somewhere over $1,000.  The consensus is listed as -$6.97 EPS but we have no idea how these targets are composed on this company.

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JON C. OGG

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) Started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Gentiva Health Services Inc. (NASDAQ: GTIV) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) Cut to Neutral at Ticonderoga.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Reiterated Buy with $32 target at BofA/ML; maintained Buy with $38 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann; Maintained Neutral but target raised to $4 from $2 at BofA/ML.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Total SA (NYSE: TOT) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Yandex N. V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Buy at Jefferies.

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Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) Reiterated Buy with $27 target at Argus.
Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) Started as Buy with $42 target at BofA/ML.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Maintained Outperform with $14 target at Credit Suisse.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust.
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) Cut to Hold at Argus.
The Jones Group Inc. (NYSE: JNY) Raised to Buy with $14 target at BofA/ML.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.
Perry Ellis International (NASDAQ: PERY) Raised to Buy with $26 target at BofA/ML.
Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Maintained Outperform but cut target to $64 at Credit Suisse.
SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE: SXC) Started as Outperform with $19 target at Credit Suisse.
VistaPrint NV (NASDAQ: VPRT) Cut to Neutral as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

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Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Cut to Underperform at RBC.
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
BP plc (NYSE: BP) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Market Perform at William Blair.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Reiterated Hold and Cut estimates at Argus.
China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LFC) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Edison International (NYSE: EIX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
Lender Processing Services (NYSE: LPS) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (NYSE: NKA) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

• Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations were in AAP, ADM, COF, CVX, CSCO, CREE, IDTI, ISRG, KGC, NOV, NYX, TEVA, TDW, WYN.

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JON C. OGG

AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM) Reiterated Buy with $33 target at Argus.
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Market Perform at KBW.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) Raised to Buy with $31 target at Argus.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Maintained Buy but cut target to $140 at Argus.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE: PPG) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
StanCorp Financial Group (NYSE: SFG) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.

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JON C. OGG

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (NYSE: CCU) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
E.I. DuPont de Nemours (NYSE: DD) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE: GDI) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) Started as Hold at Stifel Nicolaus; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Cut to Neutral at Robert W. Baird.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Tessera Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRA) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) Started as Overweight with $80 target at Credit Suisse.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

• You can also see the top analyst calls of last week here, which have a much longer-term impact rather than just a day or two. Stocks noted: BAC, BRCD, DNDN, DG, LNKD, HK, POT, RSH, SNDK, SYMC, MCD, TEVA, TA, WMT, and YHOO.

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JON C. OGG

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Reiterated Buy and $12 price target at Gleacher & Co.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM) Started as Outperform with $38 target at Credit Suisse.
Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) Cut to Hold at TD.
NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity; Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray; Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: OWW) Cut to Underweight at Piper Jaffray.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) Cut to Hold at TD.
Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE: SLE) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFLY) Cut to Neutral at Zacks.
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $74 at Argus.

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JON C. OGG

It appeared around Thanksgiving that retail sales in 2010 would improve. The National Retail Federation forecast a 3.3% rise in total retail sales in November and December compared to the same months in 2009. That number excluded e-commerce sales. Several research firms which cover online retail operations set expectations for a 15% improvement in the last two months of 2010. Final sales figures show that each of these projections was fairly accurate.

Some retailers  released disappointing December results, demonstrating that the recovery was uneven. That could cause some companies which added people in 2010 to cut them early this year. The only government agency which added many workers was the US Census Bureau. These jobs were temporary, unfortunately. Most are gone now that the 2010 Census is over.

Much of last year’s major hiring happened in November and December. This may be because of a sharp increase in business confidence. The bill extending tax benefits passed late in 2010 helped this trend. The problems of unemployment and lack of access to capital have not gone away. The recovery is choppy.  The question now is whether the positive momentum will continue through 2011.

It will be telling if the great majority of these people still have their jobs as the year progresses. Here are the 10 single largest job additions by company:

1. Macy’s (NYSE: M)

>Jobs Added: 65,000

The large retail operation added 65,000 jobs in its stores, distribution centers, call centers, and online fulfillment centers. Many of the additions were described as temporary. Total sales for Macy’s increased 4.5% in December to $4.62 billion, but were short of Wall Street’s expectations. That makes it less likely that the company will retain many of the people it hired.

2. UPS (NYSE: UPS)

>Jobs Added: 50,000

The largest air and ground transportation company added 50,000 jobs for the holidays. UPS said that some of the workers might keep their positions after year-end.  The shipping business probably did well during the holidays. UPS and competitor FedEx (NYSE: FDX) each trades near 52-week highs, a sign that Wall St. believe the holidays went well and that this success should continue into 2011.

3. Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS)

>Jobs Added: 40,000

The low-end retail company added 40,000 jobs for the holidays, many of them probably temporary.  “This holiday, we’re pleased to create tens of thousands of jobs across the country to serve our customers during this exciting time of year,” said John Worthington, Kohl’s senior executive vice president, in a press release. Good sales results for the company mean that some of these workers may be retained. Kohl’s December sales were up 5.9%, due in part to its e-commerce success.

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4. JC Penney (NYSE: JCP)

>Jobs Added: 30,000

Another department store company which hoped the holidays would boost its financial performance for the year, JC Penney added 30,000 people. The firm’s December same-store sales were up only 3.3% which may not be enough for most of the new workers to keep their jobs.

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) Started as Sector Perform at RBC.
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo; Cut to Market Perform at KBW; Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research late-Wednesday.
Progress Energy Inc. (NYSE: PGN) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Wednesday call).
Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Wednesday call).
The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Raised to Neutral at Baird.
The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Verisign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

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JON C. OGG

Two new large Paulson positions are potential merger and special situation positions in Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) and in Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC).  Genzyme is a new position at 1.9 million shares and Symantec was new at 5 million shares.  Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is another new position for Paulson, although that was listed as ‘only’ 2,900,000 shares.

The biggest trade changes were seen in Paulson’s financial portfolio, which saw significant cuts.  Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) saw a drop to 424 million shares versus a prior report of more than 505 million shares.  Goldman Sachs Group inc. (NYSE: GS) is another surprise as paulson eliminated the stake versus a report of 1.1 million shares in the prior report.  Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) was listed as 138 million shares, down from 168 million before.  J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was down 2 million shares to 23.7 million shares.  Another 2 million shares of Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) were dropped and the newest Paulson stake is down to 15 million shares.

Paulson recently started a new surge into gold in the last year, so there was a bit of a surprise in some of the holdings there.  AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) was listed as 41,000,000 shares, down from about 43.7 million shares before.  SPDR Gold Trust was kept the same at a whopping 31,500,000 shares, which is now worth over $4 billion.

Several changes were seen in oil companies: Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) was a new position of 13.4 million shares; Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) and ExxoMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) were not listed as positions, down from about 3.3 million shares and 9.2 million shares respectively.

One traded that was a far less excessive than Buffett’s cut was in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), which was 40 million versus 44 million the prior report.  Paulson also trimmed Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) to 1.6 million shares from 2.6 million before.

So how does all of this work out on a gross or net basis?  The changes were large changes, but not really on a net-net basis in the overall funds.  There was actually a very small change to the overall value of the Paulson & Co. fund.  The September 30, 2010 positions came to $22.899+ billion versus the June 30, 2010 portfolio worth some $22.928+ billion.

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JON C. OGG