The acquisition will result in the formation of a new company to be called (something like) Eaton Global Corp. plc and will be based in Ireland. Alexander Cutler, Eaton’s current CEO and Chairman, will head the new company. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2012, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Current Eaton shareholders will receive one share of the new company’s stock for every share of Eaton they now own. When the deal is completed, Eaton’s current shareholders will own about 73% of the new company. The stock is expected to continue trading on the NYSE under the ‘ETN’ stock symbol.

The combined company will have a market cap of around $25 billion, about the same size as Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) and slightly larger than Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI). Another electrical equipment maker, Parker Hannifin Corp. (NYSE: PH), is about half the size of the combined Eaton-Cooper entity.

Shares of Cooper are up 25% in the first half-hour of trading this morning, at $69.80 in a 52-week range of $41.15-$71.37. Eaton stock is down about -0.6% at $42.13 in a 52-week range of $33.09-$53.23.

Paul Ausick

The short-only equity ETF saw inflows as well this week as the market was soft earlier in the week, but that will obviously ebb and flow as the markets rise and fall.  The top ten short positions are as follows (largest first): Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT); OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN); Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR); Rockwell Collins Inc. (NYSE: COL); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C); Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC); Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI); Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY); and Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI).  Without rounding up or down, these top ten short positions account for only 32% to 33% of the entire ETF’s short positions.

Here is the ETF’s philosophy in a nutshell: “The portfolio management team implements a bottom-up, fundamental, research driven security selection process. In selecting short positions, the Fund seeks to identify securities with low earnings quality or aggressive accounting which may be intended on the part of company management to mask operational deterioration and bolster the reported earnings per share over a short time period. In addition, the portfolio management team seeks to identify earnings driven events that may act as a catalyst to the price decline of a security, such as downwards earnings revisions or reduced forward guidance.”

One thing is nearly certain here.  If investors are looking for an ETF product that bets against high valuations or against what may be market aberrations, they may have found their vehicle.

Now, here is the flip-side of this ETF.  There are two sides to every coin.  If you get into a serious bull situation this can lose incredible amounts of money.  Sometimes it is the most troubled stocks which rally the most, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what likely happens to the price of this ETF in that situation.

The ETF’s Net Expense Ratio is currently 3.29% but the fund noted “The Advisor has contractually agreed to keep the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses from exceeding 1.85% for at least a year from the date of the Prospectus. This agreement is limited to the Fund’s direct operating expenses and, therefore, does not apply to “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.”  The fee breakdown is as follows per the ETF fact sheet:

• Management Fee 1.50%
• Short Interest Expense 1.44%
• Other Expenses 0.22%
• Acquired Fund Fees 0.13%
• Gross Expense Ratio 3.29%

JON C. OGG

Amgen Corporation (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Reiterated Buy with $730 price target at Argus.
Jive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: JIVE) Started as Buy at Citigroup; Started as Neutral at UBS; Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) Cut to Equalweight at Barclays.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank; Reiterated as Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Sanchez Energy Corporation (NYSE: SN) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity; Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
ViroPharma Incorporated (NASDAQ: VPHM) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

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JON C. OGG

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 97 points to 12,720.48 (0.76%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 2 points (-0.06%) to 2,786.70, and the S&P 500 rose a bare 0.07% or less than 1 point to 1,315.37.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Google maintained as ‘buy’ but target price cut to $700 at Canaccord Genuity; Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) reiterated as ‘buy’ with $35 target price at Argus; Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $92 at Argus; and Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo.

Earnings reports since markets closed yesterday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Google is down -8.78% at $583.39; Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is up 2.75% at $26.33; IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is up 4.48% at $188.61; Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is up 1.42% at $7.06; American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) is down -1.94% at $49.96; General Electric is down -0.21% at $19.11; Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB is up 0.74% at $73.40; and Suntrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) is up 4.79% at $21.21.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Insmed Inc. (NASDAQ: INSM) is up nearly 30% at $4.94. The biotech company announced that the FDA has lifted a clinical hold on a lung disease drug.

The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) is up nearly 18% at $3.17. The clothing retailer is rumored to be under consideration for a takeover by two private equity firms.

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is up nearly 14% at $49.25. The general merchandise retailer is thought to be under consideration for a takeover offer from its largest shareholder.

NCI Inc. (NASDAQ: NCIT) is down nearly -32%, after posting a new 52-week low of $7.71 earlier today. The federal contractor will restructure to compensate for loss of contracts.

Cogent Communications Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CCOI) is down nearly -18% at $15.45. The network communications provider is suffering from the shutdown last night of the Megaupload.com website, one of Cogent’s largest customers, by federal authorities.

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

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

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Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Maintained Buy but cut target to $700 at Canaccord Genuity.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
ICICI Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN) Cut to Underperform and named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Cut to Hold at Kaufman; Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $35 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Hold with $24 target at Canaccord Genuity.
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
NCI. Inc. (NASDAQ: NCIT) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.
Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. Co. (NYSE: TNP) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) Cut to Hold at Needham.
Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $92 at Argus.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) Reiterated Buy with $35 price target at Argus.
Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) lowered targets and estimates by Credit Suisse.

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JON C. OGG

After the first hour of trading, Plexus is up more than 13% at $37.64. Volume has already topped the daily average of 312,000 shares traded. The contract electronics manufacturer beat earnings estimates and has forecast higher revenues for the current quarter.

NetScout is up nearly 12% at $19.03. Volume is already higher than the daily average of 280,000 shares traded. The services delivery management company delivered better-than-expected revenues and earnings but lowered its EPS and revenue estimates for the full fiscal year.

Hanwha SolarOne is up nearly 9% at $2.04. Volume is near the average daily volume of 1.02 million shares traded. The solar panel maker is rising on expectations that prices have stabilized and that shipments will rise.

F5 Networks is up more than 11% at $120.89. Volume is already more than double the daily average of about 1.9 million shares traded. The network software maker reported better-than-expected quarterly revenues and earnings.

Johnson Controls is down more than -8% at $32.62. Volume is already nearly double the daily average of 4.7 million shares traded. The auto parts and control systems supplier posted solid earnings, but lowered forecasts.

Paul Ausick

The DJIA jumped above 12,000 in the opening minutes of trading this morning and had topped 12,200 by mid-afternoon. European Union leaders have agreed on a deal that would make up to $1.4 trillion as a bailout fund for troubled European banks, offer a 50% haircut to Greek debt holders, and recapitalize the continent’s banks. Apparent euphoria over the deal in Europe caused investors to miss the weak number on pending home sales. The euro rose to more than $1.42, its highest level in nearly two months, and oil prices were about $3/barrel higher this morning and had gained nearly another dollar by mid-afternoon. The day closed with a few uncertainties still remaining on the agreement announced earlier in Europe.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly more than 340 points to 12,209.23 (2.87%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 88 points (3.32%) to 2,738.63, and the S&P 500 rose 3.43% or more than 42 points to 1,284.54.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) maintained at ‘neutral’ with price target cut from $16 to $14 at Credit Suisse; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup (ahem!); Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) started at ‘outperform’ with a $60 price target at Credit Suisse and maintained at ‘buy’ with a $50 target at Canaccord Genuity; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) cut to ‘market perform’ at FBR; and Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) reiterated at ‘sell’ by Canaccord Genuity.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Proctor & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) up about 0.5%, at $65.25; Colgate Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) up about 1%, at $91.49; Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) up 0.84%, at $81.75; Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) up nearly 11%, at $96.59; Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) up nearly 2.5%, at $48.98; Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) up 2.2%, at $33.32; Bristol Meyers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) up 1.8%, at $33.10; and Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) up 1.5%, at $27.69.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

QuickLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QUIK) is up nearly 25%, at $2.87. The company announced an agreement under which mobile phone maker Kyocera will use QuickLogic chips in new products for the Japanese market.

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYB) is up nearly 28%, at $16.75. The company is set to announce earnings on November 9th, and is glimmering in the glow of a solid earnings report today from Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW).

LDK Solar Co. Inc. (NYSE: LDK) is up more than 21%, at $4.00. Germany has announced another cut to its solar power feed-in tariff at the first of the year, and that could unleash a horde of new projects to take advantage of the current higher tariff rate.

Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is up more than 19%, at $11.74. The company reported an EPS loss yesterday, even though sales were up 24%. Investors must like the revenue report more than they hate the EPS loss.

McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) is down nearly -26%, at $10.85. The engineering and construction company lowered its third-quarter profit and revenue guidance. Analysts were expecting EPS of $0.29 and McDermott is now saying EPS will be just $0.03-$0.05.

Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is down about -18%, at $18.87. The company missed its earnings expectations, but the worse news is that the SEC have begun a formal investigation into bribery charges against the company for actions it took in foreign markets.

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

• 8:30 a.m. – Consumer spending
• 8:30 a.m. – Employment cost index
• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

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Paul Ausick

And presidential boosterism aside, electric vehicles don’t figure much into the picture. The companies that are likely to see some real gains from the new CAFE standards are electronics suppliers, battery makers, and engine companies. These include Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI), Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), Maxwell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MXWL), BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA), and Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON). Electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) shouldn’t expect much of a boost, and big automakers like General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), and Toyota Motor Co. (NYSE: TM) are far more likely to put their engineering efforts into internal combustion engines than into electric cars.

The reasons are simple. First, electric cars are not expected to have a significant impact on sales for a very long time.  A report issued last month by the Boston Consulting Group notes that battery pack costs will drop by nearly two-thirds in 2020 to around $400/kilowatt-hour for a typical 24-kWh battery system, but that still adds $9,600 to the cost of an electric vehicle. Internal combustion engines cost about a third of that.

Second, internal combustion engines have the ability to meet the new CAFE standards using available (or nearly so) technology. The first innovation will be start-stop technology, from which battery makers Johnson Controls and Exide should see significant growth. Another start-stop component will be the ultra-capacitors from Maxwell Technologies, and that company should see a boost as well.

Third, electric vehicles enjoy a substantial lead over internal combustion engines in emissions regulated at the tailpipe. However, if regulators switch to what is called a “wells-to-wheels” measurement, the electric cars see their advantage fall from a range 40%-60% to a range of 30%-50%. That remains a significant difference but the cost difference is too high to expect massive movement away from better internal combustion engines that are, essentially, clean enough.

Other innovations are smaller engines with turbochargers, transmissions with more gears, better cooling systems, and other technical changes that need only to be set up for mass production. This is an industry that could see enormous growth. BorgWarner produces turbochargers, drivetrain components, and emissions systems for auto makers. So does Honeywell. Both should see long-term benefits from the new standards.

While there is not necessarily a loser for every winner, electric vehicles and all of the effort to support an infrastructure for them could slowly bleed to death. There will always be a market for these cars, but the vehicles themselves will not be able to compete with the more fuel-efficient and cheaper internal combustion models.

Paul Ausick

Johnson announced on Monday that it would spend $138.5 million to convert a plant from the manufacture of standard absorbent glass mat (AGM) batteries to the manufacture of start-stop batteries. Johnson said that the global market for start-stop batteries will grow to 35 million units by 2015, up from about 6 million today. By 2020, Johnson expects to see a global market of around 95 million units.

Start-stop technology turns off a car’s engine whenever the car stops and then automatically restarts the car when the driver lets up on the brakes. Standard AGM batteries can’t handle the number of cycles or the accessory load demands of start-stop technology. A vehicle equipped with the technology could cut CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by 5%-12%.

Johnson raised its fiscal 2011 guidance to $38.5 billion in revenues back in January, and then raised guidance again to $39.5 billion in April. That includes a projected hit to revenues of $500 million due to disruption to Japanese automakers as a result of the earthquake and tsunami.

While the company’s price/book ratio is a fairly high 2.48, Johnson’s trailing P/E is 17.48 and its forward P/E is 12.46. The median stock price target is $48/share, and at mid-day shares are trading up about 1.5%, at $40.77, within a 52-week range of $26.07-$42.53.

Johnson seems solidly committed to the start-stop market, and Exide is gearing up as well. Exide projects a start-stop market of about 25 million units globally in 2015. Exide’s trailing P/E is 22.79, while its forward P/E is just 6.43. The company’s price/book ratio is just 1.42 and the median price target is $12/share. The company’s shares are up about 0.7% around noon today, at $7.48, within a 12-month range of $4.12-$12.68.

Another competitor in the start-stop space is Maxwell Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: MXWL), makers of a device known as an ultracapacitor. Earlier this year Maxwell signed a deal with Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) to include Maxwell’s ultracapacitors in Flextronics-designed systems. Maxwell is, perhaps, overvalued, with a negative trailing P/E, a forward P/E of 25.22 and a price/book ratio of 4.41. The company’s median price target is $21/share, about $1.50 above the top of Maxwell’s 52-week range.

Paul Ausick

In alphabetical order of their ticker symbols:  Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY); Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE: BMS); Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF); Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI); Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:  KFT); Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE: LEG); Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL); Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (NYSE: PVH); Rock-Tenn Co. (NYSE: RKT); Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE); and, Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX).

Price to book values range from Xerox’s 1.1 to Johnson Controls’ 2.4.  Even though we identified these companies in searching for attractive price to book values, every one of them offers respectable next-year earnings growth.  Analysts expect next-year earnings expansion ranging from Newell Rubbermaid’s 10.6% to Rock-Tenn’s 39%.  All sport forward PE multiples below 14.   Forward PE’s range from Xerox Corp’s 8.1 to Kraft Foods’ 13.9.

Seven of the eleven companies boast an implied upside price expansion exceeding 20%, based on current share prices versus consensus price targets. Leggett & Platt, Newell Rubbermaid, Xerox and Johnson Controls lead the rest with implied price expansions ranging from more than 27% to close to 31%.  Each of these eleven companies has an average daily trading volume exceeding 750,000 shares. Except where otherwise noted, the source for all performance and financial data is Finviz.com.

Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) has a price to book value near 2.3  to 1.  The company’s market cap is just less than $4 billion giving it a middle-of-the-pack rank among these companies.  Its forward PE is about 10.2.  With a consensus target price of $46.71, the shares have an implied upside exceeding 25%.  Shares of Avery Dennison closed Friday at $37.19, down 1.56%.  The 52-week price range is $30.54 to $43.26.  This outfit that makes labels and other office products recently took a downgrade to “Neutral” at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  It pays a nice dividend with a yield of close to 2.7% and shares were above $60 back in 2007 before the recession.

Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE: BMS) has a price to book value of 1.8  to 1.  The company’s market cap is just less than $3.4 billion.  Its forward PE is near 12.5.  With a consensus target price of $34.89, the shares have an implied upside of 8.6% among the lowest of these companies.  Bemis Company shares closed Friday at $32.11, down 0.43.  The 52-week price range is $25.79 to $33.57. The packaging materials company also has a respectable dividend yield of about 3%, even if Goldman Sachs did downgrade the rating to “Sell” in recent weeks..

Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) boasts a price to book value of 1.4  to 1, ranking it second among these companies.  The company’s market cap is $2.2 billion, the smallest of these companies.  Its forward PE is near 13.2, among the highest on this list.  With a consensus target price of $13.50, the shares have an implied upside 12.5%.  In Friday trading Dean Foods closed at $12.00, down 1.80% for the day.  The 52-week trading range is $7.13 to $13.90.  This milk and dairy producer has been in recovery mode.  It made this screen even after a recovery of more than 75% from the bottom.  In 2007, shares were worth more than $40.00.

Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) has a price to book value of 2.4 to 1, a comparatively high price to book value ratio among these companies.  With a market cap exceeding $26 billion, Johnson Controls is the second largest company ranked here.  Its forward PE is a tad greater than 12.  After robust expansion of earnings for the current year, analysts expect next-year earnings expansion exceeding 34%.  With a consensus target price of $48.50, the shares have an implied upside of 23.8%.  Shares of Johnson Controls closed Friday at $39.17, unchanged.  The 52-week price range is $25.63 to $42.35.  The car parts and systems manufacturer is one of the few which pay a dividend (about 1.6%) and this one has recovered mightily from the recession lows when shares fell to well under $10.00.