The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 21 points to 12,632.91 (-0.16%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 2 points (0.07%) to 2,813.84, and the S&P 500 fell -0.05% or less than 1 point to 1,312.40.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) raised to ‘buy’ at Argus; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $80 at Argus; and Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) raised to ‘hold’ from ‘sell’ with a target price of $59 at Canaccord Genuity.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Anixter Inc. (NYSE: AXE) is down -3.7% at $65.25; ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) is up 1.7% at $28.84; Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE) is down -0.95% at $48.84; Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) is up 1.35% at $39.78; Exxon Mobil is down -1.98% at $83.80; Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) is up 2.2% at $61.64; L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LLL) is up 1.3% at $70.49; McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc. (NYSE: MHP) is down -0.5% at $46.09; Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) is up 5.1% at $31.04 after posting a new 52-week high today of $31.49; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down -0.8% at $21.42; and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is down -0.73% at $24.10.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Vringo Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNG) is up nearly 21% at $1.40. The social media software maker is apparently basking in the glow of the coming IPO of Facebook. See our coverage here.

RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is down nearly -30% at $7.19 after setting a new 52-week low of $7.15 earlier today. The social media software maker is apparently basking in the glow of the coming IPO of Facebook. See our coverage here.

Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) is up more than 8% at $42.61. The payment systems maker is getting a boost from a plan by Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) to subsidize the installation of new card readers that use a microchip rather than a magnetic stripe to store customer information.

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (AMEX: REE) is up more than 17% at $7.22. The rare earth minerals miner is likely gaining after a ruling from the WTO that China’s restriction on rare earth minerals’ exports violates global trade rules.

FriendFinder Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFN) is up about 19% at $1.26. The adult social media company is likely also being bought up on the prospective Facebook IPO.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Automakers will be releasing sales figures for January throughout the day. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 7:30 a.m. – Challenger Job-cut data
• 8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
• 10:00 a.m. – ISM manufacturing index
• 10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

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Paul Ausick

We also want to call out some of the other mergers and acquisitions announced this morning. Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) acquired HIT Entertainment for $680 million. J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) is paying $350 million for the food service coffee and tea business of Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE). Today’s biggest deal has insurance company CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI) paying $3.8 billion for HealthSpring Inc. (NYSE: HS) as the insurance industry keeps on consolidating.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Caterpillar’s shares are up nearly 5%, at $91.66; Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) up about 4.5%, at $44.12; Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO) down less than -0.5%, at $115.16 after missing EPS estimates this morning; Metro Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: METR) down nearly -8% after posting an EPS loss of -$0.41; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) up more than 1.5% in anticipation of the company’s earnings release after the bell today; and Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) up more than 3.6% on expected earnings after today’s markets close.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Adolor Corp. (NASDAQ: ADLR) is up about 132%, at $4.49, on news of its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) for $190 million, or $4.25/share. Adolor’s 52-week trading range is $1.09-$4.53, and the high was set today, anticipating that the company will hit milestones in the acquisition offer that could add up to $35 million to the purchase price.

Sky-mobi Ltd. (NASDAQ: MOBI) is up 42%, at $5.55, on a strategic partnership with SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA). Sky-mobi’s Maopao mobile social network will now be able to offer SINA’s Weibo.com microblog as a downloadable application.

Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYS) is up more than 23%, to $11.25. The company, which makes manufacturing equipment for solar makers, is getting boost from today’s rise in solar stocks.

SXC Health Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: SXCI) is down more than -20%, at $44.98. HealthSpring, which is being acquired by CIGNA, is one of SXC’s biggest customers, accounting for about a third of the company’s sales.

Dataram Corp. (NASDAQ: DRAM) is off more than -10%, at $1.10. Spot prices for dynamic RAM continue to weaken, a trend that caused Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) results to tumble last quarter.

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Paul Ausick

Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) is pulling a rabbit out of its hat.  Cubist was once believed to be a solid acquisition candidate when its share price was much lower, but now the company has come out and announced that it is acquiring Adolor Corporation (NASDAQ: ADLR) for about $190 million in a deal that could rise to $225 million if certain milestones are achieved. Adolor loves the price as the shares are up 129% at $4.40 today.  That is above the $4.25 buyout price, but the possible upside for the milestones is why.

HealthSpring Inc. (NYSE: HS) is being acquired for $3.8 billion by CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) in a $55 buyout offer in close to a 35% premium.  Insurers continue to consolidate.  Elsewhere in healthcare, Coventry Health Care Inc. (NYSE: CVH) was listed as one which could be acquired by Barron’s over the weekend and its shares are up almost 6% at $31.66 in conjunction with healthcare consolidation news and on hopes for more pin action.

Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) is acquiring HIT Entertainment in a $680 million acquisition from Apax Partners and a private equity consortium.  Mattel’s market cap is $9.6 billion.  The deal locks up the Thomas & Friends toys.

Rightnow Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RNOW) is much more well known ”right now” since Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) has announced a buyout of the company.  This $1.5 billion purchase comes to $43.00 per share and the stock hit a new all-time high of $42.92.  RightNow is in cloud-based customer experience software products and services.

Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE: SLE) is a company that has been a rumored (and hoped for) buyout target for longer than one can easily recall in the food sector.  The company is selling off the majority of its food service coffee and tea operations to J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) for about $350 million.  Considering it is a $10.5 billion company by market capitalization, this is no real game-changer.

Elsewhere in M&A news, Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDS) is at a year high of $3.68 and it now has a formal class action suit filed against the merger where Roche is set to pay out $3.70 per share. This was a $10 and higher stock in 2006.

NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) and its Deutsche Bourse merger is still hanging in the wind.  The merger has a hearing in the European Union on October 27 to address some of the concerns brought up by regulators.  At $26.70 today, this is way down from the highs above $41.00 over the last year.

JON C. OGG

24/7 Wall St. has compiled detailed earnings previews for the following companies: Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS); Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA); ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN); Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST); Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT); J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM); Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY); and Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT).

Some of these companies will not really seem on the surface to be sector-movers or market-moving companies, but these have been selected because they are the first ones of their peer groups to be reporting earnings. 

We have created a detailed earnings preview for each with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters and added color in on each for investors to see what exactly is worth consideration this earnings season.  We have also added in recent price history and named where to look for additonal action (or fallout).

Monday, October 10

Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is the first chip equipment player to report for this earnings season.  it has been a few weeks since we have had earnings reports or guidance in the sector so we will be paying close attention since so many companies that are chip equipment customers have talked down their numbers in recent weeks.  Our belief is that expectations are very low for the quarter ahead. Estimates are $0.68 EPS and $311.9 million in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $278.5 million in revenue.  With shares hovering around $30.00 on Friday, the 52-week range is $25.26 to $41.82 and shares were above $36 in early July.  After Novellus reports, we would be watching the following: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC), and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX).

Tuesday, October 11

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) has already talked down aluminum prices and we have already seen slowing demand out of China talked about by many sectors.  Alcoa keeps maintaining that it can double its business by 2020 and we do not expect that to be changed by management even if it guides lower expectations ahead.  Estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.24 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.11 billion in revenue. At $9.80 on Friday, the 52-week range is $8.45 to $19.47 and this one was above $16 at the start of July.  There are many metals stocks to watch, some in aluminum and some in other metals: Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX), Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS); Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU); Titanium Metals Corporation (NYSE: TIE); and Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE).

The top earnings reports due in the coming week are from Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA), Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS), ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN), Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR), Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSE: NG), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), J B Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C), and Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT).

We have added color on each of these reports, along with showing trading data, Thomson Reuters estimates, and more.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) is due to report Monday and acts as the unofficial kick-off for earnings season.  It was one of those top 15 reports to follow for all of the summer earnings trends.  Estimates are $0.34 EPS and $6.32 billion in revenues; estimates for the next report are $0.34 EPS and $6.33 billion in revenues.  Shares are now trading around $16.17 and the 52-week trading range is $9.92 to $18.47.  With sowing in Japan and China, we will be giving Alcoa more or less “a pass” on the last quarter as long as it is not atrocious.  Mainly, investors need to focus on just how much of a bounce in orders are coming right now.  This has been a takeover-rumor stock as well, but we are not going to try to deal with the reality of that possibility. This one also made our value screen for the metals sector on Friday.

Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) reports on Monday and it is usually not a sector mover with its $3.2 billion market cap.  Estimates are $0.76 EPS and $352.3 million in revenues; estimates for the next report are $0.87 EPS and $363 million in revenues.  Shares are now trading around $35.89 and the 52-week trading range is $22.88 to $41.82.  Why we care is that it is the first of the equipment makers for circuits and chips to report, and it is frequent that investors try to look for cause and effect in the rest of tech.

ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) reports on Wednesday and will lead off the telecom and communications equipment makers in its report.  Estimates are $0.53 EPS and $179.4 million in revenues; estimates for the next report are $0.55 EPS and $187.2 million in revenues.  Shares are now trading around $41.98 and the 52-week trading range is $27.55 to $47.60.  Just like Novellus, analysts and traders will possibly look for cause and effect in its peers.  Keep in mind, its market cap is a mere $2.7 billion and these companies in the space are now subject to what we call “good hits and bad misses” in earnings.

Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) reports this coming Wednesday and estimates are $0.37 EPS and $3.02 billion in revenues; estimates for the next report are $0.30 EPS and $2.88 billion in revenues.  Shares are now trading around $36.70 and the 52-week trading range is $29.80 to $42.56. With hotel rates running strong, it is hard to not notice that this stock is right in the middle of its 52-week trading range.

Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSE: NG) is due Wednesday and is more Canadian than U.S., but investors will try to use it as a bogey for the gold mining stocks as it is into exploration for gold, zinc, silver and other minerals.  Its market cap is only $2.3 billion.  As a reminder, Novagold was one of our fresh value hunt stocks as it is among the most sold-off gold stocks.  Estimates are in Canada and not widely followed in America.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) estimates are $0.61 EPS and $2.70 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.84 EPS and $3.03 billion in revenues. Shares are now trading around $55.13 and the 52-week trading range is $38.43 to $57.04.  Yum! is really about China, and many are now using Yum!’s China market comments to try to make determinations about the discretionary spending for China’s consumer spending market.

We have included some color on each if applicable and included Thomson Reuters estimates and price performance metrics.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) is out with earnings Monday after the close, and it is the first DJIA component and the one company that investors, traders, and speculators often try to use as a bogey for determining the strength of earnings season.  At a minimum, the company may be used as a tool to judge how other metals companies are doing. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.27 EPS and $6.30 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.35 EPS and $6.29 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $18.00 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $16.49 about 90-days ago.

Wednesday morning we get to see financial powerhouse JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM).  Jamie Dimon and friends will set the tone of how banking and financial firms are doing and how they see the current environment.  Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $1.16 EPS and $25.6 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.17 EPS and $25.22 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $47.00 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading around $44.00 about 90-days ago.

DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI) is after the close of trading on Wednesday, and this one is sometimes used as a proxy for how Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) and Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) are doing.  That being said, we’ll leave it there for you to decide how tied these are. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates for DragonWave of -$0.16 EPS and $15.14 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.07 EPS and $23.88 million in revenues.  Shares are around $8.37 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $8.06 about 90-days ago.

Thursday morning comes data-security leader Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP). Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.62 EPS and $276.71 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.65 EPS and $293.17 million in revenues.  Shares are around $51.70 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading around $47.00 about 90-days ago.

Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (NYSE: FCS) reports Thursday morning. After the TI-NSM merger, investors will be paying closer attention than before. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.36 EPS and $413.25 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.39 EPS and $422.76 million in revenues.  Shares are around $19.00 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $16.00 about 90-days ago.

Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is due Thursday morning and it is probably safe to assume that investors will of course bet watching Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) on the news ahead of its earnings due Friday… Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.17 EPS and $661.69 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.38 EPS and $842.07 million in revenues.  Shares are around $47.35 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $46.00 about 90-days ago.

SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE: SVU) is no market mover, but it has been cut in half over the last year and remains a giant turnaround stock for many investors.  Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.34 EPS and $8.75 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.32 EPS and $11.35 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $9.33 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $8.91 about 90-days ago before challenging the $7.00 mark thereafter.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) Cut to Neutral and $26 target at BofA/ML.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Raised target to $15 at BofA/ML.
ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) Reiterated Neutral on overvaluations at BNP Paribas.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
EMBRAER (NYSE: ERJ) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
IAC/InterActiveCorp. (NASDAQ: IACI) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Reiterated Outperform and $28 target but raised estimates at Credit Suisse; Reiterated Buy at Argus; Maintained Buy with $27 target at Gleacher & Co.; Maintained Buy at Gabelli & Co.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised target to $48 at BofA/ML.
Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Maintained Buy on weakness at Argus.
Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) Raised target to $38 at BofA/ML.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Reiterated Outperform but Raised target to $189 at Credit Suisse.
Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research (late-Thursday call).
TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: VSEA) Raised to Neutral with $45 target at BofA/ML.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is likely doing all it can to contain the mountain of rumors about the iPad2 with dual cameras and even a CDMA aversion at launch so that it doesn’t have order softness of the first iPad going into Christmas.  So far, sales have not been hindered.  We still want to refer back to the first reaction: Apple is turning its customers into lemmings.

Beckman Coulter Inc. (NYSE: BEC) was much higher after reports that it was up for sale.  We ran the analysis to see what it can fetch in a sale, and some common sense might dictate that the premium Friday was already enough.

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) landed the #1 spot in the Investors Business Daily 100, or IBD 100, this weekend.  It is followed by 2-RVBD, 3-LULU, 4-NFLX, 5-SLW.  F5 was announced to join the S&P 500 during last week and NASDAQ named it as one of the new NASDAQ 100 members to join the index.

General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) was noted over the weekend by Barron’s as “being eligible to join the Russell 3000 Index as soon as Friday, December 17.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (NYSE: GAP) looks done for the holders of stock.  Shares were halted after losing more than half their value and after hitting new multi-year lows under $1.00.  The grocery chain filed for bankruptcy.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) will have to play some damage control.  The guidance was disappointing, but the lack of clarity will erode its credibility with many investors and you already know that this one is heavily shorted.  Shares fell 9.65% to $33.81 on more than 20 million shares.  That is still not as bad as the end of September when the SEC issues first arose and the stock fell to $31.06 from $37.01.

Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) is seeing a slight drop after yesterday’s monumental drop.  Shares are down 0.9% at $37.66.

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) moved again last night after the close and is holding with 6% gains at $1.01 based on continued hopes that the Bank-Mortgage fraud fears will help the insurers recovery lost money.

Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) is only a penny stock but is up after it announced the completion of Phase IIa in a study of aerosolized KL4 surfactant in cystic fibrosis.  Shares were up as much as 20% and now ‘only’ 11% at $0.24 because of the penny increments.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is down 2.3% at $16.76 on active volume in the pre-market after its earnings were deemed to be short.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is soaring after it beat earnings expectations.  Shares are up close to 10% at $598.00 on active trading.  Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is following Google up this morning, and shares are indicated up over 3% at $101.25 in the pre-market.

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) is trading lower so far after earnings; shares are down over 6% at $22.39 on active volume for the stock before the open.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is indicated up after indications are out that the interbank may open up for Greek banks.  Shares were up as much as 6% per ADR here and the stock is now up 4% at $2.35 in the pre-market on active trading.

Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) is soaring on word that an indication of interest has been shown to the company in a possible go-private transaction.  Shares are up nearly 19% at $15.08 on very active trading.  Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) is its key US competitor and its shares are also up 8% at $32.00 in active pre-market trading.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

We have updated the data from Thomson Reuters and we have also added in more color and shown how the stocks have performed into earnings expectations.  There are a few key themes we want you to pay attention to.  First is that many moves have already priced in the news about the past, and it is guidance for Q4 and beyond where investors need their direction.  Another aspect to watch is the rise in commodity prices along with the decline of the dollar and global currency devaluation.  Cost of capital will be key, and the politicos will be watching hiring trends (or lack of hiring trends) for direction.

Rail-giant CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) is set to report earnings after the close of trading on Tuesday.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.04 EPS and $2.66 billion in revenues; Next quarter estimates are $1.00 EPS and $2.62 billion in revenues.  At $58.63, the 52-week trading range is $41.81 to $62.00 and the average analyst price target objective is $66.29.  Its $22 billion market cap gives this one the #3 position by market caps of the North American rail shippers, or #4 if you take BNSF for Berkshire Hathaway inc. (NYSE: BRK-A).

On Tuesday after the close, we will get a report from DJIA component Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.50 EPS and $10.99 billion in revenues; Next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $11.33 billion in revenues.  Intel did already warn on guidance and the move into smartphones and many of the notebooks, tablet-PCs and iPad purchases over traditional PC’s is a part of the trend.  Intel is not as solidly positioned there.  At $19.75 its 52-week trading range is $17.60 to $24.37.  The results given in the warning were considered “good enough” for many even if the stock did hit 52-week lows during the quarter.

Banking giant and DJIA component J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is set to report earnings on Wednesday morning and estimates from Thomson Reuters of $0.88 EPS and $24.48 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.92 EPS and $24.7 billion in revenues (same as Friday). We will of course be watching all bank and broker tickers like BAC, C, WFC, GS, MS and on and on… At $39.80, its 52-week trading range is $35.16 to $48.20 and analysts have an average price target of $52.68.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is the third of the DJIA components set to report this week and the conglomerate reports on Friday morning. At $17.01 its 52-week trading range is $13.75 to $19.70 and analysts have an average target price of $20.23.  Thomson Reuters has estimates for the conglomerate of $0.27 EPS and $37.67 billion in revenues and its next quarter estimates are $0.33 EPS and $40.68 billion in revenues.  It should be a given that the financial operations will be the most scrutinized of all but the recent move of deals will be focused on to see what more there is in the land of M&A in 2010.   Investors may trade the whole market on GE but will be most focused on MMM, UTX, BRK-A, and HON after the report.