Of the top brands, the following came in after Apple:

2. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM)

3. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)

4. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD)

5. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

6. Coca-Cola Corporation (NYSE: KO)

7. Marlboro of Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO)

8. AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T)

9. Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ)

10. China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL)

11. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE)

The ‘Top Riser” from 2011 to 2012 was Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) with a 74% rise

The full Millward Brown study on these brands gets broken down into segments such as industry, brand growth, geographic, and sectors.

JON C. OGG

The fall-off of Facebook shares can be traced to a number of things — whether or not they are legitimate. The first is that a some traders believe Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Facebook decided, at the last minute, to flood the market with stock to raise more money for the social network. There is a rumor that Morgan Stanley cut Facebook revenue forecasts right before the IPO. Major trading issues in the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) system, which delayed orders and rattled investors, might have been another cause. Two days before the IPO, General Motors (NYSE: GM) pulled its ads from Facebook. That seemed to be a bit of revenge, although no one can figure out why. And, perhaps most damaging, analysts attacked Facebook’s inability to make money on its mobile presence, which raised the question of its long-term viability as a growth company.

Zynga faced none of these problems. Its only trouble was being tethered to Facebook because it gets so much revenue from the social network. Facebook’s mobile strategy eventually could effect Zynga, but the balance of the long list of reasons Facebook shares declined really do not apply to the game firm. Zynga‘s shares may have fallen consistently since mid-April, but Wall St. had begun to warm to the company after its recent, better-than-expected earnings. Citigroup (NYSE: C) started coverage of the game firm with a “buy” and a $12 price target.

The Zynga share drop is no different from the reaction traders have when they sell Ford (NYSE: F) because of poor GM earnings, or drop Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) when McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) announces poor earnings. As often as not, two companies in a related sector have very different financial results, for good reasons most of the time. GM has strong sales in China; Ford does not. Yum!’s operations in the U.S. do poorly; America is a stronghold for McDonald’s. Pairings like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT) or Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) are often not pairs at all. If they really were parallel in almost every way, management skills would make no difference to results.

Zynga and Facebook may trade as a pair, but they are not one.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The U.S. allows China to buy treasuries directly without banker assistance. (Reuters)

MF Global paid Jon Corzine $8 million in the year before it collapsed. (Reuters)

The new BrandZ annual study of brand values puts Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in the top position, followed by McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). (Reuters)

Trading losses at JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) help competitors make money. (Reuters)

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) will share Wi-Fi systems to give customers more access to wireless broadband. (WSJ)

Many traders blame Morgan Stanley for overpricing Facebook shares. (WSJ)

France and Germany remain in a battle over the future of austerity in the region. (WSJ)

Facebook’s largest hurdle with investors remains its mobile strategy. (WSJ)

The European Union gives Google little time to answer charges about its business practices, which include privacy matters. (WSJ)

Formula One Group will go public on the Singapore Stock Exchange to raise $2.5 billion. (WSJ)

Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) shares are hurt by the drop in Facebook’s stock. (WSJ)

JP Morgan will kill is share buybacks because of trading losses. (NYT)

Eastman Kodak loses its patent case against Apple and Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM). (NYT)

France will press its neighbors to create eurozone-wide bonds. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 63 points to 12,632.08 (-0.50%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 9 points (-0.30%) to 2,893.76, and the S&P 500 fell -0.57% or nearly 8 points to 1,330.66.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) cut to ‘hold’ at Needham; Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) raised to ‘buy’ at Argus; McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) cut to ‘neutral’ at Cowen; and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) started as ‘buy’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) is up 5.5% at $5.79; Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is up XX% at $XX; A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is up 4.5% at $40.63; Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT) is down -10.6% at $37.84; Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is up 6.8% at $50.45 after posting a new 52-week high of $51.65 earlier today; Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) is down -0.5% at $10.00; TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) is up 7.1% at $42.50; Valspar Corp. (NYSE: VAL) is down -6.7% at $46.45, and The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) is down -2.6% at $48.61 (more coverage here).

On Wednesday we are scheduled to get earnings from 8×8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Facebook Inc. (soon to be NASDAQ: FB) raised its IPO price range from from $28-$35 to $34-$38. It is possible the world will regain its balance following the company’s IPO, expected for Friday. But maybe not.

Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is down -18.8% at $3.92 after posting a new 52-week low of $3.91 earlier today. The coal miner lowered shipment and price expectations this morning. More coverage here.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is up 1.7% at $36.39. CEO Jamie Dimon dodged a bullet at today’s shareholder meeting and kept both his jobs.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 2:00 p.m. – FOMC minutes released

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Paul Ausick

AAR Corporation (NYSE: AIR) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Raised to Buy at Janney Capital.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Cut to Hold at Needham.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) Raised to Buy at Argus.

Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup; Raised to Buy at Stern Agee.

Infoblox Inc. (NYSE: BLOX) Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Overweight at Stephens; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Started as Outperform at William Blair.

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Cut to Neutral at Cowen.

Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc. (NYSE: PRX) named value stock of the day at Zacks.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) Started as Buy at Citigroup.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) Cut to Hold at Argus.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) Raised to Equalweight at Morgan Stanley.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Total SA (NYSE: TOT) Raised to Buy at UBS.

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

People are going to buy Coke and Pepsi, most likely, in almost any economy.  Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is actually up 0.6% at $67.23 against a 52-week high of $71.89; Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is down 0.6% at $76.95 against a 52-week high of $77.82.  With yields of about 3% on average, these pay about the same as the 30-Year Treasury’s long-bond.  The beer segment remains uncorrelated to defensive stocks as it did last week (in part due to currencies): Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE: BUD) is down by 0.7% at $71.43 and Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP) is down 1.2% at $40.81.  Even the best water utility in America via American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is down another 1% $33.99 against a 52-week and all-time high of $34.89.

Food is supposed to be defensive.  You gotta eat, right?  McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is down almost 0.4% at $91.55 and getting further and further away from that $102.22 all-time high recently seen.  The rest of the defensive food segment is up to mixed as food is defensive and with dividends:

• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is up 0.4% at $39.20 with a 3% yield that challenges the long-bond;
• ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is down 0.2% at $25.67 with a 3.7% yield that beats the long-bond;
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is up 0.25% at $34.49 with a 3.4% yield that beats the long-bond;
• Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) is down only 0.1% at $29.08 but its 2.1% yield is ‘only’ paying what the 10-year has been paying recently.

Smoking has those nice 5%-plus yields for the defensive tobacco sector: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is down only 0.1% at $31.75 against a 52-week high of $32.62; Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE: VGR) is down 0.5% at $16.73; and Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is down only 0.2% at $40.41 against a high of $42.81.

Diapers, toothpaste, deodorant, and shaving… consumer products are acting defensive: Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is down only 0.3% at $63.50 with a 3.5% yield; Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) is up by 0.3% at $79.62 with a 3.7% yield; Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is down 0.1% at $99.20 but it only pays about 2.5% for a dividend yield.

Drug and medical is mixed to positive: Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is up by over 0.8% at $38.35 with its 4.4% yield; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down only $0.01 at $22.64 with its 3.9% yield; and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is down 0.5% at $64.00 with its 3.8% yield.

Those smartphones and telephones are not acting defensive at all today with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) down 0.9% at $40.80 with its 5% yield and with AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) down 0.7% at $33.36 with a 5.4% yield.

Some investors are willing to suffer from the near-zero return of Treasuries, while others are going to try to look for the safest of stocks to seek safe and steady dividends.  The DJIA is down 0.7% and the S&P 500 was down 0.6% at last look.  Both are actually much better than what we were looking at just two hours or so ago.

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JON C. OGG

Read: America’s Hottest Brands

Generally, most brand analysis done by the business press is biased toward dollar valuations and contributions to corporate earnings. Obviously, financial success is one factor that demonstrates how well a brand is regarded by consumers. But brand valuation is a financial view, and not one that relies entirely on consumer perception. Based on analysis performed by brand expert company CoreBrand, 24/7 Wall St. wanted to see brands through the eyes of the consumer. For this reason, Corebrand examined brands from the standpoint of favorability and familiarity.

One of the most notable results of the analysis is the high ranking of brands not normally present on most highly valued brands list. When they are evaluated through the consumers’ eyes, however, brands that belong to companies that are struggling financially can still be high on a consumer-perception weighted list. These brands, naturally, are used by a large number of people. More than that, the consumer interaction with the product and services associated with the brand is positive.

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Avon (NYSE: AVP) would not appear high on most brand valuations lists. The two have struggled too much as companies and in the stock market to be high on any business-weighted brand list. They are, however, at the top of the list of brands with high favorability and familiarity. The Avon lady and Dell laptops still carry weight with consumers.

Financial success does not exclude consumer success; they usually go together. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Ford (NYSE: F) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) do extremely well according to CoreBrand’s ranking. Each of these corporations has posted large profits over the past few years. Their shareholders have also done well. The products and services from the companies have boosted sales fairly consistently.

24/7 Wall St. examined the “hottest” brands list from independent brand valuation firm CoreBrand. CoreBrand looked at the largest brands where both favorability and familiarity increased, measured by overall reputation, perception of management and investment potential. 24/7 Wall St. then ranked the six brands with the greatest increases in favorability from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011.

These are America’s hottest brands.

Disney has net profits of $1.14 billion, up 21% from the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose 6% to $9.63 billion. The largest improvement among Disney divisions was in its Parks and Resorts operation. Revenue rose 10% to $2.9 billion. Segment profit was up 53% to $222 million.

The results of the theme park division were overshadowed by Disney’s Media Networks, which had $4.69 billion in revenue and $1.73 billion in segment profit. But Disney said this was driven by advertising revenue — a barometer that shows consumer goods and electronics companies feel confident about demand.

Theme part sales may be the single best measure of the willingness of consumers to lay out money they did not have a year ago. A visit to a Disney theme park usually involved air travel, a hotel stay, relatively expensive tickets and several days worth of food. Disney said as much:

Increased guest spending reflected higher average ticket prices, daily hotel room rates and food, beverage and merchandise spending.

Economists often look to car purchases and same-store sales at McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) to gauge the consumer’s mood. Somewhere between $1 hamburgers and $25,000 vehicles is the cost of visiting a theme park. Cars and hamburgers are selling well. Tickets are too.

Douglas A. McIntyre

After the weakness in the broad market has the DJIA down 140 points (or -1.1%) and the S&P 500 Index down 15 points or 1.1%, it turns out that most of the defensive stock sector leaders are holding up far better than the broad market in our go-to defensive stock portfolio.  We have taken a look at each of these with share price snapshots right before Noon EST.

No matter what, you gotta drink!  Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is down 0.5% at $66.28 against a 52-week high of $71.89; Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is down 0.4% at $76.97 against a 52-week high of $77.82.  With yields of about 3% on average, these are now challenging the 30-Year Treasury yields.  The beer segment is not acting defensive as it should, perhaps because they are foreign issues now with more currency risks: Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE: BUD) and Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP) are not acting very defensive with price corrections of 3% and 2$ respectively.

Perhaps the most defensive you can get is water, and the top water utility is American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) with a premium valuation.  This water leader is down 0.8% at $33.73 against a 52-week and all-time high of $34.89.

Food is supposed to be defensive, although a drop of 1.5% in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) to $94.10 is causing some added stress in what was the darling of the DJIA in 2011.  The rest of the defensive food segment seems to be less damaged when you evaluate the moves: Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is down only 0.4% at $39.11; ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is down 0.7% at $25.52; Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is down only 0.3% at $33.97; and Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) is down only 1 penny at $28.92 as the world is getting excited about Spam again.

Smoking is defensive again and the tobacco stocks are holding up much better than the broad market with those 5% and higher dividends: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is down only $0.3% at $32.10 against a 52-week high of $32.62; Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE: VGR) is down only 0.2% at $16.88; and Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is down only 0.2% at $40.18 against a high of $42.81.

Shaving, diapers, toilet paper, and other consumer products are acting defensive with some gains on a weak day.  Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is trading up $0.11 at $64.36 and Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) is up $0.08 at $79.08 with KMB challenging the 52-week high.  Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is down ‘only’ 0.5% at $99.10 against a 52-week high of $100.81.

Drug and medical is holding up on the consumer end with losses look far less than the broader market: Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is down 0.35% at $38.40; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down 0.3% at $22.38; and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is down the least with a drop of 0.2% at $64.65 against a 52-week high of $68.05.

Those smartphones and telephones are somewhat defensive, and those 5%-plus yields sure shield investors who are worried about chasing the hottest growth stocks.  Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is down only 1-penny at $40.52 with a 5% dividend yield and AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) is actually up 0.2% at $33.08 with a yield of about 5.4%.

When investors want safety and when the Treasury yield is so low on the longer-term Treasury market, many investors turn to the safety of the higher dividends and safer stocks that are defensive.  Greece and the rest of PIIGS may fall again, but the logic is that U.S. consumers still have to eat, drink, shave, put on deodorant, and tend to stick with their core vices as best as they can.

JON C. OGG

Competitors McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) have already reported quarterly results, with Yum and Chipotle Mexican Grill raising their outlooks rather than lowering them. Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), which reports later this month, is expected to post higher profit on slightly lower sales.

Wendy’s saw its margins drop from 13.4% a year ago to 11.8% this year, “due primarily to the impact from higher commodity costs — especially for fresh beef — and the impact from unfavorable product mix.” Commodity costs are what they are, and every restaurant faces the same issue, but having the wrong products is a management issue.

The company plans to fix that by remodeling its stores:

We are allocating substantial resources toward restaurant development, marketing, product innovation and customer service initiatives that we believe will ultimately accelerate sales growth, enhance the quality of our store base and grow our worldwide presence over time.

The key word there is “ultimately.” Will investors give the company the time it will need to make all those changes? And will the changes actually deliver on the promises?

The company closed a net 13 stores in the first quarter, bringing its worldwide total of locations to 6,581, only 354 of which are outside North America. Wendy’s also said that it “continues to target more than 8,000 locations outside North America.” The question is whether or not the company waited too long to look for growth overseas.

In the pre-market this morning, Wendy’s shares are down about -2.5% at $4.75 in a 52-week range of $4.29-$5.62.

Paul Ausick