American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Raised to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ: FWLT) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) Reiterated Buy with $50 target at Argus.

Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (NYSE: PLG) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) target raised at Goldman Sachs.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) Reiterated Buy with $14 target at Argus.

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) Raised to Top Pick at Citigroup.

Veolia Environnement S.A. (NYSE: VE) Raised to Buy at Nomura.

Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: WPRT) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

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

Aetna, Inc. (NYSE: AET) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Cut to Hold at Argus.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) Cut to Sell at ThinkEquity.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Cut to Sell at ThinkEquity.
McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Veolia Environnement S.A. (NYSE: VE) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
World Fuel Services Corporation (NYSE: INT) named value stock of the day at Zacks.

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JON C. OGG

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) reiterated Buy with $100 target at Argus.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Maintained Buy but cut target to $90 at Argus.
Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE: GDI) named Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
j2 Global Communications (NASDAQ: JCOM) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) Raised to Outperform and $135 target at Credit Suisse.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) Cut to Sector Perform at CIBC.
Plexus Corporation (NASDAQ: PLXS) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Cut to Sector Perform at Scotia (late-Thursday).
Spectrum Brands Inc. (NYSE: SPB) Started as Outperform with $35 target at Credit Suisse.
Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) Raised to Outperform at Macquarie.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) Raised to Buy at BNP Paribas.
Virgin Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: VMED) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

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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

We have compiled news summaries, added in color, and shown the price moves as needed.  When the DJIA is up 300 points, you have to ask yourself how bad the reactions here would have been if the market was down on the day.  These are today’s pigs in the beauty pageant.

The biggest and worst offender is McDermott International, Inc (NYSE: MDR). Shares are down 31% at $10.09 on the day on exponential trading volume after the company lowered guidance and gave an outlook to 2012.  The engineering and construction company sees only $0.03 to $0.05 EPS rather than $0.29 EPS. Ouch!  The only good news is the quote “it should be made clear that this quarter’s expected results are not indicative of our outlook for the future.”

Some company called Orrstown Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ: ORRF) is the next to worst performer and Orrstown is full of a bunch of ‘Orffing Orrfers’ today as a result. The company runs Orrstown Bank, with 21 banking offices and 2 remote service facilities located in Cumberland, Franklin and Perry Counties, Pennsylvania and Washington County, Maryland.  This is after earnings and no dividend. Shares are down 31% at $9.10 and the new 52-week range is $8.80 to $29.50.

TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TQNT) is supposed to be a winner from the iPhone 4S, isn’t it?  This chip-maker is getting battered and bruised after beating earnings expectation but giving a weak forecast.  This one is down almost 27% at $5.25 and the 52-week range is $4.66 to $15.20.

Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. (NYSE: HGR) is taking it in the chin after earnings last night.  The orthotic and prosthetic patient care center operator is down 19.6% at $17.01 and the 52-week range is $16.33 to $28.47.

AXT Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI) is often overlooked in the field of compound and single element semiconductor substrates for use in wireless communications, lighting display applications, and fiber optic systems.  Short sellers are not overlooking it.  The company’s earnings report from last night has shares down 22.2% at $4.60 and the new 52-week range is $4.31 to $12.23.

Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is still in need of a new Chief Executive Avon Lady. The company posted a 1% drop in earnings but disclosed an SEC probe.  Volume is already approaching 300% above normal and the stock’s drop is down over 18% at $18.79.  The 52-week range has not yet been breached but is $18.17 to $34.87.

NII Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) is the Nextel of Latin America, and this morning it is being called “Nextel Pinche” by its shareholders after what appears to be an awful earnings report with a net loss.  Shares are down a whopping 16.4% at $25.48 and the new 52-week trading range is $25.03 to $46.32. 

Berry Petroleum Company (NYSE: BRY) looked like good earnings on the surface with at $134 million, or $2.42 EPS.  Those earnings were boosted by a non-cash “gain on hedges and a non-cash loss on extinguishment of debt” that boosted the report by $90 million or by $1.63 EPS.  Shares are down 13.7% at $37.25 and the 52-week range is $30.59 to $61.17.

JON C. OGG

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) maintained Buy but cut target to $85 at Argus.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Cut to Neutral at Roth.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) listed as the value stock of the day at Zacks.
McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) called Bear of the Day at Zacks.
NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
NII Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
The Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
SuccessFactors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFSF) Removed from U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Maintained Buy but target to $35 at Argus.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
Zions Bancorp. (NASDAQ: ZION) Cut to Underperform at Stern Agee; Maintained Outperform at Credit Suisse.

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American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Cabela’s, Inc. (NYSE: CAB) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE: CP) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Education Management Corporation (NASDAQ: EDMC) Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Reiterated Buy with $140 target at Argus.
Goldman Sachs Group. Inc. (NYSE: GS) Maintained Outperform but cut estimates by Credit Suisse.
Hatteras Financial Corp (NYSE: HTS) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. (NYSE: IVR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) Called the value stock of the day at Zacks.
Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: LQDT) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Maintained Neutral but raised target to $37 from $25 at BofA/ML.
Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) Maintained Buy with $14 target at Argus.
Toronto Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

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JON C. OGG

24/7 Wall Street has decided to take a look at the biggest companies which will lead in the rebuilding of America’s ailing infrastructure.  A recent report from Infrastructurereportcard.org gave the United States a grade of a “D” and said that the 5-year investment need was $2.2 trillion. What the real tally is may not matter, but America has to rebuild.

In October, Amtrak rolled out a $100+ billion plan to rebuild its network.  President Obama is expected to call for a transportation infrastructure plan in the coming weeks. Finding all of the nation’s infrastructure winners is too long and too daunting of a task. General Electric and many of the nation’s largest diversified companies are all beneficiaries, and some of the key winners are likely to be foreign entities which employ thousands of workers in America.

The companies featured are the ones behind the design, testing, manufacturing, consulting, engineering, and construction of major projects.  We wanted players that will rebuild the water systems, roads, highways, bridges, airports, rail, levees, waterways, utilities, and buildings around the major infrastructure projects ahead.

These are the companies that 24/7 all Street is most focused on for the American infrastructure revival.

1. AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM) offers architecture and engineering design services.   Target markets are transportation, environmental, energy, and it serves projects in key infrastructure areas like highways, airports, bridges, wastewater facilities and power transmission and distribution.  AECOM has a market value of about $3.5 billion and it is expected to have 2011 revenues of close to $8.4 billion. It as 50,000 employees.

2. Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI) is technically Dutch now but is a key infrastructure player with 16,000 employees worldwide that executes more than 600 projects a year with a focus in oil & gas infrastructure, steel plate structures in storage and containment and plant manufacturing.  The company has a market value of more than $3.3 billion and it recently forecast that 2011 revenues are expected to reach $4.3 billion to $4.7 billion.  If America is going to get serious on its energy infrastructure ahead, CB&I stands to greatly win.

3. Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) might sound like an electric utility but it is in engineering and project management services for many industries and many government agencies.  It manufactures major equipment for utilities and industry, power and telecom, heating and air-conditioning, network power, climate technologies, and more.  It also has well over 100,000 employees.  The company has a market value of roughly $44 billion and it just recently gave a forecast of 14% to 17% growth to $24 to $24.5 billion in 2011 revenues.

The list of corporations for 2010 is major and includes companies such as American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG), Prudential plc (NYSE: PUK), AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS), BP plc (NYSE: BP), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ), HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC), Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT), McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Questar Corporation (NYSE: STR), Sunoco Inc. (NYSE: SUN), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) (NASDAQ: VZ), Frontier Communications Corporation (NYSE: FTR), and Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (NYSE: VSH).

This comes to about 15 deals in the spin-off and disposition category that is part of special situation and value investing.  This is also key for dividend investors.  We have outlined the units up for grabs or pending in each company.  We have also tried to look for relative value comparisons and financial comparisons on each where applicable and when possible.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) lost out on its $35.5 billion sale of the its main Asian unit and crown jewel, AIA Group.  If you read reports, it looks as though the secondary bidders behind Prudential plc (NYSE: PUK) were lower than what AIG would accept.  The company has toyed with  spinning assets off, and that looks to be one of the biggest issues today.  If AIG was getting a cash sale of $35.5 billion, who knows where this would come of it was parceled off in an IPO.  It could get a few strong minority shareholders and secure many more today for that growing unit.  What the price tag will be, that is another question and one that is dependent upon the DJIA and the world markets.  The company has little choice to spin the company off and CEO Benmosche is at the point that he’d probably like to offer some proof to taxpayers that he’s ready to start paying back that huge debt owed.  This is not the first sale or divestiture inside AIG, and it won’t be the last.

AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) may be an unlikely spin-off company considering that the industry is consolidating.  The parent of American Airlines said recently that it may revive plans to jettison its regional air-carrier arm of American Eagle.  This is partly in response to criticism over its long-term strategy.  The company has gone as far as putting one of its more senior and well-respected executives in charge of American Eagle.  AMR tried this before and the two companies were not solid enough.  It is also a safe bet that the two may be more intertwined than they would believe just on the surface.  After going through the spin-off candidates out there, this is one to watch.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is not going to be a game-changer, but it is expected to bring in around $4 billion by selling off its stake in Brazilian bank preferred shares and common stock in Itau Unibanco Holding SA.  This is part of the company’s effort to raise additional capital by June 30 and helps BofA meet a capital requirement to lift its common equity level by about $3 billion, via asset sales and holdings sales, as part of a regulatory agreement from when it paid back $45 billion for its bailout.

Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS) has a spin-off or sale coming, maybe.  Barclays Private Equity is expected to be spun out of the bank as soon as this summer.  That will allow its management to raise between €1.5 billion and €2 billion for their next fund, something that is going to be hard to do under the coming financial regulatory changes coming in the U.K. and in the U.S.  Talks have been ongoing and it seems that a management buyout is the likely end game.

BP plc (NYSE: BP) is in the pending-pending category.  Telling you about the Gulf of Mexico woes is not even needed, but the talk over the weekend is that now BP may look to raise as much as $50 billion.  This would be from bank loans, bond sales, and even from asset sales.  BP solar would be one of the world’s largest independent solar companies, and you know that employees now at this unit aren’t feeling as proud of their name as they were about 60 days ago.  BP has toiled with consolidating before, and BP solar is one of the operations some feel could make the grade.  It is still too soon to know if even could get anything sold off.  It is not as if there are not creative enough of attorneys in the United States that know how to try to enjoin assets even after a disposition of those assets.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is probably not a huge shock that it is on the list of spin-offs and unit divestitures.  Recent reports put GE as shopping around its Latin American bank and credit card business called BAC-Credomatic GECF.  Reuters noted that the proposed sale is part of a plan already outlined in April aimed at trimming down financial services as a percentage of the company.  Reuters also sourced about $1.5 billion as a price tag in today’s markets versus about $500 million paid for the near-half stake in BAC-Credomatic in 2005 before then raising the stake to 75%.  Is this one a done deal for sure?  Probably not.  The $170 billion market cap makes this one of a gesture of goodwill on the surface.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ:GENZ) used to have tracking stocks for the Genzyme Biosurgery and Genzyme Molecular Oncology units, and it ended that by acquiring the units in 2003.  But the new recent shareholder value plan shows Genzyme is now considering strategic options for its Genetic testing, Diagnostic products, and for its pharmaceutical intermediates operations.  The company said the consideration involves a sale, a spin-off or even a management buyout. The company said that it has already selected some possible partners for the units and that it has even received some initial inquiries.  The company also contacted Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse for assistance.  With a $14 billion market cap, and a $2 billion share buyback plan ($1 billion just accelerated now), this could greatly change the focus of Genzyme in a more narrow manner.

HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) has announced that it was in talks in recent weeks to sell off its private equity fund management businesses in England, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada and elsewhere. This sale appears to be similar to Barclays as being management buyouts.  After looking around for figures, the private-equity businesses under consideration have close to $8.8 billion in funds under management, but the kicker is that about 20% of the assets are HSBC’s.  Predicting a sale price here at this juncture may be far too soon, but there is now way it could be sold for under 1% of assets under management and probably not more than 10% of assets under management.

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) has already begun to brace for different forms of military spending in the future.  The company has begun to reshape its portfolio to  drive its longer-term performance.  Up for grabs are most of the Enterprise Integration Group and also Pacific Architects and Engineers, which are both under its Information Systems & Global Services operations today.  EIG provides independent systems engineering and integration products and services and the PAE unit is in mission readiness, global infrastructure support, and in disaster relief activities; the two units are said to comprise only about 3% total revenue and less than 3% of operating profits.  With close to a $30 billion market cap, straight-line accounting would put this being close to $1 billion on the market at current prices.

McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) has been given a tax-free spin-off status under IRS ruling for its Babcock & Wilcox Company, its power generations systems unit and government operations.  McDermott and B&W are continuing to work to satisfy all the conditions to the spin-off transaction, including obtaining applicable governmental approvals, and the company expects the spin-off to be completed in the third quarter of this calendar.  The engineering and construction company said in May that spin-off costs ended up taking a bite out of earnings, but a 21% revenue decline worked its magic too.  The company is also set to spin out the J. Ray McDermott S.A. unit into another independent and publicly traded company.  Due to sector issues and due to a $5.6 billion market cap, McDermott is probably not one to ignore.

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) has restructured literally for almost the entire time I have covered equities.  The mobile communications technology giant is about to be much different after its cell phone spin-off comes.  Unfortunately, that is not expected until 2011.  As disappointment as lingered here forever, it is probably safe to assume that Hello-Moto could always yell “Do-Over!” and change its mind.  Motorola recruited Sanjay Jha in 2008 as the turnaround man by making him co-CEO and the head of mobile phone and cable set-top box operations.  If this sounds familiar, it should.  The first spin-off (or sale) was expected in 2008 but things in the markets caused that spin-off to get delayed.

Questar Corporation (NYSE: STR) recently announced that its board of directors approved and set the record and distribution dates for its tax-free spin-off of its natural gas and oil exploration and production and midstream field services businesses to shareholders on June 30, 2010 to Questar shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 18, 2010. Questar’s shareholders will receive one share of QEP common stock for each share of Questar common stock held as of the record date, and this includes fractional shares. With an $8.7 billion market cap, the Questar deal is oe to watch.  In the spin-off are:

• QEP Energy Company, formerly Questar Exploration and Production, a diversified natural gas and oil-exploration, development and production company;
• QEP Field Services Company, formerly Questar Gas Management, a midstream field services company that gathers and processes natural gas in the Rocky Mountain region and northwest Louisiana;
• and QEP Marketing Company, formerly Questar Energy Trading, which markets natural gas and oil on behalf of QEP Energy Company and others and operates a natural gas storage facility in western Wyoming.

Sunoco Inc. (NYSE: SUN) is going to separate its coke business to unlock shareholder value. The company also said it anticipates its refining segment to report a profit for the quarter ending June 30, so things at the core business may be improving.  With the woes of refining margins seen at competitors like Valero, a focus here may not be such a surprise.  The $4 billion market cap might not be changed drastically here, but a recent upgrade to “Overweight” by Barclays with a $45 per share price target make it less surprising that Sunoco is close to 52-week highs while refining stocks are generally lower.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) (NASDAQ: VZ) has established a record date of June 7, 2010 for the proposed spin-off of shares of subsidiary New Communications Holdings Inc. to Verizon stock holders.  This spin-off and the merger of New Communications with Frontier Communications Corporation (NYSE: FTR) is expected to occur on July 1, 2010, at last look and is subject to closing conditions in the merger agreement(s) among Verizon, Frontier and New Communications.  Immediately after the completion of the merger, Verizon holders will own between about 66% and 71% of the shares of Frontier common stock; and Frontier’s common holders will collectively own 29% to 34% before accounting for the elimination of fractional shares.  Verizon common holders will not be required to pay for any shares of Frontier common stock that they receive and will also retain all of their shares of Verizon common stock.  Verizon has spun-off Idearc and the biggest change that could ever come down the road is that Vodafone plc (NYSE: VOD) relationship over Verizon Wireless.

Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (NYSE: VSH) has six major business lines: Automotive, Computer, Consumer, Industrial, Medical, and Telecom.  Last week the company said it has set tentative spin-off dates for Vishay Precision Group Inc., its measurements and foil resistor business, of July 6, 2010.  This is subject to satisfaction of all conditions and will give stockholders one share of the new company for every 14 of Vishay Intertechnology shares owned.  Vishay Precision shares will trade under the stock ticker “VPG” on the NYSE.  As it stands today it seems that Vishay has over 22,000 employees, and Vishay has a market cap of only $1.64 billion as of Friday.

Asset sales, spin-offs, divestitures, distributions and more are all part of corporate strategies.  This also becomes the “special situation” category of investing.  If units can enhance shareholder value more by being sold or by being put on their own, hen that is the job of management to decide.  But these also are brought up often after pressure from activist shareholders.  These also often create many more shareholder opportunities in either the old parent company or in the spin-co.  Stay tuned.

JON C. OGG

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Reuters:   Dodd is set to unveil his financial reform bill which calls for merging many bank regulators.

Reuters:   Kraft’s (NYSE:KFT) bid for Cadbury turned hostile.

Reuters:   A survey of economists predicted strong GDP growth in 2010.

Reuters:   The Fed says that 9 out of 10 of the largest banks that needed to raise capital have done so.

Reuters:   The EC objected to the Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) deal to buy Sun (NASDAQ:JAVA).

Reuters:   Energy construction companies reported diverging results with Flour (NYSE:FLR) doing poorly and McDermott (NYSE:MDR) doing well.

Reuters:   The Activition (NADAQ:ATVI) “Call to Duty” video game is expected to have a huge debut.

Reuters:   Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) will close an R&D facility and lay off more people.

WSJ:   Investors are putting more money into commodities and junk bonds.

WSJ:   Barclays (NYSE:BCS) was hit with an impairment charge.

WSJ:   Congress is considering a bill to limit the size and scope of some of the largest banks.

WSJ:   Buffett will sell his stake in Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NCS) now that he is buying Burlington Northern (NYSE:BNI).

WSJ:   Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) will buy mobile ad company AdMob.

WSJ:   New data show that few banks are tightening credit.

WSJ:   Sprint (NYSE:S) will cut 2,500 jobs.

WSJ:   Google (NYSE:GOOG) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) are deepening their ties to fight Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and AT&T (NYSE:T).

WSJ:   EA (NASDAQ:EA) will cut 17% of its staff and buy online game company Playfish.

WSJ:   Big pay bonuses at banks could help the New York economy.

WSJ:   China’s economy could be hurt by a credit crisis.

WSJ:   A World Bank chief is against letting the yuan rise.

WSJ:   Sony (NYSE:SNE) will break ranks with studios by allowing early rental of one of its films over the internet.

WSJ:   Rising demand in China and Brazil is helping BMW and Mercedes.

NYT   Even good customers are seeing credit card interest rates rise as banks try to make money on consumers.

NYT:   Fuel from dismantled nuclear bombs including some from Russia provide about 10% of American electricity.

NYT:   Renault-Nissan plan to release a low-cost car in India.

NYT:   Obama said he will raise the yaun issue with China.

FT:  Banks around the world are facing $7 trillion in short-term funding that will expire in the next three years.

FT:   Murdoch of News Corp (NYSE:NWS) says he will sue the BBC and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) over copyright.

Douglas A. McIntyre