The U.S. dollar index is higher today, now up 0.11% at 81.300. The GSCI commodity index is up 1.2% today at 675.03, with commodities prices mixed and corn rising to $8.00/bushel again. WTI crude oil closed down 1.2% today, at $95.30/barrel. Brent crude trades down 1.5% at $114.10/barrel. Natural gas is up 2% today to $2.855/thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,696.00/ounce, up 0.5% today, and the highest close in more than 5 months.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 55 points to 13,035.86 (-0.42%), the NASDAQ rose more than 8 points (0.26%) to 3,075.06, and the S&P 500 fell -0.12% or nearly 2 points to 1,404.94.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank; GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) raised to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) raised to ‘overweight’ with a target price of $240 at Barclays; and ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies.

Some companies that reported earnings since markets closed last Friday and have recent share price changes today include Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB)is down 0.1% at $35.10 after posting a new 52-week high of $36.28 earlier today (our coverage here) and Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) is up 3.2% at $19.93 (our coverage here). Hanwha Solarone Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: HSOL) was scheduled to announce earnings today, but postponed the release until next Tuesday.

Earnings releases scheduled before markets open on Wednesday morning include Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN), Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR), Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY), and Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE: MRX) is up 38.3% at $43.65 after posting a new 52-week high of $43.70 earlier today. The specialty drugmaker has agreed to be acquired Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) for $2.6 billion in a deal that was announced yesterday. More coverage here.

Heckmann Corp. (NYSE: HEK) is up 42.2% at $3.83. The water and waste-water services provider to shale oil & gas producers will acquire privately-held Power Fuels for $381 million, doubling the company’s revenue stream and adding immediately to EPS.

Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR) is up 9.6% at $47.62. The biopharmaceutical maker has been told by the federal government that it may be able to reduce the Medicaid rebate it currently pays by 77%.

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

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:30 a.m. – Productivity and costs
• 11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auctions

Paul Ausick

Here are Tuesday’s market winners and loser.

Biggest Winners

Shares of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE: MRX) are up 37.90% to $43.52 on trading volume of 19.4 million shares. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) has agreed to buy Medicis for $2.6 billion. Before Tuesday, the 52-week high was $40.10.

Shares of Heckmann Corp. (NYSE: HEK) are up 20.45% to $3.24 on trading volume of 5.7 million shares. The company announced its intentions to buy Power Fuels for $380.5 million in cash, debt and stock. The 52-week high is $7.05.

Biggest Loser

Shares of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) are down 10.92% to $53.20 on trading volume of 4.1 million shares. Rival Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has signed a content deal to add EPIX movies to Prime streaming. The 52-week low is $52.81.

Samuel Weigley

Follow him on Twitter: SWeigley

The terms of the deal call for $44.00 per share of Medicis in an all cash transaction. This transaction values Medicis at roughly $2.6 billion, and it has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Today’s merger is a 39% premium being paid for Medicis after its closing price of $31.56 on Friday. Medicis has traded in a 52-week trading range of $29.76 to $40.10. Medicis has been public nearly 20 years and this gets the stock near an all-time high.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2013 and the companies claim that cost synergies should run at least $225 million per year within six months of closing.

Medicis shares are trading up almost 38% higher at $43.50 so far this morning.

JON C. OGG

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) will ask a court to review copyright damages against SAP A.G. (NYSE: SAP). (Reuters)

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) is likely to buy Siemens Nokia. (Reuters)

ECB chief Mario Draghi indicates he may begin to buy sovereign paper in the region. (WSJ)

New York State probes tax rates at private equity firms. (WSJ)

Japan’s auto sales slow. (WSJ)

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) releases a mobile web browser. (WSJ)

The nation’s huge drought could slow economic growth. (WSJ)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) will purchase Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE: MRX) for $2.6 billion. (WSJ)

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Motorola and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) all will release phones just ahead of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 5 launch. (WSJ)

Labor unions agree to a contract with Hyundai. (WSJ)

The U.S. drought raises beef prices. (WSJ)

More residents of Spain are taking money out of its banks. (NYT)

Large companies such as American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) open offices in Silicon Valley. (NYT)

As the cost of funds in the stronger states in Europe remains low, they have surged among the weaker nations. (FT)

The European Union pressures companies about the rule that 40% of their board seats must be held by women. (FT)

Manufacturing in the United States probably slowed last month. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) rose almost 4% today and shares are up almost 8% more after the closing bell. The earnings appeared to be a tad light on the surface but it raised guidance for the year. The actual gain is up 7.8% at $10.35 on more than 260,000 shares since the closing bell.

Boingo Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: WIFI) fell over 5% during the normal trading day but the company reported earnings a tad light and guided the third quarter and the year lower. The in-airport (and elsewhere) wi-fi provider is down 15.5% at $7.60 in the after-hours with light trading volume.

Complete Genomics Inc. (NASDAQ: GNOM) was up almost 1% on the day but shares were up 8% or so at $2.55 after the earnings report showed a high backlog of orders. Trading volume was light and under 30,000 on last look since the closing bell.

Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) was up over 1% today but a gain of over 75% in earnings showed same-store sales growth. In the after-hours we have shares up almost 7% at $75.00 in the after-hours.

MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) fell 3% today but the stock is trading up 5% at $9.20 after a pre-tax gain helped it show a rise in income.

Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE: MRX) shares fell by 5.4% to $31.50 in the after-hours session after its earnings report with more than 150,000 shares since the closing bell.

Millennial Media Inc. (NYSE: MM) fell 1.9% today but the shares are up 9.7% at $11.18 in thin volume trading since the close after reporting a narrower loss than expected.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) posted a 30% earnings gain but the results lagged the consensus targets. Shares are down over 10% at $60.90 on more than 1.7 million shares in the after-hours.

NQ Mobile Inc. (NYSE: NQ) beat earnings, and raised guidance for the current quarter and the year. Shares were up by over 8% at $8.39 on over 15,000 shares since the closing bell.

Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLXP) rose after it licensed a gastrointestinal drug from Alfa Wassermann called Rifaximin; shares were up 6.7% at $47.99 on almost 50,000 shares since the closing bell.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) rose almost 4% today, but the stock fell by almost 10% to $4.21 in active trading after its earnings report was called “all over the place” in our main report.

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JON C. OGG

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Thursday call).
Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Thursday call).
Janus Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: JNS) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Linn Energy, LLC (NASDAQ: LINE) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE: MRX) Started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Reiterated Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) Raised to Buy 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

Medicis Pharmaceutical (MRX) Firm says it will restate financials. Falls to $14 from 52-week high of $32.18.

Entegris (ENTG) No new news. Sells down to $4.71 from 52-week high of $9.49.

Capella Education (CPLA) No special news, Falls to $42.16 from 52-week high of $75.38.

Douglas A. McIntyre