Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW) is up 6.7% at $34.07, and the 52-week trading range is $25.84 to $47.60.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is still only flat at $21.85 but it was lower before the FOMC comments today. The 52-week trading range is $19.93 to $43.06.

Goldcorp Incorporated (NYSE: GG) is up 5.2% at $46.70, and the 52-week trading range is $39.93 to $56.31.

Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) is up 3.4% at $59.43, and the 52-week trading range is $50.05 to $72.42.

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) up over 6% at $11.23, and the 52-week trading range is $9.96 to $18.25.

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) up 8% at $37.23, and the 52-week trading range is $34.36 to $76.49.

ETFs are rocking as well.  The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) is up 5.3% at $54.58 against a 52-week range of $49.22 to $66.98.  Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (NYSE: GDXJ) is up 6.5% at $28.66 against a 52-week range of $22.58 to $42.97.  The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is up 3.9% at $23.69 and the 52-week range is $19.05 to $31.34.

The logic is simple enough… This signals extremely low interest rates and low costs of borrowing.  It also signals that investors will have to look elsewhere yet again to seek higher returns than short-term and intermediate-term Treasuries.  As this means that rates will be low in the U.S. for longer than expected, that is going to drive a weak dollar policy as long as things remain static in Europe and in other major economic zones.  That is the perfect storm for gold and silver as they are often inversely correlated to the dollar.

JON C. OGG

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 33 points to12,675.75 (-0.26%), the NASDAQ rose just 2 points (0.09%) to 2,786.64, and the S&P 500 fell -0.10% or just more than 1 point to 1,314.63.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) maintained as ‘outperform’ with a $100 target price at Credit Suisse; Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) maintained as ‘outperform’ but estimates lowered at Credit Suisse; Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) maintained as ‘buy’ but target price lowered to $54 at Argus; Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $51 at Argus; ;and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) started as ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley, as ‘outperform’ at Baird, and as ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) is down nearly -3% at $87.29; Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) is down -0.57% at $47.46; Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is up 2% at $1.79; EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) is up 6.7% at $25.01; Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) is up 6.2% at $36.85; CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) is down -3.5% at $21.89; and Zions Bancorp. (NYSE: ZION) is down -7.6% at $17.15. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reports earnings after markets close today. See our coverage here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX) is up nearly 79% at $5.88 after posting a new 52-week high today of $6.87. The biopharmaceutical company has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with a French company to develop and market its hepatitis C drug.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LEE) is up more than 26% at $1.39. The newspaper company has been granted permission to exit bankruptcy protection.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) is up nearly 18% at $3.81. The department store operator has hired a new CEO who was previously the CEO at Lord & Taylor, before that chain was acquired by a Canadian company.

InterDigital Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC) is down nearly -20% at $35.68. The wireless technology developed has shut down its “strategic review” without finding a buyer and will continue to seek additional patent sales and licensing agreements.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) is up more than 17% at $10.79. The drug company, which is developing its own hepatitis C drug, is enjoying a halo effect from BioLineRx’s announcement.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. President Barack Obama delivers his state of the union address at 9:00 P.M ET tonight. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 10:00 a.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 10:30 a.m. – 5-year Treasury note auction
• 2:15 p.m. – Fed chairman Ben Bernanke press conference

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Paul Ausick

Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) Reiterated Buy but lowered target to $54 at Argus.
Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMY) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Reiterated Buy and raised price target to $51 at Argus.
Interline Brands, Inc. (NYSE: IBI) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE: KORS) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Outperform at Baird; Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Maintained Outperform with $100 target at Credit Suisse.
NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) maintained Outperform but lowered estimates at Credit Suisse.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $40 at Credit Suisse; Cut to Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $130 at Argus.
Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

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JON C. OGG

The earnings previews are as follows: priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN); A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE); Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS); Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC); General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW); Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP); Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS).  Earnings estimates are from Thomson Reuters.

For each day of the week we have also added in the key economic events to watch for as well.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7

priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) is expected to report $9.30 EPS and $1.42 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $5.14 EPS and $996.75 million in revenues.

10:00 AM EST Employment Trends Index (October)

3:00 PM EST Consumer Credit (September)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8

A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is expected to report -$0.38 EPS and $66.3 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.35 EPS and $84.2 million in revenues.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is expected to report $0.02 EPS and $558.4 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.53 EPS and $2.1 billion in revenues.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is expected to report $0.78 EPS and $260.8 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.66 EPS and $247.58 million in revenues.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) is expected to report $0.41 EPS and $52 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.03 EPS and $66.47 billion in revenues. As a reminder, this will originally be in Yen and the Yen has been at record highs and it could impact the figures.

7:30 AM EST NFIB Small Business Sentiment (October)

4:30 PM EST API Weekly Oil Inventories

Markets opened slightly lower this morning and spent the morning trying to decide on a direction. The Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose more than expected, but even that was not enough to charge up investors. In the early afternoon, advances were leading declines on the NYSE, while the status was just the reverse on NASDAQ. Both oil and gold prices were slightly lower after rising sharply yesterday. So far this month, markets are up a solid 13%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly more than 21 points to 12,230.35 (0.18%), the NASDAQ fell about -1.5 points (-0.05%) to2,737.15, and the S&P 500 rose 0.03% or about 0.47 points to 1,285.06.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including a raise for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was maintained at ‘buy’ but the target price was cut to $90 at Argus; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) cut to ‘sector perform’ at Scotia; Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) cut to ‘sector perform’ at CIBC; Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) raised to ‘outperform’ at Macquarie; and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) raised to ‘outperform’ with a new target price of $135 at Credit Suisse.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is up 0.3%, at $109.99, two pennies short of a new 52-week high; Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is down about -7.6%, at $48.91; Merck (NYSE: MRK) is up 2.3%, at $35.10; Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is up 4.33% (our coverage here), at $144.38; Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) is up 1.6%, at $18.23; and The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) is up 11.6%, at $9.94 (our coverage here).

Several other standouts from today follow …

Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) is up more than 27%, at $12.65. The company beat earnings estimates this morning, and has reiterated its production estimates for platinum and palladium for 2011. Stillwater recycled 133,500 ounces of platinum, palladium, and rhodium in the third quarter, up 70% from the same period a year ago.

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) is up more than 34%, at $23.94. The company posted solid earnings for the third quarter and announced a $150 million stock buyback program. Align manufactures and sells Invisalign teeth straightening products.

Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ: STMP) is up more than 25%, at $32.48 — a new 52-week high — following an outstanding earnings report. Stamps.com raised its non-GAAP EPS estimate for the second time this year, to $1.20-$1.40. The company originally estimated non-GAAP EPS of $0.85-$1.05.

Computer Programs and Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CPSI) are down more than -28%, at $51.10. The company missed both revenue and EPS estimates for the quarter, and the fourth-quarter outlook is also weak. The company’s $1.44/share dividend takes some of the sting out of the poor results.

Spansion Inc. (NYSE: CODE) is down more than -25%, at $10.46, after posting a new 52-week lower earlier today of $9.17. The company released a weaker fourth-quarter forecast and announced the closure of its plant in Kuala Lumpur as part of its effort to cut costs.

Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) is down more than -19%, at $18.52. The company’s third-quarter earnings were short of expectations and the fourth-quarter forecast was lowered.

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

9:45 a.m. — Chicago Purchasing Managers Index
3:00 p.m. — USDA farm prices

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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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Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Maintained Buy but lowered target to $14 at Credit Suisse.
Blue Coat Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BCSI) Downgraded at Piper Jaffray, BofA/ML, Sten Agee, and Needham.
Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Cut to Sell with $500 target at S&P Equity Research (late Tuesday).
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Reiterated Buy with $44 target at Argus.
Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP) Raised to Neutral at UBS.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Sunoco Logistics, LP (NYSE: SXL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

You are invited to 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

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) reported earnings this morning that failed to reach expectations, posting adjusted EPS of $0.90, roughly -10% below estimates. Revenue also missed expectations, coming in at $2.4 billion compared with estimates of $2.5 billion. Production of gold fell -5.4% and copper production fell -45%, primarily on lower-grade ores. Newmont’s average price for gold was $1,501/ounce, in line with realized prices reported yesterday by Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) and Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG). [http://247wallst.com/2011/07/28/gold-mining-earnings-shine-but-less-than-gold-itself-abx-gg-gld-gdx-gdxj/]

Newmont’s other issue was rising costs, which rose to $538/ounce, between cash costs of $445 at Barrick and $553 at Goldcorp. Managing costs remains the main anchor on gold miners’ share prices compared with the price of gold.

Newmont’s CEO told CNBC that he expects gold prices to reach $1,750/ounce in 2012 as a result of inflationary pressures and ongoing economic problems in the US and Europe. He also noted that Newmont would raise its dividend in the third quarter from $0.20/share to $0.30.

Not even the dividend hike could keep Newmont’s stock from falling. Shares are down more than -3.5%, at $55.70, in the late afternoon, within a 52-week range of $50.05-$65.50.

The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) posted a new 52-week high today of $159.25, but has retreated somewhat. The new 52-week range is $113.34-$159.25. The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU) also posted a new 52-week high today, for a new range of $11.35-$15.95.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) has lost another -2% today, trading late in the day at $56.90, in a 52-week range of $47.45-$64.62. The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ) lost more than -2% early this morning, but has gained about half of that back to trade now at $36.00, within a 52-week range of $25.89-$44.86.

Silver’s lackluster performance on the commodity markets today is reflected in the ETFs that focus on the devil’s metal. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is up about 0.6%, at $38.99, within a 52-week range of $17.38-$48.35. The PowerShares DB Silver Fund (NYSE: DBS) is up about 0.75% at $70.28, within a 52-week range of $31.09-$86.98.

Silver miner Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) is down about -2%, at $36.23, within a 52-week range of $18.15-$47.60, and Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is down about -2.5%, at $30.32, within a 52-week range of $22.52-$43.06. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is down about -0.6%, at $26.25, within a 52-week range of $12.90-$31.34.

Paul Ausick

Calpine Corporation (NYSE: CPN) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE: FE) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Maintained Outperform but cut estimates at Credit Suisse.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) Raised to Buy at UBS.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $97 at Credit Suisse.
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $18 at BofA/ML.
Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo; Started as Outperform at William Blair; Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Bear of the Day
VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

You are invited to 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

Maybe this time is different.  Here’s a look at iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV), ETFS Physical Silver Shares (NYSE: SIVR), Sprott Physical Silver Trust ET (NYSE: PSLV), ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSE: ZSL), Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL), Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW), and Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS).

iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) closed $38.24 on Friday and shares are up at $39.32 after a gain of almost 3% today. Early last week the trust was under $35.00 and the 52-week range is $17.06 to $48.35.

ETFS Physical Silver Shares (NYSE: SIVR) is another physical holder of silver and its shares are back up at $40.09 on a 2.8% gain after Friday’s close of $39.01.   This was also under $35.00 early last week and the 52-week range is $17.37 to $49.28.

Sprott Physical Silver Trust ET (NYSE: PSLV), technically a closed-end fund, peaked at $23.00 before the bottom fell out of silver.  After a 3.5% gain today, shares are up at $18.87.  Not bad for what barely a $16.00 price early last week.

ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSE: ZSL) is getting crushed as it is the double-short play for silver.  Its 6.4% drop today to $13.31 compares to a price of nearly $18.00 early last week.  To show just how volatile, and deadly, this one is… Its 52-week high is $145.68.  If silver rallies again through the roof and stays there, a reverse split of this exchange-traded product is likely.

Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) tracks the miners rather than the metal,  Its shares are up 2.6% at $27.75 today and it was close to $24.00 early last week. The 52-week range is $13.80 to $31.34.

Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW) is one the top silver mining stocks and its shares are up only 2% at $39.59 today.  Only, well that is the bear market in stocks for you whether the Devil’s metal is in favor again or not. This was near $34.00 early last week and the 52-week range is $17.64 to $47.60.

Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS) is up only 0.3% today at $33.51, perhaps because the Canadian company’s operations are in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia.  This was just under $32.50 a week ago and the 52-week trading range is $22.21 to $43.06.

Again, maybe this time really is different.  Things are definitely more tense today than they were from March to the end of April.  The problem is that we have been here before with prices rising rapidly in gold and in silver. We have also seen this game played out in the energy patch from 2007 to 2008 when the price rose every day for effectively the same reasoning.  If silver takes on the extreme portion of gold’s rise and takes out new highs, then it may be the public’s last real asset grab for items that can be easily used for money and hold its value better than paper money.

Anything is possible, but it is at least worth asking just how different this time is for the Devil’s metal.  Silver is a very small market for the amount of dollars that can be steered its way in a hurry.  If you walk in one day soon and find that the margin for buying silver or gold has been raised again, don’t be shocked.

JON C. OGG