These are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from select Wall St. research calls.

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) cut to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE: CEO) raised to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch and raised to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) started as Overweight at J.P. Morgan and started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) cut to Underperform at Stern Agee.

Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) cut to Underperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFE) cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Safeway Co. (NYSE: SWY) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (NASDAQ: SIAL) cut to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

SPX Corp. (NYSE: SPW) downgraded to Neutral at J.P. Morgan and downgraded to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) cut to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Deutsche Bank not only is calling for a secular bull market and not only raised its GDP forecast for the United States. The firm gave a huge list of companies it expects to win in the next leg of the bull market over the coming years.

BofA/Merrill Lynch identified many top leveraged buyout candidates.

Canaccord Genuity aggressively raised LED stocks.

Here is how the ADRs of the European banks are being hit in New York trading.

National Bank of Greece S.A. (NYSE: NBG) is at a new 52-week low with a drop of more than 7% to $0.92.

Banco Santander S.A. (NYSE: SAN) is down 4% at $7.47, and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) is down 4% at $9.69.

The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) is down almost 3% at $8.75.

The iShares MSCI Italy Capped Index (NYSEMKT: EWI) represents all of Italy and is down 3% at $12.20, as this nation has no government at the moment and is too big to bail out.

Even the major banking stocks are down: Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) is down 4% at $42.80, UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) is down 3% at $15.90, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) is down 4.3% at $8.87, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE: LYG) is down 2% at $2.97, Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is down 3.6% at $18.53 and Credit Suisse Group A.G. (NYSE: CS) is down 3.5% at $27.42.

Before you stress too much about this, the impact is being overblown by the doomsday crowd and it is being made fun of as inconsequential by some of the financial media. Cyprus is a nation of 800,000 or so inhabitants with an economy of less than 20 billion euros. Its banking system was extremely large compared to the economy and was in shambles. The nation needs its bailout dollars.

This is just not how to fix things.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) shares are pounded after a poor forecast. (Reuters)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook tells shareholders they should take a long-term view of share value. (Reuters)

U.S. natural gas production should rise for another three decades. (WSJ)

The European Union moves to limit bonuses of senior bankers. (WSJ)

The losses at Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) rise sharply, and the bank probably will raise money. (WSJ)

Losses at J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) rise sharply. (WSJ)

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) tries to calm its customers in Japan who are concerned about breakdowns in the 787 Dreamliner. (WSJ)

Spain says its deficit fell, primarily because of austerity. (WSJ)

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) sells few of the many of the iPhones it ordered. (WSJ)

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-B) will delay Arctic drilling because of equipment problems. (WSJ)

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) will cap free listening to help offset royalties. (WSJ)

Energy Information Administration data about fuel supplies push down gasoline futures. (WSJ)

Samsung improves security features on its phones to better compete with BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY). (NYT)

The AFL-CIO offers limited endorsement of the Keystone pipeline. (NYT)

A court is told that BP PLC (NYSE: BP) concealed data about infrastructure in its Deepwater Horizon efforts. (FT)

Germany’s unemployment falls, in a sign its economy has recovered. (Bloomberg)

Ads served by Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) based on browsing habits could hurt Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). (Bloomberg)

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) expects LIBOR penalties in the hundreds of millions of dollars. (Reuters)

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) hopes its investment in the Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) LBO will defend its spot in the PC industry. (Reuters)

Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet gets unfavorable reviews after its launch. (Reuters)

Pinterest will try to raise money at a $2 billion valuation. (Reuters)

The Congressional Budget Office projects that debt-to-GDP will be 77% by the end of the decade. (WSJ)

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) will be fined $5 million for its role in the Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) initial public offering. (WSJ)

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) posts better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. (WSJ)

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) CEO says he will move the bank beyond its ethical issues. (WSJ)

Vehicle registration fees may be linked to mileage as states try to raise money to repair roads and bridges. (WSJ)

Some companies may limit CEO stock awards in years when investor returns are negative. (WSJ)

The European Central Bank continues to try to drop interest rates for consumers and households. (WSJ)

New legal claims could cost BP PLC (NYSE: BP) a grand total of $90 billion for the Deepwater Horizon spill. (FT)

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will start a virtual currency business to challenge the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) app store. (FT)

According to The Wall Street Journal:

U.S. authorities are pushing for a settlement of interest-rate-rigging allegations with Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC that would result in a unit of the big British bank pleading guilty to criminal charges in addition to paying a penalty, according to people briefed on the negotiations.

Bloomberg reports:

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s biggest publicly owned lender, may reduce the bonus pool at its investment bank by more than a third as it prepares to pay fines to U.S. and U.K. regulators for Libor manipulation, a person with knowledge of the plan said.

RBS is poised to set aside about 250 million pounds ($393 million) for bonuses at the division, compared with 390 million pounds for 2011, said the person, who asked not to be identified because a final decision is yet to be taken. RBS plans to recoup between 100 million pounds and 150 million pounds from the bonus pool to offset the 500 million pounds it expects pay in fines to regulators to settle allegations of rate-rigging as soon as next week, two people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month.

The United Kingdom is the latest developed nation to be threatened by a credit agency that sees its sovereign prospects as weakening. Many economists believe the nation has tipped into a triple-dip recession. Austerity measures probably have started to work against an economy that needs financial stimulation. And Britain may withdraw from the European Union eventually, which might hurt its trade prospects. The future of the United Kingdom remains much better than that of most other EU members, but may be little better than France’s and much worse than Germany’s. From CNBC:

The U.K. faces a “significant” risk of losing its triple-A rating, as its economy has worsened since it was placed on negative outlook last year, David Riley, Fitch Ratings global managing director for sovereign ratings. We have had the U.K. on a negative outlook for almost 12 months and during that period, the economic and the fiscal outlook has actually deteriorated,” Riley said.

RBS Fines Could Reduce Bonus Pool

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) may have to settle criminal charges with the United States based on allegations that it manipulated interest rates. This could, in turn, cause sharp cuts in employee compensation. According to The Wall Street Journal:

U.S. authorities are pushing for a settlement of interest-rate-rigging allegations with Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC that would result in a unit of the big British bank pleading guilty to criminal charges in addition to paying a penalty, according to people briefed on the negotiations.

Bloomberg reports:

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s biggest publicly owned lender, may reduce the bonus pool at its investment bank by more than a third as it prepares to pay fines to U.S. and U.K. regulators for Libor manipulation, a person with knowledge of the plan said.

RBS is poised to set aside about 250 million pounds ($393 million) for bonuses at the division, compared with 390 million pounds for 2011, said the person, who asked not to be identified because a final decision is yet to be taken. RBS plans to recoup between 100 million pounds and 150 million pounds from the bonus pool to offset the 500 million pounds it expects pay in fines to regulators to settle allegations of rate-rigging as soon as next week, two people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month

Rising Popularity of Google Chrome-Based Laptops

Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) major worry is that its new Windows 8 operating system will not post impressive sales. This would be, primarily, because people have moved their computing platforms from personal computers (PCs) to tablets and smartphones. However, another threat may have emerged — the rise of the Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Chrome OS-powered PC. According to Xbit:

As Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 8 operating system has so far failed to substantially boost demand towards personal computers, Google Chrome-based laptops are getting more popular, according to a highly-ranking executive from Acer Group, a top PC maker. But while sales of the so-called Chromebooks are strong, they cannot save companies like Acer from posting major declines of shipments.

Laptops with Google Chrome operating system accounted for 5% to 10% of Acer’s U.S. shipments since introduced in November, 2012, according to Jim Wong, the president of the company. Moreover, the executive expects that sales of Chromebooks are sustainable and going forward in the long-term future they will continue to be a success for the company, especially once they are available on developing markets.

Detroit probably will file for bankruptcy. (Reuters)

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) will put $250 million into venture funds. (Reuters)

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) says it will fight to prevent government access to its email customers. (Reuters)

Daimler, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Nissan will cooperate on developing fuel-cell cars. (Reuters)

The U.S. government wants Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) to plead guilty to criminal charges over interest rate manipulation. (WSJ)

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) and CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) may buy parts of NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) ahead of its merger with IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE). (WSJ)

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) will return to more discount sales, reversing earlier plans. (WSJ)

VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) cuts costs as its sales slow sharply. (WSJ)

Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) will try to recapture corporate customers with its new BlackBerry. (WSJ)

AMR and some of its unions agree to a contract set in case the carrier merges with US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC). (WSJ)

Japanese regulators have not yet found the source of flaws in the Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Dreamliner. (WSJ)

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) continues to have trouble in markets outside the United States. (WSJ)

Royalty payments made to artists from firms that include Spotify and Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) have plunged. (NYT)

Yahoo! shows it could gain ground on Google, based on its earnings report. (FT)

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) begins to use its 188 million customer database to target more ads. (FT)

The European Union may allow Spain a more liberal budget on worry that austerity could further damage its economy. (Bloomberg)

AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) cut to Underweight at J.P. Morgan.

Apollo Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AINV) cut to Neutral at J.P. Morgan.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) raised to Outperform at BNP-Paribas.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) cut to Neutral at boutique firm Monnes Crespi Hardt.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) raised to Buy with $50 target at Argus.

Infosys Ltd. (NYSE: INFY) raised to Buy at UBS.

Logitech International S.A. (NASDAQ: LOGI) cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE: LYG) raised to Neutral at J.P. Morgan.

Read also: 12 Stocks Expected to Rise 50% to 100% in 2013

Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) raised to Buy at UBS.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) started as Buy at Lazard.

PDL BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: PDLI) cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Pharmacyclics Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Read also: The Best Biotech Stocks for 2013

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) cut to Hold at Jefferies.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) raised to Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) cut to Neutral at J.P. Morgan.

US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) cut to Neutral at J.P. Morgan.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) cut to Neutral at Lazard.

ViroPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: VPHM) raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT) maintained Underperform and named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

With shares of Apple fighting to hold $500, here is how much dead air exists in the stock if the price really starts to break under $500.

UBS may end up paying more because Barclays had spent “tens of millions” on its own internal investigations according to source cited at The Wall Street Journal.

There are at least another dozen banks currently being investigated for trying to rig the benchmark Libor, which is used by mortgage lenders, student loan lenders, auto lenders, and credit card companies to compute the interest rates they charge customers. Royal Bank of Scotland Group (NYSE: RBS) is reportedly in advanced settlement talks with regulators. Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) has set aside funds to pay for potential fines, and U.K. giant HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) as well as U.S.-based banks Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) are among others also being scrutinized.

Paul Ausick

On what it calls a profit before tax basis, the bank reported earnings of $16.2 billion compared with $18.63 billion in the third quarter a year ago. On an “underlying” (adjusted) basis, profit rose $2.8 billion to $5 billion in the quarter.

The company’s CEO said:

The increase in underlying profit was driven by revenue growth in Global Banking and Markets, mainly in Rates and Credit as conditions in the eurozone stabilised relative to 3Q11, and in Commercial Banking, where net interest income rose, reflecting higher average lending and deposit balances. We continued to grow in a majority of our priority markets. In addition, loan impairment charges reduced significantly compared with 3Q11, mainly in North America.

Third quarter results include an $800 million provision related to an ongoing investigation of money-laundering charges in the United States and Mexico. The bank also took $1.3 billion in charges related to “mis-sold” interest rate swaps and other derivatives. As the CEO noted in the bank’s press release:

The US authorities have substantial discretion in deciding exactly how to resolve this matter. Indeed, the final amount of the financial penalties could be higher, possibly significantly higher, than the amount accrued.

Lloyd’s Banking Group PLC (NYSE: LYG), another of London’s big four banks, has already set aside nearly $6.9 billion to pay for “mis-selling” payment protection insurance. And on Friday, Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) revealed it was being investigated again by British regulators for the way the bank disclosed it fee payments related to bond and share issuances in 2008. That followed by a few days a software problem at Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) that shut down its payment processing system. Not a good week or two for British banks.

HSBC’s shares are trading down about 1.2% in premarket trading at $49.27 in a 52-week range of $35.72 to $50.46. The consensus target price for the shares was around $43.30 before today’s report.

Paul Ausick