Greek leaders face a deal for settling sovereign debt matters as workers strike. (Reuters)

Toyota (NYSE: TM) posts good third-quarter profits and says the U.S. will be a difficult market. (Reuters)

Boeing (NYSE: BA) may have trouble with its 787 deliveries after flaws were found in the body of the aircraft. (Reuters)

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Redbox set a deal to compete with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX). (Reuters)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) may open a physical store in Seattle. (Reuters)

House Republicans move to reopen debate on the Keystone XL pipeline. (Reuters)

Problems with regulators have made the Medco (NYSE: MHS) merger with Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) less likely. (Reuters)

The U.S. will create programs to help the troubled money market industry. (WSJ)

Barclays (NYSE: BCS), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) will bid as the New York Fed auctions risky bonds it got as part of its AIG (NYSE: AIG) bailout. (WSJ)

Greece will cut 15,000 public sector jobs. (WSJ)

Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) wants a 2.25% royalty on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone sales based on IP claims. (WSJ)

Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Univision are in talks to create a 24-hour news channel. (WSJ)

India cuts its growth forecast to 6.9%. (WSJ)

Eugene Isenberg of Nabor Industries (NYSE: NBR) gives up a $100 million retirement payout. (WSJ)

The Obama budget will have $3 trillion in cuts over 10 years and $1.5 trillion in new taxes — mostly on the rich. (WSJ)

Japan wants to enter a large Asia-Pacific trade agreement, but the U.S. may object. (WSJ)

Satellite makers say that U.S. regulations make it difficult for them to compete overseas. (WSJ)

Republic Airways (NASDAQ: RJET) is about to sell Frontier. (WSJ)

New LeadershipIQ research breaks companies into four groups based on management style and systems to create results. (WSJ)

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) promotes a manager to be the new CEO of its China operations. (WSJ)

Some large European banks will not take European Central Bank loans because they fear it will make them appear weak. (WSJ)

BP (NYSE: BP) raises its dividend. (FT)

An escrow fund may be set to help Greece instead of all aid money going to the nation directly. (FT)

Farmers to plant the largest corn crop since 1984. (Bloomberg)

Walmart will lower fat, sodium and sugar in some foods. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) Raised to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

EU leaders probably will create a 20 billion euro fund to help improve unemployment among the young. (Reuters)

Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) reports that small business hiring slowed in January and wages dropped. (Reuters)

The head of Philips warns of challenges in the first half of this year. (Reuters)

Republicans will link a highway spending bill to the Keystone XL pipeline. (Reuters)

Much of the missing $1.2 billion from MF Global may never be found. (WSJ)

Citigroup’s (NYSE: C) Richard Parsons may retire as chairman. (WSJ)

Germany warns Greece it may not get bailout funds because of inadequate austerity measures. (WSJ)

The head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) will turn down his bonus because of an uproar about its size. (WSJ)

The IMF will review whether the yuan is still undervalued. (WSJ)

AMR’s nonunion retirees want more say in its Chapter 11. (WSJ)

The Association of Fundraising Professionals says many nonprofits had record years in 2011. (WSJ)

Sarkozy announces plans to improve France’s competitiveness. (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Aol (NYSE: AOL) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) set an alliance to prevent phishing emails. (WSJ)

Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) will sell some of its Japanese operations. (WSJ)

A new Fed study warns of deflation. (WSJ)

Investors are voicing more concern over Japan’s debt. (WSJ)

Troubles at newspapers caused 71 dailies to be sold last year. (NYT)

Many U.S. banks use CDs to bet for or against Europe’s problems. (NYT)

Research In Motion (NYSE: RIMM), which has done well in Europe, faces more challenges there. (NYT)

Ratings agencies will be questioned about their role in MF Global. (FT)

Exports from industrial companies in the West to China fall. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

In the past few days, firings have neared a recent peak among some of the largest companies in the U.S. One troubling sign is that the layoffs are happening across a wide number of industries. The “downsizings” could be a coincidence, or they may be a signal that growth has slowed in several sectors of the economy.

Novartis (NYSE: NVS), the drug giant, said it will fire 1,960 people in the U.S. New product introductions have slowed. Some current products have sales difficulties. But part of the problem is that revenue is off and the company does not see that recovering enough soon.

Layoffs at U.S. financial firms may reach as high as 60,000 this year. Most recently, RBS (NYSE: RBS) said it will cut 3,000 people. Many more cuts may be in the offing. Apparently the government has asked Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to set a plan to pull out of a number of markets across the U.S. That cannot be done effectively without personnel cuts.

AMR, the parent of American Airlines, may be bought out by Delta (NYSE: DAL) or US Air (NYSE: LCC). News reports say that a deal will remain on hold as AMR eliminates a number of jobs while in Chapter 11, so that the costs to run the airline are lower.

Delhaize said it will shutter 113 of its Food Lion stores and cut 4,900 jobs in the U.S. In the general retail sector, Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) is in the midst of closing 100 stores, and the layoffs done in the process will number in the thousands.

The press has reported that layoffs are imminent at Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) as each tries to control margins while revenue growth slows.

And public sector firings continue, as well. More than 1,500 people on the Oakland, Calif., payroll have been “let go.”

Once again, all of this news could be a coincidence — thousands and thousand of people just got unlucky at the same time. That really is not the case, though. Most of the companies and public employers that have cut people, or are about to, are in financial trouble arising from problems linked to the economy.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Layoffs have surged recently. There is no telling why they happened all at about the same time. Drug giant Novartis (NYSE: NVS) said it will cut nearly 2,000 jobs. Food Lion will shut 113 stores, which will cause several thousand layoffs. RBS (NYSE: RBS) just fired 3,500 people. And on the sidelines sit Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and AMR, the parent of American Airlines. Media reports of the past day or so say that each of these likely will cut large numbers of people because of debt or profit considerations. It has been a long time since so many companies, well-known but in trouble, have fired legions of workers.

Bank of America Disclosures

The list of what Bank of America conveniently forgets to tell stockholders has grown again. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Federal Reserve may force the bank to drop out of some businesses and let go of operations in regions around the country. A newspaper had to break the story. Bank of America management must not have considered it necessary to disclose. That lack of disclosure can be added to when the financial firm failed to say how deep its trouble was just ahead of an investment of $5 billion by Warren Buffett on terms not favorable to the bank, or the sales of its interest in China Construction Bank. It also has been left to the press to dig into Bank of America’s holdings of sovereign debt issued by weak nations in the eurozone. Suits against the firm over its mortgage practices and sales of mortgage securities also came out in the press or were issued in announcements by the government agencies planning to take action against the bank.

Goldman Sachs’ Forecast

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has joined a chorus of experts suggesting the price of oil may soar in 2012. The most obvious reason for the increase is trouble with Iran and unrest in Nigeria. Goldman has added one more reason to the list. OPEC may be unable to make up for a shortfall in supply. The markets have counted on members of the cartel, particularly Saudi Arabia, to temporarily increase production if necessary. Goldman points out, however, that, “With Saudi producing close to 10 million barrels a day, OPEC will be operating with a very thin layer of spare capacity, making the oil market much more vulnerable to additional disruptions, with supplies from Nigeria being a particular concern.”

iPhone Riots in China

The demand for the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 4S in China nearly touched off riots at its flagship store there. Other Apple stores in the country apparently sold out of the smartphone quickly. After a crowd at the flagship location threw eggs and other debris, police gathered to disburse the crowd. Apple’s solution was simple. In China, it will sell the iPhone 4S only online for now. Many times, Apple has had too few units of new products, and that has irked potential customers. The violent outbreak, however, is a first.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Spain Sells Bonds

The sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone was put briefly on pause. Spain sold more than double its target of bonds today, and the rates it paid were unexpectedly low. The nation’s treasury raised 10 billion euros from the auction of three bonds. Spain planned to sell only five billion. Yields dropped by about 1 percentage point from the mid-December auction. It is an early sign that the tremendous amount of debt that financially weak nations in the region must raise to roll over old paper, and additionally to cover deficits, may not have to be done at unsustainable rates.

More Bank Layoffs

The bloodletting in the financial services industry is hardly over. RBS (NYSE: RBS), the largest state-owned bank in the UK, will cut 3,500 jobs in its investment bank. UBS (NYSE: UBS) made cuts last month. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has laid off bankers and traders. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), desperate to prove its viability, will cut 30,000 positions. Banks, which made a modest earnings recovery after the recession, are in trouble again. The mortgage crisis has not passed. Financial firms both hold home loans and are under attack for lending practices and their habit of bundling mortgages and selling them to other financial companies. Investment bank work has all but disappeared as corporations have drawn back on M&A and issuance of debt and equity. Finally, the consumer banking business has become more automated each year. The branches where individuals and small business banks went for loans and mortgages are barely useful anymore.

Chinese Auto Sales

The Chinese auto market is not as attractive to international manufacturers as it once was. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that car and light truck sales rose only 2.5% in 2011. China is still the world largest market with 18.5 million sales last year. That is at least five million more than the U.S. But the Chinese market has become very crowded. Sales leaders General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Volkswagen have become the envy of their rivals. Japanese car companies Toyota (NYSE: TM) and Honda (NYSE: HMC) have rushed into the market, as has GM’s American rival Ford (NYSE: F). Luxury manufacturers BMW and Mercedes have found a rich market among China’s growing upper classes. In addition, Chinese manufacturers will not be elbowed aside. What is now the largest car market has become among the most competitive.

Douglas A.McIntyre

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup.
AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: GAS) Started as Underperform and named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Buy with $460.00 price target objective by Argus; maintained Conviction Buy List and target raised to $550 from $520 at Goldman Sachs.
ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Started as Underperform at Bernstein.
Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Reiterated Buy at Goldman Sachs.
First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE: FR) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Hilltop Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTH) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: IART) Cut to Hold at Argus.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) Removed from US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) Started as Buy at Needham.
Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) Added to the US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
PVH Corporation (NYSE: PVH) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE: RBS) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ: THOR) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We also include additional research notes, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Spain is a particular winner.  Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: STD) is up almost 5% at $7.94; and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) has not traded but shares are indicated up around $8.90 in New York after a $8.53 close on Friday.

The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) is up almost 4% at $5.02.

The Swiss banks are on the rise as Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) is up 2.6% at $25.25 and UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) is up 1.6% at $12.44.

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) is up 1.2% at $40.48.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) has not yet traded.

The British Banks are higher as well and they are technically not a part of the Euro Zone other than doing business in Europe.  Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is up 4.1% at $12.35; The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE: RBS) is up 5.9% at $7.15.

JON C. OGG

The announcements are almost always tied to restructuring of companies, but you can’t have that many big companies simultaneously hiding behind this excuse. What is obvious as a sore thumb is that the weak economy is continuing to hurt business fundamentals, forcing companies to pare down their head counts. Economists also know that there is a difference between furloughs and layoffs. Layoffs generally imply that businesses are anticipating a longer period of slowness. When you see this many layoffs at this many companies at once, the obvious answer is that a system wide weakness is not just present — it is building.

This trend comes at a time when corporate balance sheets are stronger than ever, with many buying back stock and increasing dividends. Interest rates are close to record lows again. The gridlock over the debt ceiling and budget deficits further motivated companies to sit back and not hire. The growing sense is that the new round of layoffs at the major companies may be followed by more layoffs at rival companies.

How long can that last if the economy keeps sliding? From Borders to Research In Motion, to Cisco, pharmaceutical companies, banks, and Wall Street firms — all are getting pushed out the door. Meanwhile, economic indicators are getting worse rather than better. If the numbers get any softer, don’t be surprised by more layoff announcements. At a minimum, this will keep the larger corporate employers from having to make new hires.

The Layoff Kings of 2011

Borders Group is now bankrupt and the last of the workers are solely conducting store-closure sales. All stores were being closed, and more than 10,000 workers are wondering if they can get a job at a library or another book store. While particularly in Borders’ case, the shift to digital may be partly to blame, along with with poor management, but the economy is certainly also playing its part in curbing consumer purchases.

Boston Scientific Inc. (NYSE: BSX) announced plans in July to trim an additional 5% to 6% of its workforce. This puts the layoffs between 1,200 to 1,400 employees through the end of 2013. The aim is to cut $225 million to $275 million from the yearly operating costs. Sadly, this is at the same time the company is expanding its China workforce.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has recently announced it would lay off 6,500 employees, or 9% of its full-time workforce. The company aims to trim about $1 billion from its operating costs. But some question whether this is enough, so this number could increase. Consequently, news outlets have claimed that as many as 10,000 layoffs will be announced. This “rebalance” is going to be somewhat system wide and affect many management positions, including about 2,100 who accepted early retirement packages.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is not imminently sending its workers home packing, but it announced in late July that about 2,000 workers — out of its more than 80,000 workers — have accepted voluntary buyouts as the carrier trims flights. Whether the latest drop in fuel matters or not is up in the air (no pun intended).

This week is critical to US budget talks as an August 2 deadline looms. (Reuters)

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) won a case in which female employees sought to file a class action discrimination suit. (Reuters)

Facebook moved into the top spot among US sites based on display advertising market share. (Reuters)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) launched its first Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows-powered smartphone. (Reuters)

VCs still back China net start-ups despite accounting scandals dogging some of  them. (Reuters)

Foster rejected a $10 billion offer from SAB Miller. (Reuters)

Inflation in China has been passed on to the cost of many US goods, which causes inflation. (WSJ)

Financial regulators sued JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and RBS over $3 billion in mortgage bonds sold to credit unions.  (WSJ)

The EU linked aid to budget cuts. (WSJ)

The American Customer Satisfaction Index showed airline ratings fell. (WSJ)

The Labor Department plans to ask companies to reveal more about attempts by their workers to unionize. (WSJ)

The IMF said debt problems in Europe could cripple the economic recovery. (WSJ)

Heavy orders for Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Airbus planes were based on a need for airlines to find fuel-efficient equipment.  (WSJ)

The head of Boeing said the firm would win a fight with the National Labor Relations Board over the staffing of a new factory. (WSJ)

EMI is for sale again and could be broken up. (WSJ)

LightSquared, meant to deliver new 4G service, may cause problems with national GPS systems. (WSJ)

Low interest rates offered by banks to large companies may not cover the risk involved. .(WSJ)

The FTC will consider whether the prices of oil futures were manipulated (WSJ)

Tepco’s credit rating was cut to junk.  (WSJ)

A government audit shows food recalls of foreign foods are done too slowly. (NYT)

China has shifted investment dollars from the US to EU region debt. (FT)

Norway’s oil fund expressed support for the viability of the euro. (Bloomberg)

A Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) takeover by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) seems more likely. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre