The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 17 points to 12,845.20 (-0.13%), the NASDAQ fell almost 4 points (-0.13%) to 2,901.99, and the S&P 500 fell -0.04% or less than 1 point to 1,344.33.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBS; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) raised to ‘outperform’ at Piper Jaffray; and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last week have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Integrated Device Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) is down -0.98% at $6.60; McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) is up 1.71% at $82.18; Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) is up 0.32% at $39.81; Changyou.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYOU) is down -12.43% at $25.50; Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is down -5.8% at $84.90; Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is down -4.3% at $27.65; Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) is down -0.85% at $38.28; and Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) is down -4% at $29.66.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW) is up more than 44% at $22.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.69 earlier. The telecom provider has agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) for about $341 million, or $23/share.

O’Charley’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUX) is up nearly 42% at $9.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.88. The company has agreed to be acquired by Fidelity National Financial Inc. (NYSE: FNF) for $221 million, about $9.85/share.

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) is down nearly -15% at $53.61. The Chinese internet company posted solid earnings, but its Q1 forecast was below expectations.

Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX: GBG) is down -11% at $1.05. The junior gold miner reported preliminary results today that were worse than expected and lowered first quarter production estimates.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is up about 17.6% at $16.66. The drug maker is getting a boost from a negative report on a prostate cancer drug treatment that would compete with Dendreon’s Provenge.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Senate Budget Committee. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week Treasury bill auction
• 3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit report

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Paul Ausick

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Aetna, Inc. (NYSE: AET) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research.
Ann Inc. (NYSE: ANN) Cut to Underperform at Barclays.
Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE: CAH) Reiterated Buy with $52 price target at Argus.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
Polypore International Inc. (NYSE: PPO) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE: SKX) Raised to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) Reiterated Buy with $90 target at Argus.
Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) Cut to Sell at UBS.

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

One of Shell’s big ideas is to shed assets. PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE: PTR) announced this morning that it has acquired a 20% stake in the shale gas assets of Shell’s Canadian subsidiary for a price believed to be north of $1 billion. While shale gas is driving down the cost of natural gas in the US, in Canada a large portion of gas production is used to feed the energy-hungry oil sands industry, keeping prices somewhat higher.

Another big idea is to invest more in its upstream operations with the goal of reaching production of 4 million barrels/day by 2017. Shell also said that it would focus more on its North American projects that include oil as well as natural gas. Neither of these is a new idea. The company also said it would look at ways to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia. Another old idea, with a long lead time.

The company’s profits from its production rose 29% year-over-year for the quarter, but refining and downstream had a swing of about $650 million, from a $411 million profit last year to a loss of $244 million this year. The company’s production profits came exclusively from higher prices, as its actual produced barrels fell by about 180,000 barrels/day to 3.31 million barrels.

Shell tried to paper over some of this nasty news with a 2% hike in its dividend. That sometimes works, but this time analysts were expecting a rise of 4%.

Shares are down about -1.9% in pre-market trading this morning at $72.23 for RDS-A and $73.74 for RDS-B.

Paul Ausick

The new gathering system will serve the Keathley Canyon area and serve producers Anadarko Petroleum Co. (NYSE: APC), Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Eni SpA (NYSE: E), Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR), and Plains Exploration & Production Co. (NYSE: PXP). Keathley Canyon was the site of the first major oil discovery in the US Gulf once drilling was reopened following the Macondo well explosion in April 2010 that killed 11 workers on a rig operated by BP plc (NYSE: BP). Exxon, which made the discovery, has estimated the resource at 700 million barrels.

The joint venture, called the Southeast Keathley Canyon Pipeline Co. LLC (SEKCO), plans to build an 18-inch pipeline to transport 115,000 barrels/day of crude to a floating production platform and connect to Enterprise’s Poseidon pipeline system to move the oil onshore. The southeast portion of Keathley Canyon is estimated to hold about 300 million barrels of reserves.

In related transactions, Genesis is acquiring a 28% stake in the Poseidon pipeline system from Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), as well as a 29% stake in the Odyssey pipeline system which is majority owned and operated by Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) and a 23% stake in the Eugene Island pipeline system owned by a group including Exxon, Shell, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP). Genesis is paying about $206 million for these three acquisitions, which includes about $26 million for the value of the crude already in the pipelines. The company used its revolving credit facility to finance the purchases.

The SEKCO pipeline system is expected to be in service by mid-2014.

Paul Ausick

The lack of Congressional action ends the $0.45/gallon blender’s credit on US-produced ethanol and the $0.54/gallon tariff on imported ethanol. US ethanol producers Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX), and Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) had already seen the writing on the wall and are not likely to feel any appreciable pain from the end of the subsidies. Brazilian cane-based ethanol maker Cosan Ltd. (NYSE: CZZ) and its partner, Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) have also been making a profit exporting ethanol to the US in spite of the tariff.

The end of the subsidy does not end the federal mandate on the use of alternative fuels for transportation. Earlier this week we looked at the nonsensical mandate adopted by Congress in 2007 that calls for 200 million gallons of alternative fuels to blended with gasoline in 2012. Virtually every drop will come from ethanol, and the producers really don’t need a subsidy on top of a mandate to make a profit. The mandate alone will do quite nicely, thank you very much.

Paul Ausick

The petrochemicals produced at the plant are targeted for sale in Asian countries such as Myanmar, Bangladesh, and parts of India where the products would be used to make goods like synthetic rubber. Petronas is expected to supply feedstock for the plants from equity investments in oil fields in Africa and Venezuela, leaving its own dwindling reserves of high-quality crude for refining into gasoline. The project is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Paul Ausick

Oil giants like Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), BP plc (NYSE: BP), and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) all eventually won leases on Iraq’s terms, even though the companies did not like the terms. US oil field services companies like Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) and Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) who were subcontracted by lease winners to perform the actual work were the big winners because they did not depend on Iraq for payment, but on the leaseholders.

Exxon Mobil is owed about $50 million for work it has done in southeast Iraq, according to a report in The New York Times. The Iraqis say they are not paying due to a bureaucratic snafu. Others believe Iraq is holding back due to a recent contract Exxon signed with the Kurdish government to develop a field in Kurdistan. Iraq’s central government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish government disagree about which is empowered to offer development deals in Kurdistan and what the terms will be.

The Kurdish contract with Exxon is a production-sharing deal which is far more lucrative than the flat-fee structure that the central government is offering because Exxon owns some of the oil it pumps and gets to sell it at whatever the current market price is.

The oil company has knowingly put itself right in the middle of a domestic Iraqi political dispute by signing the deal with the Kurds. Assuming that Exxon is run by some smart people, the only reason to make that deal is that the potential reward is much greater than the potential risk. Exxon is betting that the Iraqi government will eventually bend to the will of the Kurds because the central government ultimately has no choice. It can’t afford to grant full autonomy to Kurdistan, nor can it use armed force to bring it under control.

Exxon’s deal with the Kurds is certainly worth the delay of a $50 million payment from the Iraqis. Think of it as the ante in a high stakes poker game.

Paul Ausick

The well is located in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf, about 20 miles from the location of the Macondo well, where a Transocean rig exploded in April 2010, killing 11 workers and spilling 5 million barrels of oil from a well owned by BP plc (NYSE: BP).

The recent accident is reportedly far less severe. The original report indicated that 319 barrels (about 13,400 gallons) of drilling fluid escaped. MarketWatch reports that Shell now says that 7,560 gallons of oil and 5,829 gallons of drilling fluid leaked into the Gulf.

Federal regulators have approved Shell’s clean-up plan which will include disconnecting the drilling fluid line from the well’s blowout preventer. There is no estimate of how long the well will be shut-in.

Paul Ausick

Barron’s listed  Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX), Metlife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).  The list also includes some ADRs via Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), Vodafone Group PLC (NYSE: VOD), Sanofi (NYSE: SNY), and Daimler (DDAIF).

The aim was companies with low P/E ratios, somewhat high dividends, and companies with an expected upside of potentially 15% to 20%.  This won’t excite many investors.  Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was not in the list nor was Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).  Neither pays a dividend, but both have relatively low P/E ratios considering the recent growth (14 for Apple and about 17 for Google).  If you use the Thomson Reuters consensus analyst price target, Apple has 29% upside and Google has 16% upside.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is interesting now that it has added International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) to its portfolio.  IBM yields a low 1.5% today and is buying back stock despite trading at all-times highs.  The company’s goal is $20.00 in earnings per share by 2015.  Intel just warned about a large revenue shortfall but its dividend yield is now about 3.5%.

Comcast Corporation (NYSE: CMCSA) is actually still interesting because of its growth and value and because it is changing its mix to include content.  The 2% yield is one which has room for further dividend growth and the cable giant’s share price actually offers almost 30% to the Thomson Reuters consensus price target.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) and Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) are both very opportunistic calls.  Hard disk drive troubles around the globe, a prior discount to highs, and a dividend north of 4% helped Seagate.  Freeport-McMorRan is an opportunistic call now that global growth has brought down shares of metals companies drastically.  It has a 2.5% yield, which is not bad for a metals company, and at $39.00 the Thomson Reuters consensus price target is actually 30% higher than the current share price.

Perhaps the ADRs and European plays of Daimler (DDAIF), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) and Vodafone Group PLC (NYSE: VOD) are opportunistic around the weakness of Europe today.  After all, if the Euro Zone continues its downward trajectory and with the Euro currency at an 11-month low it would seem that the article could blame a worsening effect if these positions do not work out.

24/7 Wall St. has recently announced a couple of key lists with predictions and expected upside.  Our DJIA Stocks Soon To Raise Dividends has already seen some come to fruition even sooner than expected, and we have released to our free email subscribers the 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio.

If you want to receive the full 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio you can sign up in the email submission below.  Each morning we send our free email list subscribers a snapshot of the key feature stories, the top daily analyst upgrades and downgrades, previews for key events, and many other aspects governing your finances.

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Barron’s noted a 6.9% drop so far in 2011 for its Favorite Stocks for 2011 versus a 1.9% drop in the S&P 500 Index.

JON C. OGG

China says its annual rate of growth slowed between October and November. (Reuters)

Congress pressures the CFTC for stronger regulation after the MF Global incident. (Reuters)

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) will launch a content service to compete with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX). (Reuters)

Trouble in the solar industry causes consolidation and brings more Chinese companies into the market. (Reuters)

Verizon says it will not block the use of Google Wallet. (Reuters)

Carl Icahn to make a hostile bid for Commercial Metals (NYSE: CMC) for $1.73 billion. (Reuters)

Treasury Secretary Geithner will press EU finance ministers to stop the crisis in the region. (WSJ)

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee to hold a vote on insider trading by members of Congress. (WSJ)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) wants better terms from bidders for a minority stake. (WSJ)

Private-equity firm Sycamore Partners makes an offer for Talbots (NYSE: TLB). (WSJ)

The EU is considering antitrust charges against e-book publishers. (WSJ)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will offer a product that competes with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) apps. (WSJ)

Spain may invest billions of dollars to clean up its banking system. (WSJ)

General Electric’s (NYSE: GE) financial arm may take retail deposits. (WSJ)

Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) Merrill Lynch & Co. agrees to pay $315 million to end a mortgage-securities lawsuit. (WSJ)

Free shipping could cost retailers more than the revenue they receive is worth. (WSJ)

JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) may buy a piece of Martha Stewart Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO). (NYT)

Citigroup (NYSE: C) to fire 4,500 people. (NYT)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) begins push into children’s books. (NYT)

India kills a retail reform proposal that would have let companies like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) own retail operations in the country. (FT)

Bank of America is less confident about the size of its dividend than most other large U.S. banks. (FT)

Large buyouts set in the 2006 to 2008 period face poor returns, according to Moody’s. (FT)

Geithner supports a plan by Germany and France to increase regulation of nations with large deficits. (Bloomberg)

BP (NYSE: BP) and Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) to restart oil operations in Libya. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre