The AFL-CIO reports that CEO pay rose 14% last year:

According to data released by the AFL-CIO today, CEOs of S&P 500 Index companies received an average of $12.9 million in pay in 2011 – a 14 percent raise. The ratio of CEO to worker pay is now 380 to 1. The newly designed Executive PayWatch, a searchable online database, provides direct comparison of top CEO pay to average wages of workers, such as a nurse, teacher, firefighter and others.

The figure cannot be complete, since not all 2011 proxies for S&P 500 firms are in yet.

The union also tried to humilate public corporations that “hoarded” cash last year and fired workers. This list includes Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), News Corp (NYSE: NWS),  Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Wellpoint (NYSE: WLP).

Douglas A. McIntyre

A judge rules that some of the Gulf spill costs to be covered by Transocean (NYSE: RIG) will be covered by BP (NYSE: BP) instead. (Reuters)

Samsung had record profits on smartphone sales and will increase capex by $22 billion. (Reuters)

An accounting change at Ford (NYSE: F) will change its profits. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) overtook Samsung as the largest smartphone company in the world. (Reuters)

Wellpoint (NYSE: WLP) will change how it pays primary doctors on the theory that early care will prevent expensive diseases. (WSJ)

Executives at bankrupt firms continue to get large bonuses. (WSJ)

European officials say adoption of the Volcker Rule will keep banks from buying sovereign debt. (WSJ)

Investors move out of cotton, copper and crude oil. (WSJ)

Twitter will use the ability to censor tweets to move into some countries where it is blocked. (WSJ)

AT&T (NYSE: T) has fallen behind Verizon (NYSE: VZ) in cellphone sales. (WSJ)

EU leaders expect the size of a bailout fund to rise. (WSJ)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) says its new smartphones are selling well. (WSJ)

Businesses increase spending as they move into 2012. (WSJ)

Large central banks will continue to use their balance sheets to help national economies. (WSJ)

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) earnings move higher. (WSJ)

A WPP Group survey shows that consumers rank the performance of global brands higher than they do the moral qualities of the companies that own them. (WSJ)

EU banks that have taken money from the European Central Bank can either keep the money to help their balance sheets or use it to buy risky sovereign debt as a way to stabilize the financials of the region. (WSJ)

IMF studies of the Greek economy show that it is falling apart rapidly. (NYT)

Washington support for wind and solar energy is dropping. (NYT)

The largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, once again turns in strong gains. (NYT)

The Defense Department to cut $485 billion over the next 10 years. (FT)

Large U.S. industrial firms expect sharp growth. (FT)

JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), which considered leaving the most economically damaged markets in Europe, decides to stay, to some extent, for social reasons. (FT)

BNP Paribas will sell its $11 billion energy loan portfolio. (FT)

Investors continue to pressure Apple to begin to pay a dividend out of its $100 billion in cash. (FT)

CDS numbers show increases in the risk of corporate and sovereign paper. (Bloomberg)

Spain’s unemployment reaches 22.9%. (Bloomberg)

As the economy worsens in Europe, General Motors (NYSE: GM) steps up its attempts to restructure Opel. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 83 points to 12,758.85 (0.66%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 32 points (1.14%) to 2,818.31, and the S&P 500 rose 0.87% or more than 11 points to 1,326.06.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie; and Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBC Capital and cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch. Znyga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) gets starting calls from four brokers: ‘overweight’ at Barclays and JPMorgan; ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; and ‘neutral’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Apple is up 6.4% at $447.17, after posting a new 52-week high this morning of $454.45; Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is up nearly 3% at $6.72; Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) is up 1% at $40.54; Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is down -0.6% at $15.60; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is down -0.9% at $70.01; Praxair Inc. (NYSE: PX) is down -2.8% at $106.05; Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) is down -4.9% at $66.01; US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) is up more than 18% at $7.59; and Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) is down nearly -10% at $7.81.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is up more than 46% at $55.16. The genetic testing instrument maker is the target of a $5.7 billion hostile takeover offer from Roche Holdings AG.

Rubicon Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) is down nearly -12% at $10.66. The LED lighting maker was downgraded from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at Needham yesterday on low demand.

Indiana Community Bancorp (NASDAQ: INCB) is up about 44% at $20.90 after posting a new 52-week high of $21.34 earlier. The bank holding company has agreed to be acquired by Old National Bancorp (NYSE: ONB) in an all-stock transaction.

Complete Genomics Inc. (NASDAQ: GNOM) is up 19% to $2.98. The DNA-sequencing company is getting a boost from the hostile takeover bid for Illumina.

NuVasive Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) is up about 19% at $16.31. The medical device maker had its shares stopped today following a report that it would not receive an injunction against selling a disputed product.

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

• 8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
• 8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
• 10:00 a.m. – New home sales
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
• 4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply reports

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Paul Ausick

Lagarde disputes reports of an IMF study that shows a $372 billion capital shortfall among Europe’s banks. (Reuters)

Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) CEO will speak on his vision for the bank. (Reuters)

Bank stocks continue to pull down Europe’s stock markets. (Reuters)

WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) create a venture to provide electronic medical record services. (Reuters)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) may launch a digital book library. (WSJ)

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) focuses on markets for consumers who want cheap products. (WSJ)

Large banks in France face credit agency downgrades for holding of Greek paper. (WSJ)

A partnership between VW and Suzuki may end. (WSJ)

Advertising spending begins to slow. (WSJ)

Greek government to institute a new property tax to close its budget deficit. (WSJ)

Inflation could badly damage India’s economy. (WSJ)

Cargill recalls more ground turkey products. (WSJ)

High e-book prices boost publisher margins. (WSJ)

Strong BlackBerry demand in Asia lifts Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ: RIMM) sales. (WSJ)

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will try to show they can pick up market share in the mobile markets. (WSJ)

Alibaba begins to increase its business units in China and to enter the U.S. market. (WSJ)

Currencies of nations in emerging markets face sharp sell-offs. (WSJ)

Thai government moves to increase the price of rice. (WSJ)

Hackers succeed at breaking digital security certificates. (NYT)

UK bank reform could cost the industry $10 billion a year. (FT)

Jaime Dimon of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) says new bank rules are “anti-American.” (FT)

General Motors (NYSE: GM) plans for Opel to compete in the high end of the market. (FT)

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) will not rule out closer ties to Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD). (FT)

Fitch lowers its rating of Toyota (NYSE: TM) to A from A+ (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) reported earnings of $1.16 EPS versus $0.94 EPS estimates, while revenues rose over 8% to $25.23 billion that was mostly in-line with estimates.  The medical loss ratio was 81.4%, unchanged from the prior quarter.  In another boost to guidance, UnitedHealth put earnings at $4.15 to $4.25 per share and said that it expects revenues to hit that level.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) reported second-quarter earnings of $1.35 per share soundly beating consensus estimates of $1.08 per share.  The company reported quarterly revenues of $8.32 billion in line with consensus estimates of $8.31 billion. The company raised FY 2011 earnings guidance from $4.20 -$4.30 to $4.60 -$4.70.  Prior to Aetna’s revised guidance analysts had looked for earnings of $1.05 per share for the third quarter ending September, 2011 on consensus revenues of $8.36 billion and FY 2011 earnings of $4.71 on revenues of $34.8 billion.  The shares recently closed at $42.62 and its 52-week range is $26.42 to $46.01.

WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) reported second-quarter earnings of $1.83 per share besting consensus estimates of $1.80 per share.  The company reported a 4.8% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenues of $14.88 billion exceeding consensus estimates of $14.67 billion. Analysts have been looking for 2011 third-quarter earnings of $1.69 per share on consensus revenues of $14.93 billion. The shares recently closed at $73.56 but traded down on second-quarter reports.  Its 52-week price range is $48.61 to $81.92.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is set to report earnings on August 1, 2011. Estimates from Thomson Reuters are $2.06 EPS on $9.32 billion in revenues.  For 2011, the current estimates are $7.07 EPS on $36.67 billion in sales.  At $75.75 today, the 52-week range is $45.36 to $84.32 and analysts have a consensus target of $88.22 on the stock.

Since before the July 19 earnings, UnitedHealth has seen shares go from $51.95 down then up to $52.87 before closing at $48.89 on Wednesday.  Shares are back up at $50.65 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $59.82.

This week’s pre-earnings level on Aetna was $42.62 and shares hit $41.72 on Wednesday before recovering to $42.78 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $49.92.

This week’s pre-earnings level from Wellpoint was $73.56 and shares closed on Wednesday at $68.70 versus only $68.94 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $88.20.

So far it is UnitedHealth that is a the winner of the health insurers in this earnings season.  Shares hit a 52-week high of $50.89 today, still leaving about 20% before hitting the all-time highs of 2005 to 2006.  Moody’s even liked the UnitedHealth earnings enough that it raised its corporate credit ratings to ‘A3′ with a stable outlook because of a consistent earnings profile and showing consistent revenue growth.

It turns out that healthcare reform has so far been much better for the health insurers than many would have guessed.  You see who is winning so far, and don’t be surprised when these companies play Pac-Man even further when it comes to buying up business by consolidating the smaller health insurers.

Jon C. Ogg & Jim Berdou

AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) Cut to Sell at Ticonderoga.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Removed from U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Reiterated Buy with $22 target at Argus.
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) Reiterated Buy with $32 target at Argus.
El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB) added to U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Cut to Reduce at Nomura; Reiterated Buy and raised target to $29 at Gleacher.
Inergy, L.P. (NYSE: NRGY) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Wednesday).
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) Reiterated Outperform at CRedit Suisse.
Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) Raised to Buy at Wunderlich.
Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE: SEM) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Wednesday).
ValueClick, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCLK) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late Wednesday).
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $41 at Gleacher & Co.

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

June retail sales were strong for most firms in the industry. A notable exception was J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP which posted figures below expectations. It has hired a senior retail executive from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to turn around its fortunes. The move could not happen soon enough. The stock was down almost 4% for the week.

Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) was ordered to pay back investors in its YieldPlus Fund. The fund took undisclosed risks. Schwab share closed the week off by 3.6%.

AETNA Inc. (NYSE: AET) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) Reiterated Neutral at BofA/ML.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Reiterated Buy at BofA/ML.
Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Maintained Sell at Auriga; Cut to Hold at ThinkEquity.
Unitedhealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

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

The new dividend rate will be $0.25 per quarter per share of common stock.  What makes this dividend so interesting is that the dividend yield is north of 1.3%, even after today’s share price rise of more than 5%. Unitedhealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) currently yields about 1%.  Elsewhere in the sector, WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) yields about 1.4% and AETNA Inc. (NYSE: AET) yields about 1.5%.  This probably puts the heat on CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) to start a better payout as well as its current yield is only about 0.1%.

Humana’s dividend is payable on July 28, 2011 to stockholders of record on June 30, 2011.  The board also replaced its prior share buyback plan of up to $250 million with a new authorization plan of up to $1 billion by June 30, 2013. The company had about $100 million still outstanding and not executed in its prior plan.  Humana’s market cap is roughly $13 billion after today’s move.

Humana is also realigning its segments into Retail, Employer Group, and Health and Well-Being Services; and it also said it would start to break out its “other” operation income as well.  Humana hit a new 52-week high this morning on the news and shares are currently up 5.3% at $76.58 so far this morning against a new 52-week range of $43.17 to $77.80.

• Unitedhealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) is up less than 1% at $48.13 and its 52-week trading range is $27.13 to $48.90.
• WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) hit a new 52-week high earlier this morning and the stock is currently up 0.7% at $72.74 and its 52-week trading range is $46.52 to $73.35.
• AETNA Inc. (NYSE: AET) hit a new 52-week high and the stock is up 1.4% at $39.36 against a 52-week range of $25.00 to $39.71.
• CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) is up 0.8% at $45.68 and it is almost at a new 52-week high as the range of the last year is $29.12 to $45.98.

What is amazing is that Humana has not paid out a dividend since the early 1990′s.  The goal of the latest healthcare reform, if you call it reform, was to basically turn these insurers into the equivalent of regulated utilities.  The payouts are rising, and the big giant insurance mergers seem to have played out to where there are literally a few key players in each local market now.  If these are on the way to becoming regulated utilities, than investors are likely to demand even higher payouts ahead.

JON C. OGG

The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Maintained Buy on Focus List with $81 target at Argus.
Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) replaced Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) on the Convition Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Strayer Education (NASDAQ: STRA) was named the Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Turkcell (NYSE: TKC) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) Maintained BUY with $44 target at Argus.
WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

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