Before the bell: Futures lower on new of more writedownsChevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) said on Thursday it expects to earn a bigger profit in the fourth quarter than it did in the third because of higher energy prices.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) said Thursday it will keep relying on contract drivers for its ground delivery division despite a challenge by the Internal Revenue Service, which assessed tax penalties and interest of $319 million.
Notable analyst calls this morning from Briefing.com:
- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), which already soared over 23% on airline merger rumors, was upgraded by Bear Stearns from Peer Perform to Outperform.
- Dell (NYSE: DELL) was upgraded by JP Morgan from Neutral to Overweight (really?). Shares are gaining 1.2% in premarket trading.
- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) was upgraded by JP Morgan from Underweight to Neutral.
- Nokia (NYSE: NOK) was upgraded by RBC Capital Markets from Sector Perform to Outperform. Stock declining 1.5% in premarket trading.
- Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) is losing its chief operating officer to Microsoft. Shares are down 7.9% in premarket trading (8:03 a.m.) after two downgrades from JP Morgan and JMP Securities from Overweight to Neutral and from Market Outperform to Market Perform respectively.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) said Thursday that Jeff Raikes, the top executive in its business software division, will retire in September and be replaced by Stephen Elop, chief operating officer at Juniper.
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) said this morning December same-store sales were up 1.5% as international strength overcame domestic weakness.
Serious Money: Not cheating -- market waving the caution flag
Warren Buffett calls for a second stimulus package
Cramer on BloggingStocks: Who needs the PPIP? 
