Late yesterday, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced the discontinuation of the SUN 1122 Phase III trial of Sutent. The drug is for treating colorectal cancer, and the study was terminated because it failed to achieve its primary end point in the study. An independent committee (the Data Monitoring Committee) found that adding sunitinib to the chemotherapy regimen FOLFIRI would be unable to demonstrate "a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival compared to FOLFIRI alone."

The company's vice president of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs Dr. Mace Rothenberg noted, "We are disappointed with this result, but trial successes and failures are an integral part of cancer drug development and contribute to a growing body of knowledge on improving patient care."

Mergers and acquisitions aren't delivering the fees that investment bankers used to enjoy, but fortunately, the money's coming from elsewhere. Data from Thomson Reuters reports a 29% increase in capital markets and M&A fees for the first time in more than a year. Share sales (e.g., rights offerings) were where dealmakers found the action. In the shrinking M&A space, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has taken the lead spot.

Since there are fewer banks in the marketplace than there were a year ago -- and they have less money -- the capital is starting to come from elsewhere. Because they aren't lending at their previous pace, companies are issuing bonds and equity to replenish their coffers. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), for example, raked in more than $23 billion from the bond market to fund its acquisition of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), and Roche nabbed Genentech with the help of a $30 billion debt issuance.

Bit by bit, the IPO market is picking up steam. And, the latest deal hit the markets today: Medidata (NASDAQ: MDSO).

So far, the shares are up 19% $16.70 (the IPO priced at $14, which was above its $11-$13 price range).

Founded about ten years ago, Medidata develops web-based software for clinical trials management. Obviously, it's a big market opportunity.

Keep in mind that a drug costs more than $1 billion to develop. Oh, and the process can easily go beyond a decade. In other words, it's important to streamline the process.

Every year I find myself asking the same question: What to get dad for Father's Day. Well, Kiplinger's offers not to get our dads the same old presents -- another tie, another power tool -- but stocks in companies he probably likes or uses their products. That's a great idea, I thought, and decided to counter with five of my own.

• Kiplinger's suggests: Diageo (NYSE: DEO), the seller of such brands as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Guinness and José Cuervo. Diageo has held up better than most during the recession -- thanks to a balanced portfolio of products, with higher exposure to mid-price, mainstream brands and less exposure to ultra-premium brands. The shares look reasonably priced. At $56.01, Diageo trades at 15 times estimated June 2009 earnings of $3.82 a share. The stock yields 2.8%.

• Another to consider: Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP), the seller of such brands as Coors, Blue Moon, Pilsner and Rickard's. Beer, probably even more so than hard liquor is supposed to hold better during a recession given the cheaper price point. The company's recent quarterly profits more than doubled. The shares trade at 13 times forward earnings of $3.33 and yield 2.2%.

Today marked intra-day 2009 for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ, although these might not have closed on the highs for the year. Also that won't be known until the formal 4:30-ish closing reset adjustment. This came on the heels of slightly less-bad jobs data and on some confusing retail gains. Unlike earlier Treasury auctions, today's 30-year Treasury Bond auction was a help to the markets as yields reached a high enough level that investors jumped in. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 8,770.92 +31.90 (0.37%)
S&P 500 944.88 +5.73 (0.61%)
Nasdaq 1,862.37 +9.29 (0.50%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - option chain) shares are rising today after the company gave an update on mid-stage studies of its experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug. A Phase Two study shows PFE's oral JAK-3 inhibitor "demonstrates statistically significant response for patients with rheumatoid arthritis." PFE is currently enrolling patients for a phase 3 study of the treatment. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on PFE.

PFE opened this morning at $14.09. So far today the stock has hit a low of $14.05 and a high of $14.65. As of 11:45, PFE is trading at $14.60 up 55 cents (3.9%). The chart for PFE looks neutral and S&P gives PFE a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

"Golf has Tiger Woods, novelists have Tom Clancy, and the investment community has stars such as Bruce Berkowitz, Bill Nygren, Charlie Dreifus, and Mario Gabelli," states Paul Tracy.

In his The Street Authority Market Advisor, he suggests, "These money managers are at the pinnacle of their craft." Here, he takes a look at these "celebrities" and some of their current top stock holdings.

"These money managers have all amassed prodigious gains over the years for their shareholders. Over the past few months, these gurus have come out with ringing endorsements for certain stocks. This isn't empty talk -- they are putting their money where their mouth is.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) Q1 profit fell despite strong sales of Plavix and Abilify.
• Check Point Software Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CHKP) was downgraded based on its guidance.
• Domino's Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) strong Q1 results were boosted by early debt retirement.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) strong Q1 results were driven by Madagascar 2.
• Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP) Q1 results led to an analyst's downgrade.
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) widened its Q1 loss, sending shares sharply lower.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings as revenues surged in the quarter.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) just beat Q3 expectations despite weak same-store sales growth.
• Corn Products International Inc. (NYSE: CPO) Q1 results were dragged down by higher corn costs.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) Q1 earnings sank on falling sales, job cuts and acquisition costs.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) reported a deeper-than-expected Q1 loss and suspended its dividend.
• Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR) posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings but revenue declined.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's Q4 results could remove uncertainty and cost cutting initiatives could drive upside.
  
• Baird upgraded Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $42 from $34 citing valuation, solid execution, and growth potential.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Buy from Hold as it believes the recent sell-off presents an attractive buying opportunity. The firm believes Netflix has one of the best earnings outlooks in the internet sector and increased its target price to $52 from $37.
• AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Joy Global (NYSE: JOYG) and Bucyrus (NYSE: BUCY) were raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), a pharmaceutical entity whose colleagues include Merck (NYSE: MRK), Novartis (NYSE: NVS), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), will be reporting first-quarter earnings Tuesday. As one has come to expect, the market believes that the company will be experiencing a decline in bottom-line income. The call is for 49 cents per share versus 61 cents per share in the year-ago period.

That's a drop of 20%. That might not sound so hot, but the good news is that Pfizer has a solid recent track record when it comes to beating earnings expectations. So shareholders might be justified in feeling confident about that aspect of the game.

Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) closed at $43.11. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced on January 26 the acquisition of WYE for $33 in cash and 0.985 of a share of PFE. PFE closed at $14.04. WYE April and May option implied volatility of 23 is near its 13-week average of 23, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) and Merck (NYSE: MRK) approved a definite merger agreement on March 9. SGP shareholders will receive 0.5767 shares and $10.50 in cash for each share of SGP. SGP closed at $24.19. MRK closed at $27.16. SGP April and May option implied volatility of 37 is near its 2-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directorial price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

More and more, there are signs that the capital markets are finding equilibrium. For example, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was able to raise $13.5 billion in debt financing this week. The structure was a five-part issue of notes.

Of course, Pfizer needs the cash to pull off its $64.2 billion acquisition of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE).

It felt hard enough to milk out a two-day rally when you looked over the numbers yesterday. Now we have a 3-day rally. Gnarly jobless claims were swept under the table despite the notion that we now have over 5.3 million adults on the continued jobless claims.

The retail sales data was enough of a boost, and the data on things not being as bad at the financials helped even further. Trading volume still feels light, but at least everyone's retirement accounts have gone up. After all, it still feels good to see broad-based rallies. Here are today's closing bell levels:

Dow 7,170.06 +239.66 (3.46%)
S&P 500 750.74 +29.38 (4.07%)
Nasdaq 1,426.10 +54.46 (3.97%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

"The silver lining to the market decline is that some of our favorite stocks have fallen into 'buy' territory," says Nilus Mattive. In his Dividend Superstars he eyes one favorite, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).

"Pfizer is now trading well below my suggested entry price of $16. In fact, it's back at levels last seen in 1996! The major catalyst for this sharp decline was Pfizer's decision to halve its dividend.

"That came on January 27, just two months after the company said it would simply leave the payment flat this year (which was already the first failure to raise in 42 years).