Research in Motion (RIMM) closed $66.67. RIMM is expected to report Q4 EPS on March 30. March option implied volatility is at 40, June is at 43, versus its 26-week average of 48 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Motorola (MOT) closed at $6.57. Barron's said MOT shares look increasingly attractive on a sum-of-the-parts basis. March and April option implied volatility of 48 is below its 26-week average of 52, according to Track Data, suggesting slightly decreasing price movement.

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

As I sit in the Istanbul Airport watching the snow fall outside, I'm reminded of the song by the great Willie Nelson. Some of the best memories of my childhood include singing that song with my father, as we traveled on holiday from campsite to campsite. Today, those words have a much different meaning.

I just drained the last few electrons of my BlackBerry's battery, as I told my family the bad news. My flight has been canceled, and it will be another day before I get home, and another weekend lost in the air.

About an hour ago, Apple (AAPL) finally unveiled its much anticipated and rumored tablet computer -- the iPad. For the past couple of years, many wondered why Apple never got into the netbook market. Steve Jobs, Apple's founder, CEO and visionary explained that netbooks simply are not better than laptops. The iPad, however, according to Jobs is.

Specs, from Engadget: The Apple iPad weighs just 1.5 pounds, and has a 9.7-inch touchscreen LCD display. It's running Apple's own 1GHz "A4" chip, with a 10-hour battery life and a month of standby. It'll come in three sizes and prices points: 16GB -- sold for $499, 32GB -- sold for $599, and 64GB -- $699.

Monday morning, mobile phone firm Motorola (MOT) found itself on the lips of lawyers and judges. The first reason is that a lawsuit commenced in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of MOT stock purchasers who made their purchase from December 6, 2007 through January 22, 2008.

The lawsuit alleges that Motorola and "certain of its officers and directors" violated federal securities laws by "intentionally and knowingly misstating the 2007 fourth quarter earnings projections and sales demands for the RAZR2 during the 2007 holiday shopping season." The suit states that Motorola's RAZR2 did not attract buyers thanks to its $299 price tag and the fact that it had not improved enough from the RAZR. Nevertheless, Motorola made positive statements all while losing "significant market share" to its competition. The defendants claim that Motorola senior execs knew that Motorola was not on track to hit their profit forecast of 12 cents to 14 cents per share, and would like a bit of compensation.

The market held up well considering the news flow today. The jobless claims grew again and the retail sales were far from impressive. We had Obama publicly attacking the banks for more taxes, and even that didn't hurt the bank stocks. A well-received 30-Year Treasury auction helped with those who might spread fear about a bond market bubble as well.

Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,711.60 +30.83 (0.29%)
S&P 500 1,148.61 +2.93 (0.26%)
Nasdaq 2,318.01 +10.11 (0.44%)

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades
Top Day Trader Alerts
Top Stock Rumors

Eastman Kodak (EK) is grabbing headlines after the film firm filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging that Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Research In Motion Limited's (RIMM) BlackBerry camera phones infringe on Kodak's patents. Kodak is asking the ITC to block Apple and RIMM from importing the offending devices.

Additionally, the iconic photography company filed two suits against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. Kodak is claiming infringement of patents "related to digital cameras and certain computer processes."

McDonald's (MCD) isn't the only company tapping into the "billions" game. In a bit of chest-thumping while Google (GOOG) announced its new cell phone, Apple (AAPL) let the world know that iPhone and iPod Touch users have pulled down 3 billion applications from the company's App Store since its launch a year and a half ago.

Steve Jobs, the company CEO, said, "This is like nothing we've ever seen before." He didn't reveal how many of these apps were free -- and whether billions and billions of downloads translate to billions and billions of dollars.

Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded United Parcel Service (UPS) to outperform from neutral based on operating leverage, improving industry pricing and exposure to a cyclical recovery. The firm raised its target to $70 from $61.
• JMP Securities upgraded Qualcomm (QCOM) following positive wireless industry checks. The firm, which has a $60 target on the stock, believes Qualcomm is the best positioned wireless company to enable 3G deployments and the early ramp of 4G technology.
• Credit Suisse has taken a more positive stance on the potash sector given the settlement of the Chinese contracts and improving near-term fundamentals. The firm upgraded Potash (POT) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $135 from $119. Credit Suisse also raised Intrepid Potash (IPI) to neutral from underperform and raised its price target to $30 from $28.
• Avery Dennison (AVY) was raised to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Biogen Idec (BIIB) was upgraded at BofA/Merrill to neutral from underperform.
• RadioShack (RSH) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.

Nokia (NOK - option chain) shares are rising today after the head of the company's mobile division, Rick Simonson, told India's Economic Times, "By 2011, our efforts will start producing results, as we will be at par with Apple (AAPL) and RIM (RIMM) in smartphones." Nokia alsofiled to broaden its patent dispute with Apple over the weekend. 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 NOK.

NOK opened this morning at $13.26. So far today the stock has hit a low of $13.20 and a high of $13.45. As of 12:50, NOK is trading at $13.40 up 55 cents(4.3%). The chart for NOK looks neutral and S&P gives NOK a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

U.S. stock futures advanced Wednesday morning, as investors await more key economic data today, including reports on income and home sales. Global markets, too, were strong ahead of the data as Wall Street prepares for the fourth consecutive up session. However, with light volumes, as they are expected to be today, volatility may be the issue.

On Tuesday, stocks rallied following a positive report on the housing and the encouraging final revision of third-quarter GDP. The Dow and S&P 500 nearly reached new 14-months highs. The positive sentiment on the economy is likely to continue today as the data is released.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) shares rose after lower Q4 earnings and revenue beat analysts' expectations.
• Best Buy Inc. (BBY) shares sold off despite better-than-expected Q3 results due to the lower gross margin.
• Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) warned that Q4 earnings would come in lower than the Street view
• Discover Financial Services (DFS) shares were up after it reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings.
• First Solar Inc. (FSLR) offered a solid 2010 outlook but the consensus EPS estimate is high in the range.
• General Mills Inc. (GIS) strong Q2 results included better-than-expected earnings and a rosy outlook.

Today had little economic data to boost or quell markets. Asian stocks were weak but European market gave the US a boost on German business confidence. Today's gainers were mostly on earnings and oil and gold both rallied off lows after Iran's military supposedly raised an Iranian flag over an Iraqi oil well in a disputed area now part of Iraq. Gold may still be dead or range bound the rest of 2009.

The closing bell on this Triple Witching expiration date was not certain on the direction throughout most of the late morning and through most of the afternoon.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,310.23 +1.97 (0.02%)
S&P 500 1,102.73 +6.65 (0.61%)
Nasdaq 2,211.69 +31.64 (1.45%)

Top Day Trader Alerts
Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Research in Motion (RIMM) to hold from sell to reflect the company's Q3 results and guidance. The firm raised its target price on shares to $75 from $60.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Northern Trust (NTRS) and State Street (STT) to outperform from market perform to reflect valuation and favorable longer-term secular trends. The firm keeps a $58 price target on Northern Trust and a $51 target on State Street.
• UBS upgraded Universal Health (UHS) to buy from neutral and raised its target to $38 from $31. The firm said hospital checks indicate bad debt has not increased vs. Q3 and that Universal Health should report an in-line to better-than-expected Q4.
• Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) was upgraded to hold from sell at Kaufman Bros.
• Whiting Petroleum (WLL) was raised to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• BP Plc (BP) was upgraded at Goldman to buy from neutral.

With the last of the big earnings out of the way, we won't see any major downgrades the rest of '09, TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says.

We should be in research heaven starting today. We have unwritten rules at the end of the year in this game: no big downgrades. And with almost no earnings reports left for the year, there is little reason to expect any.

Given that the last major earnings reports -- General Mills (GIS) (Cramer's Take), Research In Motion (RIMM) (Cramer's Take) and Nike (NKE) (Cramer's Take) -- were all worth praising it is hard to see why this year should be any different.

U.S. stock futures advanced Friday morning, indicating Wall Street is ready to reverse the negative trend of the last few days. Several strong and better-than-expected company reports late Thursday contributed to the changing atmosphere as investors regained confidence in companies' profit prospects.