Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG) to Market Perform from Outperform to reflect the rebound in equity and fixed income markets as well as an attractive risk/reward profile. The firm raised its target on shares to $72 from $61.
• Jefferies upgraded AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) to Buy from Hold as it believes equipment sales in Brazil are holding up better than expected and farm stimulus should set a floor in sales. The firm raised its target on shares to $36 from $25.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Hold to reflect reduced balance sheet risk and a more positive view on the steel sector. The raised its target on shares to $42 from $23
• Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Synovus (NYSE: SNV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.
• First American (NYSE: FAF) was lifted to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Abiomed (NASDAQ: ABMD) to Hold from Underperform on valuation as it believes concerns over the company's Impella heart pump are priced in at current levels. The firm lowered its target price to $7 from $8.
  
• Suntrust upgraded Somanetics (NASDAQ: SMTS) to Neutral from Reduce. The firm believes most of the risk is out of Somanetics shares and that the Q1 report could be a positive catalyst.
  
• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded shares of Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and believes the company's revenue trends are improving.
• China Petroleum & Chemical (NYSE: SNP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) and Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• KeyBanc upgraded Epicor (NASDAQ: EPIC) to Buy from Hold based on several near-term catalysts that include possible convertible debt repurchases, reasonable Q4 results, a proxy fight, and a boost from the Epicor 9 product cycle in 2H09.
  
• KeyBanc also upgraded AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) to Buy from Hold based on relative valuation and said the company could benefit from lower iron ore, scrap natural gas, and labor inputs.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Overweight from Neutral based on relative valuation.
• Marriott (NYSE: MAR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.
  
• Deere (NYSE: DE) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Abercrombie & Fitch, China Unicom and Toronto Dominion were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Friedman Billings downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Market Perform from Outperform citing soft comps which could impact EPS expectations in 2H08 and SG&A investing.
  
• China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse and to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley as the company's phone asset sales garnered a lower-than-expected price.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Toronto Dominion (NYSE: TD) to Sector Perform from Outperform citing expense initiatives in domestic retail banking which are hurting operating leverage, loan losses in U.S. banking, and muted capital markets revenues.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• William Blair cut Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Linear Tech (NASDAQ: LLTC) was downgraded at UBS to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Abiomed (NASDAQ: ABMD) was lowered to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• While United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is preparing for the busiest time of the year, high costs and a slowing economy are set to present big challenges for the Atlanta company once the holiday season is over, the Wall Street Journal reported.

OTHER PAPERS:

• BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column reported that shares of Abiomed Inc (NASDAQ: ABMD) have recovered nearly to its 52-week high of $15, rallying on buzz that the FDA could approve the company's chief product, Impella, a miniature pump at the end of a catheter, within 12 months.
• The "Inside Wall Street" column also reported that Focus Media Holding Limited (NASDAQ: FMCN), the top advertising company in Internet, Mobile and Poster/Panel Markets, should benefit from the 2008 Summer Olympics.

WEB SITES:

• According to sources and reported by AppleInsider, there have been additional sightings of an "unfamiliar MacBook model floating around" Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) campus perhaps indicating a new Macbook is coming at next month's Macworld Expo.