So this earnings season hasn't turned out as bad as some had feared. In fact, we've seen some pretty stellar results from the likes of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Then there was the Fed's Beige Book report, which suggested that the U.S. economy had stabilized -- and even improved a bit in some sectors.

Well, the earnings crunch rolls on this coming week leading up to Halloween. Do analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect more treats or tricks from coming quarterly reports?

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) to Neutral from Sell and said liquidity is no longer a near-term concern. The firm lowered Pacific Sunwear's target to $1.50 from $3. Citigroup upgraded shares to Hold from Sell on valuation following the recent weakness and believes Pacific Sunwear has sufficient liquidity to remain a going concern.
  
• Calyon believes Reliant Energy (NYSE: RRI) will be successful in unwinding the Merrill Lynch Retail credit sleeve and obtaining alternative collateral. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Add.
  
• JP Morgan said Cogent's (NASDAQ: COGT) position in homeland security and the defense markets make it less sensitive to an economic downturn, making valuation attractive. JP Morgan upgraded shares to Overweight from Neutral and raised its target to $13 from $10.50.
• Goldman added Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to its Conviction Buy List and removed Riverbed (NASDAQ: RVBD) from the Conviction Sell List.
  
• J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM) was raised to Buy from Underperform at Merrill Lynch.

Analyst upgrades:

• Wachovia upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) to Outperform from Market Perform on expectations for greater pricing power given Goldman's position as the largest remaining independent securities firm.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Investment Technology Group Inc (NYSE: ITG) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company will take market share with the reshaping of the large wire-house brokerage community. The company's target was raised to $37 from $33.
• Broadpoint raised Hoku Scientific Inc (NASDAQ: HOKU) to Buy from Neutral as they believe the contract with Tianwei New Energy reduces financing risk.
• ACE Ltd (NYSE: ACE) and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE: TRV) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: ACLS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold and Evergreen Solar Inc (NASDAQ: ESLR) was lifted to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Blackboard, Starwood Hotels and ACE Ltd were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Blackboard (NASDAQ:BBBB) to Outperform from Neutral based on two new state-wide deals with New Mexico and North Carolina, K-12 growth, and up-selling and cross-selling opportunities. The firm raised Blackboard's target to $45 from $38.
  
• Wachovia raised Starwood Hotels (NYSE:HOT) to Outperform from Market Perform citing valuation, high international exposure, and secure capital structure and dividend.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of ACE Ltd (NYSE:ACE) to Buy from Neutral on valuation, as they believe additional selling from the company's redomestication to Switzerland will be offset by short covering. They view the recent weakness as an attractive buying opportunity and raised their target to $63 from $58.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS upgraded Microchip (NASDAQ:MCHP) and Linear Tech (NASDAQ:LLTC) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE:MI) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Stock futures indicated yet another lower open for U.S. stocks Monday morning as investors still digested recent data that suggests not only an economic slowdown, perhaps even a recession, at the same time as it suggested prices are increasing and higher inflation looms bright.

Not helping the mood this morning were former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who spoke on ABC's This Week, voicing his own concerns about the economy stands a higher chance these days to go into stagflation where economic growth is stagnant while prices are pressured upward. Greenspan also called for the government to give homeowners who have problems paying their mortgage, some sort of financial aid.

Meanwhile, the holiday shopping season isn't going too well at both brick-and-mortar as well as online retailers. The weather has kept many from shopping the past weekend, as did economic concerns. Despite the weather not being a factor, it seems that web stores have also struggled.

These concerns may stop the Fed's current easing mode of the past three meetings as it attempts to juggle the economy falling into a recession, easing the pressures in the credit market, while keeping inflation in check.

Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) September volatility elevated at 75; August straddle at $12.70.

• BSC is recently down $3.89 to $111.80.
  
• S&P revised BSC outlook to Negative from Stable.
  
• BSC call option volume of 16,664 contracts compares to put volume of 39,448 contracts. BSC August straddle at $12.70. BSC September option implied volatility of 75 is above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) put volume heavy; August straddle at $9.

• CFC, the largest U.S. home mortgage lender, is recently down $1.63 to $25.14.
  
• CFC call option volume of 17,165 contracts compares to put volume of 58,859 contracts. CFC August straddle is priced at $9. CFC September option implied volatility of 117 is above its 26-week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

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

Bear Stearns-(NYSE-BSC) volatility Elevated at 56; above 26-week average of 31. BSC is recently down $5.78 to $115.49. BSC August & September option implied volatility of 56 is above its 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LEH) volatility Elevated at 55, above 26-week average of 30. LEH is recently down $2.47 to $59.56. LEH call option volume of 16,716 contracts compares to put volume of 18,651 contracts. LEH August & September option implied volatility of 55 is above its 26-week average of 30 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Volatility Index S&P 500 Options-VIX up 1.34 to 24.86.

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