The markets were higher before the economic data came to ruin the party. CPI came in higher than PPI on the inflation front, but there was a real disappointment in housing starts considering that many were expecting gains there. Oil inventory contractions across the board failed to boost that market considerably. A late day rally looked like a positive close was in the cards, but the buying action was only so much.

Here were today's closing levels:

Dow 10,426.31 -11.11 (-0.11%)
S&P 500 1,109.79 -0.53 (-0.05%)
Nasdaq 2,193.14 -10.64 (-0.48%)

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Jobless claims almost went under 500,000 and gave one of the lowest readings this year. Unfortunately that wasn't enough for the market because these likely need to get under 400,000 or so before unemployment will stop rising. Oil inventories took some fuel from oil, but the weak 30-Year Treasury auction and the government's budget deficit kept the six day rally from turning into a 7-day rally.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,197.47 -93.79 (-0.91%)
S&P 500 1,087.21 -11.30 (-1.03%)
Nasdaq 2,149.29 -17.61 (-0.81%)

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Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) soared to a new annual high Thursday morning after the chipmaker settled its antitrust case against rival Intel (INTC). Under the terms of the agreement, Intel will shell out $1.25 billion to AMD, and will abide by a new set of rules for conducting business. The pact also includes a renewed cross-license agreement between the two chip titans.

In prepared comments, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer called the settlement a game-changer. "We are optimistic that it will usher a new era for our industry," he said. "We recognize that it will take time for people to understand how the operating conditions in the processor business have changed. But make no mistake -- they have changed."

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

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) higher Q3 earnings topped expectations but revenue was in line.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) posted better-than-expected Q3 results, but shares sold off.
• Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) was downgraded on concerns about its Q4 guidance.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) shares fell after it posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) fell victim to profit taking despite reporting better-than-expected earnings.
• CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) better-than-expected Q3 earnings sent shares higher, despite a decline in revenue.

You've heard of the Monday blues, right? Monday is a depressing day, while Friday is supposed to be the best day of the week. Unfortunately, that's not the case with chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD). The stock closed down over 7% on extremely high volume.

According to Reuters coverage, AMD, which issued results yesterday after the bell, beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines. In fact, the bottom line was particularly impressive. AMD lost 18 cents per share. The belief was that the company would lose as much as 42 cents per share.

The chip sector is pretty hot. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) reported a respectable quarter this week, and the stock is near a 52-week high. Also close to their highs of the year are Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD).

Well, you can add Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) to the list. The company, an expert on programmable logic, reported an earnings-beating quarter yesterday after the bell, according to Reuters. Xilinx made 23 cents per share in Q2, a penny ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue likewise was slightly ahead of the projections.

Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Stancorp (NYSE: SFG) to Outperform from Neutral citing relative valuation and EPS visibility.
• Jefferies upgraded Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE: CY) to Hold from Underperform after its channel checks indicated the company's capacitive touch screen solution has design traction. The firm raised its target on shares to $10 from $7.50.
• FBR Capital upgraded Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect improving store channel checks, the company's brand focus and controlled inventory, as well as the firm's belief that guidance could be conservative. FBR raised its target on shares to $9 from $6.
• Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at JMP Securities.
• Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at RBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated the company's sales trends improved through September. The firm raised its target on shares to $49 from $33.
• Jefferies upgraded Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated IT spending will be strong in the second half of 2009, but the firm finds the stock fully valued at current levels. Jefferies raised its target on shares to $40 from $32.
• Pali Captital upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and expectations that lower pricing and international growth will be catalysts going forward. The firm set a $45 price target on shares.
• Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• PPD Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDI) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

Goldman Sachs upgraded the banking sector last week, and this coming week we'll get a chance to see whether Goldman and other big banks reporting third quarter results will live up to the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) looks set to be this week's earnings game winner. Analysts expect this dividend-paying company to report a third-quarter profit of $4.24 per share, which is 57.3% higher than in the same period of last year. Revenue for the period that ended in September is expected to be $11.0 billion. So far, the full-year forecast is for $17.74 per share on $44.6 billion.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) to Buy from Hold on expectations that oil supply will begin to tighten and demand rise. The firm has a $55 price target on the stock.
• Citigroup upgraded Pinnacle West (NYSE: PNW) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live list. The firm expects the company's settlement in Arizona to be approved and raised its target on shares to $35 from $32.
• RBC Capital upgraded NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) to Outperform from Sector Perform as it believes that the company is performing better than expected during its October quarter. The firm expects the company to continue to execute well during subsequent quarters and it raised its target to $33.
• Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the spike in stock prices warrants no buying until prices go lower.

I read a scary book this weekend: the S&P chart book. It was frightening because there weren't more than a handful charts that aren't overextended, and many stocks have reached levels that I didn't like when their companies were doing well. Chart after chart in every business, but especially retail and industrial, have moved up so much that you have to feel like a chump to come in at these levels.

There are almost no stocks with growth prospects that have accidentally high yields anymore. Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) (Cramer's Take) and Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) (Cramer's Take) were the only two that I saw that seemed remotely appealing, and maybe Philip Morris (NYSE: PM) (Cramer's Take).

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $5.50 from $4.25 citing valuation and expectations for the company's competitive position and gross margins to improve.
• Barclays upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Overweight from Equal Weight citing long-term earnings growth as the company benefits from declining charge-offs and credit costs. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• JPMorgan upgraded Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) to Overweight from Neutral and raised its target to $22 from $19 citing the FTC approval for the acquisition of Jacobs Ranch mine and valuation.
• Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Ashland (NYSE: ASH) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

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

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) narrowed its net loss in Q2 but not as much as expected.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) posted better-than-expected Q3 results on demand for iPhones and Macs.
• Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) reported earnings and revenue that topped expectations.
• JDA Software Group Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS) shares surged after it reported record results for Q2.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) lower Q4 results still topped earnings estimates, but shares fell.
• VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) unimpressive Q2 results still managed to beat analysts' low expectations.
• Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Q2 profit was flat year over year and revenue and cash flow declined.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) could be in for a rough session following the release of its second-quarter results. Last night, AMD confessed to a quarterly loss of $335 million, or 49 cents per share; excluding items, the loss widened to 62 cents per share. While this is certainly an improvement from AMD's year-ago loss of $1.16 per share, the results were notably worse than analysts expected -- consensus estimates called for a loss of just 53 cents per share.

Meanwhile, revenue for the period contracted 13% on a year-over-year basis, dwindling to $1.18 billion. This figure actually managed to exceed consensus estimates, which predicted quarterly sales of $1.13 billion. Unfortunately, margins for the quarter fell sharply from first-quarter levels, dropping from 43% to 37%.

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), whose peers include Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), reported results for the second quarter after the bell on Monday. As can be expected, the statistics weren't great. However, there were a couple silver linings.

Revenues declined 27%. Earnings per share dropped a whopping 55%, coming in at 20 cents. Excluding items, Texas Instruments made 25 cents per share. Reuters says this is two pennies above analyst expectations.