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.

To bolster its capital base and get more focus, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) has been in the process of unloading noncore assets. And, we got the latest deal today; that is, the company has agreed to sell its long-term asset management unit, Columbia Management, to Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP). The price tag comes to roughly $1 billion.

Columbia is certainly a nice business, with a wide assortment of stock and bond mutual funds. One of its standout funds is the Acorn Fund, whose manager is Charles McQuaid.

Analyst upgrades:

• Roth Capital upgraded Charlotte Russe (NASDAQ: CHIC) to Hold from Sell. The firm is positive on management's strategy to drive improved operating performance and is encouraged by the company's longer-term growth prospects.
  
• Banc of America upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) to Neutral from Sell following the company's capital raise as they see a more balanced risk/reward at current levels. The firm lowered their target to $5 from $12.
  
• Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Ameriprise (NYSE: AMP) to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Bob Evans (NASDAQ: BOBE) was upgraded to Hold from Underweight at KeyBanc.
• J. Sainsbury (OTC: JSAIY) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at ING and to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan after the company topped earnings expectations.

Analyst downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded General Motors (NYSE: GM) to Neutral from Overweight citing the "ambiguity of government aid structure" and the likely dilution to equity. The analyst said GM needs money now to get past December 2008 and will need at least $15B to get through 2009, with the total bailout potentially reaching $30B.
  
• Goldman downgraded Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) to Sell from Neutral and added shares to the Conviction Sell List.
  
• J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Genentech (NYSE: DNA) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $100 from $95 on increased likelihood of an acquisition after Roche (OTC: RHHBY) reaffirmed commitment to its $100/share offer.
  
• Baird expects Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) to gain market share in 2009 in mobile phones, IPTVs, and digital TVs. Shares were upgraded to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) to Outperform from Market Perform as they see limited earnings risk and an attractive risk/reward.
• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Buy from Add at Calyon.
  
• Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS and to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.
  
• Goldman upgraded AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) to Neutral from Sell and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades:

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the safety theme will come back if only because these companies' earnings will be good in six months.

Editor's note: Jim Cramer will present his 2009 stock outlook for the first time at TheStreet.com Investment Conference on Saturday, Oct. 25. Click for details.

Now they come after the Procter & Gambles (NYSE: PG) (Cramer's Take) and the General Mills (NYSE: GIS) (Cramer's Take) and the like, betting that the action will be better in the cyclicals with all of this money being printed worldwide.

Commodities are also coming back because of reflation. And we have to feel that many of the infra and ag names are finally sold out by the hedge fund redemptions.

Here I am speaking of a Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) (Cramer's Take), with its good yield and a belief that the hedge funds are at last done.

I don't buy it. I like a balanced portfolio, but I want to buy the GIS/PG all the way down because we are going into a recession, not going out of one. These companies pay dividends, raise dividends and have great commodity tailwinds.

Colgate's (NYSE: CL) (Cramer's Take) down a lot too, and I am liking that one.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to sources, the Wall Street Journal reported that Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) is under investigation for possible securities fraud. People close to the situation say the inquiry is in its early stages but it involves an inquiry into alleged misrepresentations of the company's financial position and the quality of its mortgage loans.
• The Financial Times reported that Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) has teamed up with three leading academics to create products that will deal with the potentially lucrative hedge fund replication industry. The upcoming suite of products will attempt to mechanically replicate the returns of the major hedge fund strategies.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Rio Tinto Plc (NYSE: RTP) is expected to announce this week that its aluminum business is worth up to $20B more than current estimates, after a rise in aluminum prices; the UK Times reported that the statement could raise pressure on BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) to increase its takeover bid for Rio.
• Asset manager Ameriprise Financial Inc (NYSE: AMP) is pairing up with MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA), the Associated Press reported, to become a credit card lender for the first time, the two companies reportedly plan to announce today.

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation filed an administrative complaint against Ameriprise Financial Inc., accusing the company of forgery, document tampering, and of failing to deliver nearly 500 financial plans to customers that paid for them."

The bureau is seeking a $10 million fine. The company denies the allegations, saying that the bureau's characterization of the issue as a "broad-based compliance issue" is unfair. New Hampshire accuses the company of forging clients signatures to make it appear that they had received the detailed personal financial plans in book form that the company had promised them.

Shares of Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP) were up more than 3% today, as investors in the $15.4 billion company shrugged off the possibility of a $10 million fine.

But the cost to the company's reputation could be more important. In addition to The Wall Street Journal story, numerous other outlets have picked up the story. Anyone who happens to have read it, which is bound to be hundreds of thousands of people, will likely think twice before working with the company.

A study in the September Consumer Reports (subscription required) shows that the amount of caffeine found in eight ounces of 12 popular energy drinks ranged from 50 to135mg, with most in the 75 to 80mg range, reports Reuters. That compares to the amount of caffeine in an eight ounce cup of coffee, which ranged from 65 to 120mg, with an average of 85mg, says the National Coffee Association.

The study attempts to surprise consumers by proving that many energy drinks have the same caffeine as a similar cup of coffee. What the study didn't highlight, according to Reuters, was exactly how many energy drinks and coffee people consume during a typical day. The likelihood of people drinking only eight ounces of an energy drink, or coffee, is absurdly low.

Visit any Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) or 7-11 store, and consumers will notice that the smallest size cup in most franchises is 12 ounces, and the largest, 24 ounces. Only Dunkin Donuts provides coffee-drinkers with a smaller version.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP), Anglo American plc (AAUK), Shuffle Master, Inc (SHFL), KLA-Tencor Corp (KLAC), and Hershey Foods (HSY) were today's notable downgrades:

• Citigroup cut both BHP Billiton Ltd (NYSE: BHP) and Anglo American ADR (NASDAQ: AAUK) to Hold from Buy.
• Shuffle Master Inc (NASDAQ: SHFL) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman based on valuation and near-term challenges.
• RBC cut KLA-Tencor Corp (NASDAQ: KLAC) to Sector Perform from Outperform citing valuation, concerns related to June order expectations, a slowdown in operating expense reduction and long-term concerns related to process control spending.
• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Hershey Foods Co (NYSE: HSY) to Underweight from Neutral on valuation and concerns about the company's restructuring plan.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Ameriprise Financial, Inc (NYSE: AMP) to Market Perform from Outperform, citing valuation.
• Merriman cut ValueClick, Inc's (NASDAQ: VCLK) rating to Neutral from Buy as the firm believes Google's (GOOG) acquisition of DoubleClick clouds VCLK's long-term prospects.
• UBS downgraded Supervalu Inc (NYSE: SVU) to Reduce from Neutral based on deteriorated sales trends.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Southern Copper Corp (NYSE: PCU) to Underweight from Equal Weight based on valuation and a potential miss to Q1 expectations.
• Goldman removed Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE: FCX) from its Conviction Buy List, citing valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).