Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) is up 21% on strong earnings.

Ambac (NYSE: ABK) is up almost 8% on an upgrade from Moody's.

American Express (NYSE:A XP) is up 4% on good Q1 numbers.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is down over 4% after reporting a weak quarter.

Chemed (NYSE: CHE) is trading down 15% on a poor Q1.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than the do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Barnes Group Inc (B), MFA Mortgage Investments (MFA), Alberto-Culver Co (ACV), ZymoGenetics, Inc (ZGEN) and Genelabs Technologies (GNLB) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• CIBC expects Barnes Group (NYSE: B) to benefit from the sustained upswing in the aerospace cycle and robust global execution, starting shares of with a Sector Outperformer rating.

• JMP Securities is positive on MFA Mortgage Investments' (NYSE: MFA) organic yield improvement potential of its short duration portfolio and the company's modest leverage, starting shares with a Market Outperform rating.

• William Blair started shares of Alberto-Culver Co (NYSE: ACV) with an Outperform rating, believing the company is one of the better long-term growth opportunities among mid-cap stocks in consumer products.

• ZymoGenetics Inc (NASDAQ: ZGEN) was started with a Neutral rating at Oppenheimer, since the firm doesn't expect any important new clinical data until Q308.

• Genelabs Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: GNLB) was started with a Buy at Oppenheimer, saying the company has a portfolio of early-stage programs in the treatment of Hep-C that have the potential to be best-in-class...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Cowen started Maxygen, Inc (NASDAQ: MAXY) with an Outperform.

• Merrill initiated Atheros Communications, Inc (NASDAQ: ATHR) with a Buy rating.

• Jefferies initiated shares of Alcon, Inc (NYSE: ACL) and Chemed Corp (NYSE: CHE) with Buy ratings.

• Rodman initiated Amgen, Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) with a Market Perform rating.

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

Cramer on tonight's MAD MONEY said that the blowup in sub-prime might actually create a boom for pawnbrokers. Hmm, this sounds familiar.... I posted 15 Second-Line Defensive Stocks and Cash America (NYSE:CSH) was the one I noted as the beneficiary there.

Cramer thinks the first way to play lower-income-not-being-able-to-borrow is via pawn shops. He likes Cash America as his pick ... hmm, sounds familiar. CSH traded up 2% after Cramer touted this one. Payday cash advances are another way to play these, even if the rates are super-high. The best play according to him here is Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc. (NYSE:AEA). Cramer said that some states have been trying to limit these and that there has been pressure to stop the regulation from the people that need to borrow. AEA traded up 3% after Cramer touted this one.

Chemed Corp. (NYSE:CHE) is a stock that Cramer actually likes as one among the rubble. CHE is divided into two segments that aren't related: one is Roto-Rooter drain cleaner and one is Vitas that runs hospices. Neither operation is related but they both make lots of money. It has exited the Medicare-related hospices to avoid caps, and its earnings power is there. They beat earnings expectations and they raised guidance. Cramer said the company didn't even envision being this popular. It jumped $7.00 on the news and the market sell-off took off about $2.00. He thinks this one can run and he thinks it will get its momentum back.

On a call-in Cramer did say that Service Corp. Intl. (NYSE:SCI) in the funeral area is a winner and it is close to a yearly high. Cramer also thinks that UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is one that he feels better about.

Jon Ogg does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Diversification is frequently a key to good corporate fortune. That certainly seems to be so, in the case of a Cincinnati firm with highly varied interests.

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) offers services in two widely divergent fields. The Roto-Rooter division provides plumbing and drain cleaning through company-owned branches, independent contractors and franchisees in the United States and Canada. Roto-Rooter also licenses franchisees throughout Asia, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The Vitas division focuses on noncurative hospice care for terminally ill patients. This unit provides direct medical services and counseling to patients and their families through its team of doctors, nurses, home health aids, social workers, clergy and volunteers.

The firm surprised investors last week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 73 cents and revenues of $271.9 million. Analysts had been looking for 57 cents and $266.4 million. Management also guided FY07 EPS to $2.45-$2.60, versus consensus of $2.28. The stock price powered up through 200-day moving average resistance on the news and then passed into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Stocks frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

The brokerage community recommends the shares with three "strong buys", two "buys" and five "holds". Analysts see a fifteen percent average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The CHE P/E ratio (21.73), Price to Sales ratio (1.21), Price to Book ratio (2.90), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (17.53) and EPS Growth rate (19.67%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

Institutions hold about 88 percent of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $29.75 and $61.91. A stop-loss of $39.90 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

I don't often run across a story that both demonstrates brilliant marketing and offers me promise of incredible personal benefit. Roto-rooter's newest promotion, the Pimped Out John Sweepstakes, is all of that and more.

Roto-Rooter, the drain-cleaning company owned by Chemed Corp. (NYSE:CHE), is offering the ultimate web worker home office, a toilet/throne equipped with

• State-of-the-art laptop
• Stocked 4.3 cubic foot refrigerator WITH built-in beer tap
• DVD with Star Wars video
• Cooling/ vapor-dispersing fan
• 20" Phillips flat-screen TV
• Microsoft Xbox 360
• iPod in a toilet-paper dispensing docking station
• Series 2 Tivo
• Pedal exerciser
• Magazine rack with subscriptions to SI, ESPN and GQ magazines
• Megaphone to call in toilet paper reinforcements

You can enter on-line, although I strongly encourage you to forget it so that my odds of winning are better. Deadline for entry is April 2, 2007, with the winner announced on National Plumber's Day, April 25th.

Oh, man! The stories we Bloggingstocks bloggers could file for you if we could con AOL into providing us with this setup. Are you listening, boss?