Analyst Upgrades

• BB&T (BBT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Amylin (AMLN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Morton's Restaurant (MRT) to outperform from market perform.
• Check Point (CHKP) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Excel Maritime (EXM) to buy from hold.
• JinkoSolar (JKS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Compellent (CML) to overweight from neutral.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Crane (CR) to buy from neutral.
• Goldman upgraded Wisconsin Energy (WEC) to conviction buy from buy and American Electric (AEP) to buy from neutral.
• Motorola (MOT) was upgraded due to increasing carrier support by MKM Partners.
• Under Armour (UA) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Sterne Agee.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal's "Smartmoney Stock Screen" looks at eight companies whose valuations make them ripe to buy, and they also may be in the sites of corporate buyers. The big eight include Asbury Automotive Group Inc (NYSE: ABG), Crane Company (NYSE: CR), Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG).
• The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg said in the "Personal Technology" column that he cannot recommend Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) MobileMe, as it has "too many flaws to keep its promises".
• The Wall Street Journal also speculated that the collapse this week of SemGroup LP, which is the parent of SemGroup Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ: SGLP), may have played a role in the 14% drop in crude oil over the past 10 days.
• In a move that could take advantage of the gap in the financing markets, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) raised $10B to invest in loans backing leveraged buyouts. The fund will reportedly buy senior loans, the Financial Times reported.

• Former American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) chief Hank Greenberg is reportedly in settlement talks with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over charges that Greenberg improperly inflated corporate books to show improved profits, the New York Post said.

The earnings crunch is in full swing, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) beat expectations and raised its guidance.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) beat estimates and said the 787 Dreamliner was on schedule.
• Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI) fourth-quarter profits fell on rising fuel costs.
• Crane Co. (NYSE: CR) beat expectations and raised its guidance.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) profits fell due to rising costs of raw materials.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) posted the largest annual and quarterly profit ever by a U.S. company.
• Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) beat earnings expectations due to strong international growth.
• Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC) posted record earnings for the third quarter on demand for fuel efficiency.
• JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) posted a narrower-than-expected loss.
• Nissan Motor Co. (NASDAQ: NSANY) posted strong results due in part to U.S. sales of the Rogue.
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) fourth-quarter profit surged, leading to its best yearly results ever.
• Paraexel International Corp. (NASDAQ: PRXL) beat estimates and offered revised guidance.
• Ratheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) posted strong fourth-quarter results and offered optimistic guidance.
• RightNow Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RNOW) posted a loss, though revenues were up.
• Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) posted solid results on TV sales and the game division's return to the black.
• Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) posted solid results despite the housing slump due to strength overseas.
• United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) met earnings estimates due to a pension-related charge.
• US Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) fourth-quarter and full-year profits declined on acquisition costs and job cuts.
• Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) beat expectations despite a profit decline of 49%.

For additional BloggingStocks earnings highlights, see Yahoo!, Google, Amazon, Countrywide, Merck, UBS and others and McDonald's, Kraft, P&G, Verizon, MasterCard, 3M and others.

Crane Co. (NYSE: CR) is a diversified manufacturer of industrial products, operating through five business segments. Aerospace & Electronics offers diverse microelectronic and aircraft systems. Merchandising Systems manufactures vending machines and storage devices. Engineered Materials makes fiberglass reinforced plastic and substrate materials for antennas. Controls produces valves, transducers and regulating systems. Fluid Handling provides pipes, pipe fittings and actuators. Crane serves clients in the power generation, transportation, defense, commercial construction, food and chemical industries.

The company surprised investors earlier in the week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 77 cents and revenues of $666 million. Analysts had been expecting 69 cents and $659 million. Management continued to see strong demand in Fluid Handling and expected conditions to remain robust in its long-cycle Aerospace & Electronics unit. The firm also guided FY08 EPS to $3.45-$3.60, versus Wall Street consensus of $3.41.