Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) to Buy from Hold. Citigroup upgraded shares on their belief the company has one of the best three year growth rates among peers.
  
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Merrill Lynch. Merrill upgraded Rio Tinto following the company's debt repayment plan announcement.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Societe Generale (OTC: SCGLY) to Outperform from Neutral. Credit Suisse upgraded shares on valuation.
  
• Alberto-Culver (NYSE: ACV) was added to Conviction Buy List; maintain Buy at Goldman.
  
• American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jesup & Lamont.
  
• Hawaiian Electric (NYSE: HE) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird.

Analyst downgrades:

On the Periodic Table of Elements, the symbols Kr, Ne, He stand for krypton, neon, and helium, three of the so-called noble gases. Noble gases are chemically stable, and can be easily overlooked because they are colorless and odorless. They have boiling and melting points that are close together, meaning that they have a very narrow range of temperatures at which they are liquid. And noble gases have industrial applications in lighting, welding, and lasers.

On the New York Stock Exchange, KR, NE, and HE stand for Kroger, Noble, and Hawaiian Electric Industries. Do these companies exhibit similar characteristics of stability, a tendency to be overlooked, and scarce liquidity? Well, no analogy is perfect, especially one as arbitrary as this. But here's a look at these stocks nonetheless.

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is the largest traditional grocery chain in the U.S. (though Wal-Mart is the largest seller of groceries). Kroger has more than 2,400 supermarkets under several different names, as well as more than 750 convenience stores.

In a move that has infuriated TV academy officials, various L.A.-based members of the academy leaked (via text messages) potential Emmy nominees, noting the 10 programs being screened in the comedy and drama categories. The story quickly leaked to media outlets including the New York Post, and a small-screen hullabaloo was born.

A spokeswoman with the academy noted that all members involved with the voting are required to sign a confidentiality agreement. She added that her organization would "not comment on any violations of that [confidentiality] agreement or on any speculative reporting of nomination data."

With the suspense slightly dashed, it is bad news for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, but there is good news for struggling General Electric (NYSE: GE) unit NBC, which scored 6 of the 20 "possible" nominations. Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC network scored 5. Other networks represented on the list included News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) FOX, CBS Corp.'s (NYSE: CBS) eponymous network and Showtime, and HBO - a division of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX).