The market was remarkably bored about most of what the Fed had to say about the results of the FOMC. A close reading of the minutes shows nothing new. The economy is very modestly better. The turn for the better will be slow and painful. Housing may be getting a tiny bit better. Rates will stay near zero. The only statement which may not have been expected by almost everyone is that the agency will continue buying mortgage-backed and federal debt into the first quarter of next year.

The lack of enthusiasm showed as the major indices traded fairly flat. Today's unofficial numbers:

Dow 9,749.31 -80.56 (-0.82%)
S&P 500 1,060.90 -10.76 (-1.00%)
Nasdaq 2,131.42 -14.88 (-0.69%)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Managed Care sector, Keryx Biopharma and Citrix Systems were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded the Managed Care sector to Neutral from Attractive following WellPoint's (NYSE: WLP) reduced 2008 outlook. The firm said WellPoint's issues reflect a company specific underwriting error but also industry-wide pricing pressures which increase the risk of a cyclical slowdown in managed care. WellPoint was also downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Banc of America cut Keryx Biopharma (NASDAQ: KERX) to Neutral from Buy and lowered their target to $1.00 after Sulonex failed to meet its primary endpoint.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) to Hold from Buy, as they believe the first half of 2008 will be a tough year for software and are increasingly worried about the macro environment.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Level 3 Comm (NASDAQ: LVLT) was downgraded to Underweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was lowered to Neutral from Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Credit Suisse removed Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) from its U.S. Focus List.

Today's markets were foiled with worries of counter-party risks, and even the "denying of rumors" didn't manage to help. You know that headlines of "Oil Nearing $108" isn't a huge help there. On the economic front, we saw some old data on January Wholesale inventories being +0.8%, above a forecast of +0.5%.

New York's Governor Eliot Spitzer has been caught up in a prostitution ring, and even though he is no longer Attorney General this didn't even manage to cheer Wall Street up after years of having Spitzer take down insurance companies, Dick Grasso, and more. Below are the day's unofficial closing prices:

• DJIA 11,740.15 (-153.54; -1.29%)
• S&P500 1,273.37 (-20.00; -1.55%)
• NASDAQ 2,169.34 (-43.15; -1.95%)
• 10-YR T-Bond 3.438%; -0.1030 (bonds still trading)

There were a few major standout stocks today, mostly to the downside.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Thornburg Mortgage, Keryx Biopharma and Aeropostale were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) to Underperform from Hold after the company said it is unable to meet margin calls despite asset sales and will restate 2007 earnings.
  
• Keryx Biopharma (NASDAQ: KERX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill, to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan, to Underperform from Market Perform at Rodman & Renshaw, to Hold from Buy at Jefferies and to Underperform from Outperform at Bear Stearns after the company announced the Sulonex SUN-MICRO Phase 3 trial failed to meet the primary endpoint.
  
• Citigroup lowered Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) to Sell from Hold as they believe inventory levels are building and that there is downside risk to Q1 estimates.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank cut Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR) to Sell from Hold.
  
• RBC Capital lowered J2 Global (NASDAQ: JCOM) to Sector Perform from Outperform.
  
• Goldman removed Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) from its Conviction Buy List.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Small Cap BioTech sector top today's small list of initiations.

• The Bank of America initiated five companies within the Small Cap BioTech sector:
• Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), Array BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY), Nuvelo, Inc. (NASDAQ:NUVO) and Keryx BioPharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KERX) with Buy ratings
• and Dendreon Corp (NASDAQ:DNDN) with a Neutral rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) was resumed with a Market Perform at Wachovia on valuation
• and Century Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNTY) was initiated with a Hold at Morgan Joseph on valuation.

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