MOST NOTEWORTHY: American Capital, Realty Income and KKR Financial were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) to Underperform from Hold as they see a disproportionate risk profile in the company's current portfolio when compared to most peers.
  
• Banc of America cut Realty Income (NYSE: O) to Sell from Neutral as they believe the current valuation is not sustainable.
  
• Bear lowered KKR Financial (NYSE: KFN) to Peer Perform from Outperform following the company's announcement that it intends to sell 20M shares in a public offering.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman cut PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Avocent (NASDAQ: AVCT) to Sector Perform from Outperform.
  
• JP Morgan removed NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) from its Focus List.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: NICE Systems, Watson Pharmaceuticals and Micron Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, as they believe NICE is well-positioned to leverage its offerings in VoIP recording, call centre analytics, and other applications with its extensive enterprise customer base.
  
• Hambrecht upgraded shares of Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) to Buy from Hold ahead of the company's Q4 results to reflect valuation and low expectations.
  
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Micron Tech (NYSE: MU) to Overweight from Market Weight citing expectations DRAM pricing will stabilize in 2008, potential upside from high growth DRAM segments such as mobile, and notes cost cutting efforts and valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• JP Morgan added Wabtec (NYSE: WAB) to its Focus List.
  
• Keefe Bruyette raised Franklin Bank (NASDAQ: FBTX) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Mentor Graphics (NASDAQ: MENT) to Buy from Hold and added shares to its Top Picks List.

Today's news that Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed in a terrorist attack has reminded everybody, including the Democratic Party, just how dangerous a world we live in. We are once again reminded that there is a very large movement of individuals bent on the destruction of the West, along with the democratic ideals that the West represents. For those who feel that it's President Bush's fault we are not well-liked, today's incident shows that the deep-rooted hatred has nothing to do with the current U.S. president, but everything to do with the ideals on which the U.S. was founded. It is these ideals that are not well-liked by these extremist elements.

With this grim reminder of the dangers still common in the world, I think this means a renewed focus on security stocks. When speaking about security, no conversation is complete without looking at the Israeli market. The undisputed leader in security technology, Israel's security establishment gained fame because of the reign of terror that the country has faced for decades. Nice Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) is one such company. The stock is bucking today's downward market pressure and is gaining more than 1.5%.

Nice is a security company specializing in two markets: Security and Call Centers. Its security solution empowers security personnel to detect, prevent and respond to threats in real-time. The system also helps in investigating and reconstructing criminal and security cases using video surveillance and control services, incident monitoring and reconstruction solutions. NICE is the market leader in providing fast and efficient solutions for the capture, storage, retrieval and analysis of customer interactions for contact centers and the enterprise. Nice will be playing an active role in the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing.

As long as there are bad guys out there, there will be a need for a company like Nice.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has a position in NICE and is long the stock. Writer has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 12/27/07.

Israeli software and services firm, Nice Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) is reported to have won a deal to supply a large European bank with an analytical software suite. Nice is a worldwide leader in multimedia recording solutions, applications and related professional services for business interaction management. In short, Nice is a modern systems integrator with a focus on security.

In a positive research note published earlier last week by CIBC, Nice was cited to have two growth drivers that recently led to a similar large deal with an Asian bank.

1. Banks, and other large, complex organizations, are migrating to a VoIP infrastructure. Nice has a nice VoIP solution to address many of these international firms' needs.
2. Nice has been quickly selling solutions for agent performance and customer relations. Nice has been successful in using beach-head marketing: getting one deal and extending and deepening customer relationships through add-on sales. Agent performance/CRM solutions have lead to new deals in risk management and corporate regulation and governance. CIBC expects these trends to continue.

Nice has some deals leading into the Chinese Olympics of 2008. The stock has had a rocky year but continues to execute on the deal side with a suite of solutions in the sweet spot of global business right now. Plagued by concerns over spending in the financial sector, this may prove to be a Nice diamond in the rough.

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund. Author's fund is long NICE stock as of 12/19/2007

MOST NOTEWORTHY: ING Group, Innerworkings, Kenexa, AirTran Holdings and AMR Corp were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Bear Stearns downgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE: ING) to Peer Perform from Underperform after the company's Q3 results, given continued concerns regarding the US mortgage market.
  
• Jefferies lowered its rating on Innerworkings (NASDAQ: INWK) to Hold from Buy on valuation, as they see limited upside after the in-line Q3 results.
  
• Kenexa (NASDAQ: KNXA) was downgraded to Market Underperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities. The firm downgraded shares following the disappointing Q3 report and guidance as pressure on its business is likely to continue.
  
• UBS downgraded AirTran Holdings (NYSE: AAI) to Neutral from Buy and AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) to Sell from Neutral. The firm cited weakening corporate demand for the downgrades.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Gol Linhas Aereas (NYSE: GOL) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Wachovia downgraded the Broker Sector to Market Weight from Overweight, also downgrading Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Goldman removed Maxim (NASDAQ: MXIM) from its Conviction Buy List.

NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE), announced the signing of their second contract in a week for the NICE Platform system. Commenting on the new deal, NICE president and CEO Eran Gorev said, "We appreciate the confidence West has demonstrated by selecting NICE to replace its existing solution. The selection of NICE Perform as West's enterprise standard is further evidence that NICE is the premier choice for improving performance at the agent, contact center and enterprise level."

NICE is a security company that specializes in two markets: security and call centers. Its security solution empowers security personnel to detect, prevent, and respond to threats in real-time. It also allows them to investigate, and reconstruct criminal and security cases using video surveillance and control services, incident monitoring, and reconstruction solutions.

The company has been a star on the Israeli hi-tech scene, and with everyone looking at security as a must-have, their business has been booming. The company is due to report earnings on Wednesday. Analysts expect the company to post earnings per share of $0.37 on $130.9 million revenue. I would look for the company to beat estimates by between $0.01 and $0.02, as they have a history of beating estimates.

Disclosure: Writer holds a position in NICE. He has no other position in any stock mentioned as of 11/4/07.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that online auctioneer eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) has resumed advertising with Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), after having pulled its ads to prove that it didn't need to spend as heavily on Google's AdWords.
• The Financial Times reported that some inside and outside of Lazard Ltd (NYSE: LAZ) are questioning if CEO Bruce Wassertein has given the company a sustainable model that will be able to thrive without the current "dealmaking binge."
• According to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the situation, News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) Rupert Murdoch is looking beyond its $5B offer for Dow Jones and Company Inc (NYSE: DJ) in search of Internet acquisitions or a deal involving MySpace.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Also concerning News Corp and Dow Jones, the U.K. Times reported that the Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones, asked late Friday for two seats on News Corp's board, which is one more than Rupert Murdoch has been willing to offer.
• General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is seeking to build a diesel locomotive plant in India, in partnership with Indian railway companies, reported Business Standard.
• Yediot Ahronot reported that Nice Systems Limited (NASDAQ: NICE) is in talks to acquire Actimize for $280M.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Intel (INTC), Caterpillar (CAT), Wells Fargo & Co (WFC), M&T Bank Corp (MTB) and Regions Financial Corp (RF) were some of today's noteworthy initiations:

• Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan based on expectations for margin expansion in 2H07 driven by share gains, stable pricing, and lower costs. Shares were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at American Technology as the firm believes the price war is ending sooner than expected and that NOR Flash could be divested soon.

• Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) was upgraded at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect a re-acceleration in earnings growth and a lower probability of a recession.

• Soleil upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC) to Buy from Hold as the firm believes WFC is an attractive late-cycle play with above-average growth prospects and superior risk management.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) and Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) to Buy from Neutral, citing valuation. Oppenheimer upgraded M&T Bank to Neutral from Sell based on valuation and revised estimates. Keefe Bruyette raised Regions Financial rating to Market Perform from Underperform.
  

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Susquehanna upgraded shares of NICE Systems Ltd (NASDAQ: NICE) to Positive from Neutral as the firm expects strong execution from the company's robust product set and increased market share following the Verint Systems' (VRNT) acquisition of Witness Systems (WITS).

• Comerica (NYSE: CMA) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.

• JP Morgan upgraded Interpublic Group of Cos (NYSE: IPG) to Overweight from Neutral.

• ThinkEquity upgraded Trimeris, Inc (NASDAQ: TRMS) to Source of Funds from Sell.

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

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ:BRCM) was raised to Buy at UBS after the company said it was back within listing requirements despite the co-founder is being audited by the company. Stock indicated up almost 2% pre-market.

Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) looks like the street is questioning some values or saying the stock needs a breather: it was cut to Neutral at Cowen, cut to Buy from Aggressive Buy at KeyBanc/McDonald, started as Market Perform at Morgan Keegan. This was also a Cramer pick.

Corning Inc. (NYSE:GLW) was raised to Buy at Citigroup after beating earnings and running up 9% yesterday; stock up almost 2% again pre-market.

L-1 Identity Solutions (NYSE:ID) was cut to Sell at Oppenheimer based on valuations; stock trading down almost 2% pre-market.

Nice Systems (NASDAQ:NICE) was cut to Market Perform at Friedman Billings Ramsay. Watch this one because it was one of Cramer's picks (but back in October) so may have more traffic than normal. Stock down almost 2% pre-market.

Here is the first part of the Goldman Sachs research notes and here is the rest of the full research list of upgrades and downgrades from 24/7 Wall St.