We had a lot of big names trading up to new 52 week highs again today. The overall markets were pretty flat, with the DOW closing the day down 0.14%, the NASDAQ closing the day's trading up 0.04%, and the S&P ending the day a bit lower to finish today's trading down 0.28%.

Here are a few of the names that moved higher during the day to set new 52 week highs.

Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) is moving up in the ranks of layoff kings by announcing that it will lay off another 10% of its "full time equivalent positions in its distribution center, home office, and field administration areas."

The layoffs could hit stores too. The company disclosed that it is negotiating with landlords in an effort to negotiate lower rent payments to help cope with its tanking sales. In the press release, Pier 1 noted that "The Company has begun negotiating with landlords to achieve rental reductions across the chain. These negotiations may lead to the execution of early termination agreements for up to 125 underperforming store locations, if rental reduction negotiations on those locations prove unsuccessful." That figure represents more than 10% of Pier 1's approximately 1,100 store base.

Shares of Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) tumbled more than 8% on Monday after Morgan Keegan analyst Laura Champine downgraded the stock to Underperform from Market Perform. She wrote in a note: "We are skeptical about Pier 1's ability to drive traffic without discounting, and our recent checks at Pier 1 suggest that the company is still using aggressive promotions to clear inventory ... If the company is being forced by a weakening consumer to stray from its plan of reducing store-wide markdowns, the margin impact could be extremely detrimental to earning."

Pier 1's struggles have been well-documented. The company is attempting a dramatic turnaround under the leadership of a new CEO after years of underperformance and tough competition from lower cost providers of similar products like Target (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).

Turnarounds are always tough; most of them have a way of not really turning around at all. A weak economy and cautious consumer spending could be enough to make a very tough turnaround nearly impossible.

It appears that more than a few investors are betting this turnaround will end badly -- roughly 20% of the float is short.

The Wall Street Journal offered (subscription required) one of the first bullish pieces I've seen on Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) in a long time:

Nine months into his first year as chief executive officer, retailing veteran Alex W. Smith has cut costs and slowed the pace of sales declines at the Fort Worth, Texas, company. Adding impulse items such as Halloween merchandise to storefronts, scrapping television ads in favor of spunky and targeted mailings, and implementing other changes have produced what Mr. Smith has called "seedlings of success." ... Couple those positives with recent insider buying and a coming show-and-tell by management, and some fans see a compelling case for the stock to double or triple within a couple of years.

I'll believe it when I see it. Much though I love Pier 1, the store just isn't as unique as it once was. Big box competitors like Target (NYSE: TGT) are offering very, very similar stuff -- for a lot less money. The Pier 1 brand probably still has some value. But buyout rumors have been circling for years as the stock has declined and so far nothing has come of it. And let's face it: You can only close so many stores, and watch your sales plummet as margins decline for so long before your brand starts to lose some of its equity.

Back in June, I wondered whether some kind of partnership with Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) could be beneficial. Wal-Mart needs some way to compete with Target for more upscale buyers, and perhaps a less-expensive line of Pier 1 products could help Pier 1 boost its sales -- the downside of course would be further erosion of the brand's equity, but many big-name brands offer off-priced products through the big boxes.

According to The Associated Press, the home decor industry is the "latest casualty of the ongoing housing and mortgage lending bust".

The purchase of new home furnishings is an easy expenditure for consumers to put off -- if people are anxious about their mortgage, or disheartened that their home isn't appreciating in value like it was a few years ago, that old couch starts to look a lot better.

All of this makes Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) look like a tough bet. The stock rallied last week on an analyst upgrade, but continues to face sales and margin pressures, in part because of lower-price competitors like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). The company is in the midst of an attempted turnaround but the combination of competitive pressures and an industry-wide slowdown that recently claimed Bombay could be too much for the company to handle.

In the most recent quarter, Pier 1 saw its sales decline 7%, and it's going to be hard to turn that around if the industry as a whole continues to sputter.

In June, I suggested that it might be time for Wal-Mart and Pier 1 to team up. if Pier 1 continues to struggle with sales and profitability, and Wal-Mart continues to struggle to reach the more upscale demographic Target (NYSE: TGT) has nailed, it's something that both parties might want to consider.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: General Motors (GM), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), LSI Corp (LSI), Chevron (CVX), National City (NCC) and LivePerson (LPSN) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded General Motors (NYSE: GM) to Buy from Neutral as they believe the stock will rise on expectations of sizeable concessions from union talks. The broker said this is a "tactical trading call."

• Morgan Joseph upgraded shares of Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) to Buy from Hold citing the OEM ramp & modest consensus estimates.

• American Technology added LSI Corp (NYSE: LSI) to their Focus List as they believe investors are discounting a lot of negative assumptions at the current valuation. They recommend using the recent weakness to aggressively build positions below $9.

• Bank of America upgraded shares of Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) citing valuation and potential volume increases in its deepwater portfolio.

• AG Edwards upgraded National City (NYSE: NCC) to Hold from Sell and Roth upgraded LivePerson to Hold from Sell on valuation...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS upgraded Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) to Buy from Neutral.

• Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.

• Sandler added American Express (NYSE: AXP) to its Focus List. Baird raised Applied Biosystems (NYSE: ABI) to Outperform from Neutral.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Jabil Circuit (JBL), MGM Mirage (MGM), Darden Restaurants (DRI) and Crocs (CROX) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• Robinson Humphries upgraded Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) to Neutral from Reduce citing limited downside risk.

• Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse and to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital based on its better-than-expected Q3 report.

• CIBC upgraded MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform and gives the odds of a takeout at 50/50 but said business remains healthy and that the value of Las Vegas Strip assets should continue to rise for the next several years. Susquehanna said Kerkorian's decision not to pursue the Bellagio and CityCenter assets is a strong vote of confidence in MGM's management to create shareholder value and upgraded shares to Positive from Neutral.

• Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Matrix based on management's positive steps to improve economic profit by selling off its under-performing units.

• ThinkEquity upgraded Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) to Buy from Accumulate on expectations that sales will continue to be strong driven by new product introductions, as well as retail doors and square footage growth...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman upgraded Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to Neutral from Sell.

• Baird upgraded Pentair (NYSE: PNR) to Neutral from Underperform.

• Citigroup upgraded AES Corp (NYSE: AES) to Buy from Hold.

• Credit Suisse upgraded Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) to Outperform from Neutral.

• Raymond James upgraded Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) to Outperform from Market Perform.

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

Specialty retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE: PIR) reported first quarter financial results after the close last night -- although I am not sure investors would call what they reported "results." The company reported a net loss of 64 cents, well below the consensus, in addition to drops in comparable-store sales, total sales and merchandise margins.

Despite a string of poor fundamental results, the stock has seen some signs of life this year. The reason: pure takeover speculation. But after seeing quarter after quarter of dismal results, is anyone -- even cash-rich private equity -- going to bite? My thought is that if they were, they would have done it when the stock was below $6 a share. Now, even after a 3% drop today, the stock is trading above $8.

I'm sure somebody, somewhere that believes Pier 1 Imports is a good value play, but I would not want to be the one trying to bottomfeed here. There are better value plays and better retail plays to be found elsewhere.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Joseph A. Bank Clothiers, Inc (JOSB), Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc (TTWO), McDonald's Corp (MCD) and RF Micro Devices (RFMD) were today's more notable upgrades:

• First Albany upgraded shares of Joseph A. Bank Clothiers (NASDAQ: JOSB) to Neutral from Sell, following the Q1 upside and indications that Q2 is off to a strong start.

• Kaufman Brothers raised Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) to Hold from Sell with an $18 target following the release of Q2 results, saying they see evidence the company is stabilizing. JP Morgan also upgraded TTWO shares to Overweight from Neutral, as the company considers shares attractive ahead of the Grand Theft Auto IV launch in October.

• Goldman added McDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD) to their Americas Conviction Buy List citing expectations for upward earnings revisions.

• ThinkEquity upgraded shares of RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Buy from Source of Funds based on valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs raised Berry Petroleum Co (NYSE: BRY) and Pier 1 Imports, Inc (NYSE: PIR) to Buy from Neutral.

• JDS Uniphase Corp (NASDAQ: JDSU) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

• Matrix USA upgraded shares of Tetra Technologies, Inc (NYSE: TTI) to Buy from Hold.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Four specialty retailers initiated at FTN Midwest were today's most noteworthy moves in the market:

• FTN Midwest initiated shares of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc (NYSE: ETH), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY) with Neutral ratings and Williams-Sonoma Inc (NYSE: WSM) with a Buy rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• BMO Capital started Bronco Drilling Co (NASDAQ: BRNC), Pioneer Drilling Co (AMEX: PDC) and Union Drilling, IncNASDAQ: UDRL) with Outperform ratings.

• CIBC started Chemtura Corp (NYSE: CEM) with a Sector Underperformer rating and $11 target on valuation.

• C.E. Unterberg started Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ALTU) with a Buy rating and $12 target, believing the company's efforts to develop the first juvenile formulation of a pancreatic enzyme will be a key growth driver.

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

Futures are positive in early morning trade, indicating a similar for stocks.

This morning, investors will be looking mostly at retail sales figures, which is especially important in light of the holiday shopping season, as well as some economic data.

At 8:30 this morning, weekly initial claims is due, but also October personal income and consumer spending, both expected to grow at a similar rate as last month, 0.5% and 0.1% respectively. This report could be interesting especially in light of latest comments that shifted worries somewhat from inflation to growth. Consumer spending and income can give an indication of future growth, while personal consumption expenditures is another measure of inflation. At 10, the Chicago PMI index, an index that gauges factory health in the upper Midwest is due.

According to early reports, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), being the largest retailer in the U.S. dampened November sales as it already announced over the weekend that it expects November same store sales have slipped by 0.1%. With Wal-Mart, same-store sales in November probably rose 2.7%, below the 3.7% growth last year. Excluding Wal-Mart same-store sales probably rose 4.8% in November, compared to 3.3% last year.

Reporting sales this morning:

• Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) November same-store sales were up by 5%, while total sales rose 9% to $4.84 billion. Analysts consensus estimate of November same-store sales was 5.7%.
• Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) is expected to post 5.7% growth in same-store sales, American Eagle (NASDAQ:AEOS) already reported a 14% same store gain, below the consensus estimate of 14.7%.
• Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOTT) shares are up more than 10% in pre-market trading after it reported yesterday a smaller same store sales decline of 4.3% compared with 6.8% that analysts had expected.
• Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR) reported a November same store sales drop of 15.3%, a bigger decline than analysts expectation of a 13.6% same-store sales drop.

Meanwhile, in Europe, the European Commission is more optimistic about economic growth of the dozen euro nations and said they will start 2007 stronger than the commission had anticipated a month ago, strengthening the case for higher interest rates.

Futures are positive in early morning trade, pointing to a higher start for stock.

Today investors will analyze the data from the retail sector, they will look at some economic indicators for an idea about employment, inflation and productivity. Strong retail sales could help the market rally, as are the falling oil prices of this morning.

This morning, some retailers have already reported same-stores sales and the market is now looking for a 3.4% rise in October for the industry, or a 4.9% increases ex-Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT). Wal-Mart said last week it is expecting a 0.5% gain in same-store sales (sales at stores that have been open at least a year). It had just reported as expected.

Already reporting sales data this morning are Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) with a 4% rise, Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR) with an over 13% decline in sales, and American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEOS) that reported an 8% jump in same-store sales last night. AEOS also raised third-quarter earnings guidance. The stock might still be under pressure as some were expecting a 10% rise in sales. Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) Oct same-store sales rose 11.4% and J.C. Penney Co.'s (NYSE:JCP) sales rose 8.1%.

This morning, some economic data is also due out. First, weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30, but investors are waiting the main job report tomorrow. Also at 8:30, third-quarter productivity and unit labor costs will be reported. Unit labor cost could give investors a better idea about inflation, so barring any surprises, this is the number to watch out for. Finally, at 10:00, September factory orders are due. The European Central Bank makes its decision on interest rate today.

Top news stories this morning:

According to the Wall Street Journal, Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB) said that due to low bids, it is now prepared to sell parts of the business and will consider offers.

Unilever NV/PLC (NYSE:UN, UL) reported a third-quarter profit drop of 48% after one-time gains from asset sales. Sales rose 1.6%. The figures were at the top end of market forecasts. Unilever shares were up over 4% in Europe.

Reporting today:

• Caremark Rx Inc. (CMX) - 63 cents per share for Q3.
• CVS Corp. (CVS) - 32 cents per share for Q3.
• International Paper Co. (IP) - 43 cents per share for Q3.
• Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) - 29 cents per share for Q4.

Other stories:

Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) reported third-quarter after the bell yesterday with profit climbing sharply to 24 cents per share on a 9% increase in revenue of $5.29. However the company said contracts for future work declined. Analysts were expecting 20 cents per share.

Apple Computer, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new iPod Shuffle will arrives in stores this Friday, tomorrow.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) to neutral from sell.

General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) has signed a $300 million deal with a Chinese company to make jet engine parts for it.and French engine maker Snecma.

In the auto industry:

• New car registrations in Germany are expected to have risen in October with foreign automakers boosting their share of Europe's biggest car market to 36.1%.
• Advanced Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE:AAP) reported Q3 (ending Oct 7) net income dropped to $58.9 million, or 56 cents a share but it includes 3 cents a share in stock option expense. Revenue rose to $1.1 billion from $1 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 54 cents a share. The company also lowered Q4 guidance.

Following Baidu.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BIDU) earning, yesterday I revisited rumors of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Yahoo!, Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) buying Baidu.

Google is releasing a new version of its mobile email today.

Yahoo is going into the food business starting a site offering thousands of recipes, advice from chefs, video cooking guides and easy-to-use Web tools to help cooks answer the daily question: What's for dinner?

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) will have a fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday, Nov. 16, 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT here.

Wendy's (NYSE:WEN) is offering DVD movie kiosks at its restaurants.

In Pharma: Global pharmaceutical sales grew 5% in the 12 months to August in leading markets, the same rate as recorded a month earlier. Pfizer Inc's (NYSE:PFE) Lipitor cholesterol pill remained the top-selling drug with sales of $11.6 billion.

Russian oil output fell again in October partly because the country and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) holding back the start up of full-scale production due to differences.

XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) and Cingular Wireless (held by AT&T (NYSE:T)) announced a partnership to stream 25 XM music channels to Cingular handsets.