Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Clorox (NYSE: CLX) to Buy from Hold on valuation and believes upside to earnings forecasts is likely. The firm raised its target on shares to $66 from $65.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Buy from Hold on expectations improved Marketplace fundamentals will serve as a positive catalyst for shares. The firm raised its price target on the stock to $29 from $22.
• Roth Capital believes Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is well positioned for improved results and margins. The firm, which upgraded shares to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $22 from $16, said September back-to-school results bode well for the holiday season and demonstrate that Zumiez can drive conversion during peak shopping periods.
• Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) was upgraded to Sell from Conviction Sell at Goldman.
• Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

After the turn of the calendar page, quarterly reporting resumes this week. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting to see strong earnings growth from fertilizer producer Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), biotech giant Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Neogen Corp. (NASDAQ: NEOG), which produces food safety and animal health products. Mosaic's estimated earnings per share of $1.43 for the fiscal second quarter would be 41.9% higher than a year ago, and its revenue estimate of $3.0 billion is 36.7% higher. Monsanto's $0.59 per share projection for the fiscal first quarter is 22.0% higher and sales of $2.4 billion are up 14.9%. And Neogen's second-quarter $0.25 per share would be 12.0% higher, while its sales of $32.3 million are up 18.6%. All three have tended to beat expectations in recent quarters, and all three have buy recommendations from a consensus of analysts. Mosaic and Monsanto have recently announced dividends, and their share prices have fallen 62.3% and 39.0%, respectively, from a year ago. The share price of Neogen, which recently announced share buybacks, is only 0.8% lower.

Other companies expected to post modest earnings gains when they report this week include education company Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), WD-40 Co. (NASDAQ: WDFC), and wine and spirits maker Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ).

Even if the national headlines weren't already providing enough focus on the economy, plenty of economic data is due out as the month and the quarter wind down. U.S. economic data scheduled to be released this week include:

• Personal income (Aug. 2008): Monday 8:30 AM
• Consumer confidence index (Sept, 2008): Tuesday 10:00 AM
• Challenger job cut announcement (Sept, 2008): Wednesday 7:30 AM
• ISM manufacturing survey (Sept. 2008): Wednesday 10:00 AM
• Construction spending (Aug. 2008): Wednesday 10:00 AM
• New motor vehicle sales (Sept. 2008): Wednesday 4:00 PM
• Monster employment index (Sept. 2008): Thursday 6:00 AM
• Factory orders (Aug. 2008): Thursday 10:00 AM
• Employment situation (Sept. 2008): Friday 8:30 AM
• ISM nonmanufacturing survey (Sept. 2008): Friday 10:00 AM

Other economic events scheduled for this week include:

• Fed's Hoenig speaks on "The Economy and Monetary Policy": Monday 9:45 PM
• Fed's Lockhart speaks on the economic outlook: Tuesday 1:00 PM
• Ford Motor Co. September 2008 Sales Conference Call: Wednesday 1:00 PM
• AMETEK Inc. at Oppenheimer Industrials Conference: Thursday 8:00 AM
• DuPont at Citigroup Ethanol on the Cob Conference: Thursday 12:50 PM
• Fed's Evans speaks at Agricultural Markets and Food Price Inflation conference: Thursday 1:00 PM
• Fed's Bullard speaks at Indiana University Department of Economics: Thursday 7:00 PM
• Fed's Hoenig speaks on "The Economy and Monetary Policy": Thursday 9:45 PM
• National Association for Business Economics 50th Annual Meeting to address Future Economic Challenges: Friday 9:00 PM

Standard Microsystems Corporation (NASDAQ: SMSC) is engaged in the design and sale of integrated circuits that incorporate digital or analog signal processing technologies. The company offers flash memory card readers, physical layer transceivers, Ethernet controllers, network multimedia co-processors, as well as communications products for wireless base stations, copiers, building automation, robotics, gaming machines, and industrial applications. The firm has long-term cross-licensing agreements with International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC).

The company surprised the Street last month, when it reported third quarter (Q3) earnings per share (EPS) of 53 cents and revenues of $104.7 million. Analysts had been looking for 53 cents and $100.2 million. Management also guided Q4 EPS to 46-49 cents (48 cent consensus) and Q4 revenues to $94-$97 million ($95.60M consensus). Needham subsequently upgraded the stock to "strong buy" and declared a price target of $46. SMSC shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

The continuing challenge of the integrated circuit maker is to keep its products affordable while supporting a constantly evolving set of industry standards. There is a firm in Hauppauge, New York with a reputation for reliability on both sides of that equation.

Standard Microsystems Corporation (NASDAQ: SMSC) is engaged in the design and sale of integrated circuits that incorporate digital or analog signal processing technologies. The company offers flash memory card readers, physical layer transceivers, Ethernet controllers, network multimedia co-processors, as well as communications products for wireless base stations, copiers, building automation, robotics, gaming machines, and industrial applications. Customers include Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Sony (NYSE: SNE). Standard Microsystems has long-term cross-licensing agreements with IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC).

The company surprised the Street last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 29 cents and revenues of $81.5 million. Analysts had been expecting 25 cents and $81.0 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 37-40 cents (39 cent consensus) and Q2 revenues to $88-$90 million ($89.93 million consensus).