Stocks had another day where the exact footing was never very clear. Despite a slightly better weekly jobs figure, the dollar was up and a poor long-bond auction was mixed in with a mixed reaction from commodities markets. The debate over QE2 rages on.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,355.22 +8.47 (0.07%)
S&P 500 1,218.62 +5.22 (0.43%)
Nasdaq 2,578.78 +15.80 (0.62%)

Top Analyst Calls

Analyst Upgrades

• Advance Auto Parts (AAP) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Macquarie upgraded Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Beckman Coulter (BEC) to neutral from underperform.
• Tyco (TYC) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Cousins Properties (CUZ) to buy from underperform.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Energy Conversion (ENER) to equal weight from underweight.
• Thermo Fisher (TMO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.

Analyst Upgrades

• CLSA upgraded Capital One (COF) to outperform from underperform based on valuation and an acceleration in loan growth. The firm raised its price target to $43 from $40.
• KeyBanc upgraded Brush Engineered (BW) to buy from hold based on increased confidence in profit momentum in Specialty Engineered Alloys, valuation and value-added revenue unit growth. The firm has a $30 target on the stock.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Heico (HEI) to buy from hold with a $42 target, citing the better-than-expected Q3 results.
• Greenbrier (GBX) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Paychex (PAYX) was upgraded to hold from sell at Deutsche Bank.
• A. Schulman (SHLM) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

Analyst Upgrades

• RBC Capital upgraded Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) to outperform from sector perform with a $20 target. The firm thinks the units' valuation is compelling, while the company's proposed acquisition of assets is positive.
• Stifel upgraded First Horizon (FHN) to buy from hold based on valuation and its path towards normalized profitability. The firm has a $15 price target on the stock.
• KeyBanc upgraded Isle of Capri (ISLE) to buy from hold based on improved earnings growth and valuation. The firm has a $13 target on the stock.
• ATA Inc. (ATAI) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Buckeye Partners (BPL) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Sinopec (SNP) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.

According to the National Retail Federation, there will be a buyer's strike this holiday season. Consumers are weary and low on cash. Fuel bills will be up and home values down. They want to buy those nice gifts for Christmas, but the cupboard is empty.

And so a survey of retailers says that holiday sales will only be up 3.7% this year, far short of the 7.2% improvement in 2006. "Shoppers will be a little more conservative with their spending as they become more aware of the softness in the economy," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin in a statement, quoted by Reuters. That means that, if the consumer will be shopping at all, they will want a deal on price.

For the management at big retailers like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), and Target (NYSE: TGT), it is not exactly good news. After a generally weak year, they could have used some help.

Move over, Scrooge wants a place at the holiday table.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.