Do you want to watch television on your iPad? No problem. Just download an app. Cablevision (CVC) claims that its customers can watch 300 channels at home, according to Reuters.

The interesting feature of this program is that you don't need the Internet. Cablevision uses a digital code to deliver content to an Apple (AAPL) iPad. The app allows you to search channels by genre and record programs.

A bright and shiny conference call has today boosted shares of Time Warner Cable (TWC). The stock has risen in the range of 5%, with shares trading at a healthy $62.34 as of this writing. The company reported a 5.7 percent increase in third-quarter adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization, via its 8:30 am conference call today. However, investors might wish to think carefully before loading up on too many shares of this stock.

Analyst Upgrades

• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Citigroup upgraded MEMC Electronic (WFR) and Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Administaff (ASF) was upgraded to buy from hold at Roth Capital.
• The Buckle (BKE) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded DreamWorks (DWA) to neutral from underperform.
• Corrections Corp. (CXW) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) was upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.

Analyst Upgrades

• Union Pacific (UNP) and Polycom (PLCM) were upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• LaSalle Hotel (LHO) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Graco (GGG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Valley National (VLY) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Credit Suisse (CS) was upgraded to hold from sell at RBS.
• U.S. Bancorp (USB) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Penn National (PENN) and Riverbed (RVBD) were upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Goodrich (GR) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) upgraded to buy from average at Caris.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to neutral from underweight and $48 price target.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $70 from $59, citing growth in wireline HST demand.
• Needham upgraded NetScout (NTCT) to buy from hold with a $29 price target, citing channel checks that indicate industry spending on network monitoring software may be improving.
• Nstar (NST) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Air France-KLM (AFLYY) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Goldman Sachs (GS) to Outperform from Perform following the company's $550M settlement with the SEC. Opco has a $213 price target for Goldman shares. BofA/Merrill upgraded Goldman Sachs to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $182 from $160.
• Wells Fargo upgraded JP Morgan (JPM) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's Q2 results citing valuation and lower credit costs. The firm keeps a valuation range for shares of $48-$51.
• Goldman upgraded Murphy Oil (MUR) to Buy from Neutral and has a $61 price target on the stock. The firm cites Murphy's Eagle Ford growth and valuation for the upgrade.
• Precision Cast (PCP) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Pride International (PDE) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
• BHP Billiton (BHP) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

With the unemployment rate hovering near 10%, bad news on the TV and job prospects dwindling, it can be tempting to retreat to a nice beach somewhere until the economy turns around. Some people are actually doing it! Rather than sitting around and moping until the economy recovers, you can go see the world and have the trip of a lifetime.

Out of work and taking a vacation? You probably want some of what I am smoking? Well, listen up!

Analyst Upgrades

• Susquehanna upgraded Yahoo! (YHOO) to positive from neutral. The firm, which has a $19 price target on the stock, cites the steep decline in shares for the upgrade.
• UBS upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to buy from neutral. The firm believes fears regarding FCC reclassification of broadband are "overblown" and that industry fundamentals are bullish. The firm has a $57 target on the stock.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Stifel Financial (SF) to outperform from market perform on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm has a $64 price target for the stock.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• RBC Capital upgraded Southern Union (SUG) to sector perform from underperform.
• Rubicon Technology (RBCN) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

Analyst Upgrades

• Morgan Joseph upgraded Cree (CREE) to buy from hold ahead of Tuesday's Q3 report. The firm, which has a $100 price target on the stock, expects LED demand to drive revenue growth as both China and the U.S. are increasingly strong.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Salesforce.com (CRM) to buy from neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the migration of software to SaaS deployments. The firm upped its target price for shares to $94 from $67.
• Barrington upgraded Henry Schein (HSIC) to outperform from market perform, citing an attractive valuation, increased confidence in the outcome of the Butler-Schein Animal Health integration and improving momentum in dental equipment. The firm has a $74 price target for shares.
• Advance Auto Parts (AAP) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Red Hat (RHT) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• UBS (UBS) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Boston Properties (BXP) and BioMed Realty Trust (BMR) to outperform from market perform after introducing 2011-2012 estimates for the sector. The firm raised its target on Boston Properties to $74.50 from $70 and on BioMed Realty to $17 from $15.50.
• Citigroup upgraded Sysco (SYY) to buy from hold after its channel checks indicated the company's trends are gradually improving. The firm raised its target on shares to $34 from $28.
• Stephens upgraded Smithfield Foods (SFD) to overweight from equal weight on expectations the company's hog production profitability will improve. The firm raised its target price on shares to $20 from $16.
• Nokia (NOK) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at BMO Capital.
• Suntech (STP) was upgraded to market weight from underweight at Thomas Weisel.
• Forest Oil (FST) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

The vision of Clearwire (CLWR) is definitely ambitious: to "give you faster Internet at home, at work and on the go, so that people everywhere will have the magic of the Internet with them all the time." This means building a sophisticated network across the country, which does not come cheap.

Tuesday, Clearwire announced yet another financing round, which comes to $1.56 billion. The investors include Sprint Nextel (S), Comcast (CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Intel (INTC), Eagle River Holdings LLC, and Bright House Networks LLC.

Analyst upgrades:

• Natixis expects Alcatel-Lucent's (NYSE: ALU) results to improve in 2H09, driven by the CDMA segment and completion of Lucent integration. Shares were upgraded to Buy from Reduce.
• RBC Capital upgraded Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) to Outperform from Sector Perform and raised its target to $67 from $49. The firm expects a return to "normalized" operating environment driven by Potash and MetCoal.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $69 from $64. The firm cites valuation, potential upside from 2H09 deals, and expectations for positive 2H09 flows for the upgrade.
• Kennametal (NYSE: KMT) coverage was assumed with a Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• Cardinal Financial (NASDAQ: CFNL) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• General Maritime (NYSE: GMR) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.

Julia Boorstin covered an interesting topic over at CNBC.com the other day. The Supreme Court, by electing not to review a case involving Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), essentially said that cable companies such as Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) can pursue digital video recorder (DVR) storage on cable-system servers. By doing this, a perceived barrier to entry for subscribing to DVR has been eliminated: you don't have to deal with a clunky box. Cable should theoretically see an increase in customers who adopt DVR technology if remote storage is exploited.

Well, as Boorstin rightly points out, CBS (NYSE: CBS), Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC, General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC, and News Corp.'s (NASDAQ: NWS) Fox do need to worry. These DVR technologies basically translate to a drop in the economic value of advertising. Let's face it: who watches commercials when they don't have to?

Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC - option chain) stock is falling today after company CEO Glenn Britt said at an investor conference that the company is seeing a continued slowdown in subscriber growth. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on TWC.

This morning, TWC opened at $30.98. So far today the stock has hit a low of $29.96 and a high of $31.26. As of 12:05, TWC is trading at $30.09, down $1.64 (-5.2%). The chart for TWC looks bullish and S&P gives TWC its highest 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy ranking.

It's no secret that cable service providers are anxious about the rapid growth of free video on the internet -- and rightly so. The same shows that run on the networks with multiple commercials on Friday night are available the next day on the internet with minimal interruptions.

Therefore, the rumor that the internet video content site Joost.com has attracted the attention of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) seems logical.