The unfettered bull market looked to take a breather today. Regardless of the ultimate close, the DJIA went between positive and negative multiple times today -- and it was not until the formal close that the exact level of red or black was known.

Warnings of inflation, corn crop reports, weekly jobless claims and upcoming elections in the Middle East and North Africa all acted to interrupt what had been a non-stop bull market. Oil was higher after Moammar Gadhafi pushed back rebels in key areas in Libya. One Federal Reserve governor's comments, on how higher rates are needed before the end of the year, acted to soften stocks right before the close.

Still, today marked the end of the quarter -- and it was the best first quarter in years (maybe since 1998).

Analyst Upgrades

• Akamai (AKAM) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Aetna (AET) to Outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Hot Topic (HOTT) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Colonial Properties (CLP) upgraded to Outperform from market perform at FBR Capital and to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Altera (ALTR) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• American Reprographics (ARC), CarMax (KMX) and American Campus (ACC) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Zebra Tech (ZBRA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• IMAX (IMAX) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Basic Energy (BAS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Mednax (MD) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• UTi Worldwide (UTIW) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Ongoing turmoil in Libya and elsewhere did not damage US-trading today. OPEC did not yet agree to higher production but noted that it could boost production if necessary. Even PIMCO's Bill Gross comment that the economy and deficits where no longer self-sustaining failed to knock the market.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,214.38 +124.35 (1.03%)
S&P 500 1,321.82 +11.69 (0.89%)
Nasdaq 2,765.77 +20.14 (0.73%)

You didn't want to be a short-term shareholder in Urban Outfitters (URBN) during Monday's after-hours session. At the time I was writing this, I saw a quote of $34.10. That's a 10% drop. And that isn't good.

A fourth-quarter earnings report caused the volatility. According to TheFly, net income came in seven pennies less than expected. Also, gross margin experienced a decline.

So, the unemployment rate sank below 9% in February, but investors didn't seem to be impressed by that. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all fell on Friday over concerns about how the ongoing unrest in the Middle East might affect energy prices, and thus the economic recovery.

Will this coming week's economic calendar offer anything likely to bring excitement to the markets? Here's what's on tap:

• Monday: Consumer credit numbers for January
• Tuesday: Weekly chain store sales, TIPP Economic Optimism Index

Analyst Upgrades

• Athenahealth (ATHN), Ensco (ESV), Pride International (PDE) and Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• CIRCOR (CIR) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Urban Outfitters (URBN) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Shaw Group (SHAW) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• MGM Resorts (MGM) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) to buy from neutral, as well as Intrepid Potash (IPI) to neutral from underperform, at BofA/Merrill.
• Carlisle (CSL) to buy from neutral at SunTrust.

Analyst Upgrades

• Boeing (BA) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Office Depot (ODP) and Staples (SPLS) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Kennametal (KMT) and Polyone (POL) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Airgas (ARG) to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• EchoStar (SATS) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.

Urban Outfitters (URBN) was downgraded this morning from hold to buy at Brean Murray Carret & Co. The brokerage attributed the downgrade to "forced incremental discounting" at the firm's Anthropologie and Urban Outiftters chains, MarketWatch reported.

In addition, URBN is facing "materially difficult" comparisons during the first half of fiscal 2012. The analyst expects the company will remain under competitive and cost increase pressures despite its varied inventory, MarketWatch added. Wall Street Strategies also lowered URBN.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Illinois Tool Works (ITW) to buy from hold, citing valuation and the company's strong revenue performance. The firm has a $60 price target for shares.
• Goldman upgraded PPD Inc. (PPDI) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $31 from $28. The firm expects strong top line growth and bookings momentum for the upgrade.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Insituform Technologies (INSU) to buy from hold based on higher estimates for sewer rehab and energy. The firm has a $31 target on the stock.
• Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Wisconsin Energy (WEC) and Northeast Utilities (NU) were upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Rockwell Collins (COL) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) Q1 net loss was in line with estimates and same-store sales declined, shares also fell.
• CA Inc. (CA) shares sold off on high volume following the Q4 earnings miss and disappointing guidance.
• Cigna Corp. (CI) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings and higher revenue, and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) beat Q3 earnings and revenue expectations in the "strongest quarter in our history."
• Dean Foods Co. (DF) lower Q1earnings beat analysts' estimates, but shares fell on heavy volume afterward.
• Denny's Corp. (DENN) bested consensus estimates and year-ago EPS by a penny, but said same-store sales fell.

Urban Outfitters (URBN), whose colleagues include Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Gap (GPS), is down in afternoon trading. The stock was off by $1.65, or over 4%, and had a quote of $37.76. Volume wasn't outrageous when I was writing this, but it will go above the norm once all is said and done for the day.

The stock hasn't been a bad one to own over the last twelve months. Of course, many retailers have seen their shares rise along with the improving economy. What should we think of Urban Outfitters after today's earnings report?

Last week's retail sales numbers were encouraging. And some shopping mall favorites take their turns in the earnings spotlight this week: JCPenney (JCP), Nordstrom (JWN), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Kohl's Corp. (KSS) and Macy's (M). Overall, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to see earnings growth from these retailers for the first quarter.

Texas-based department store operator JCPenney declared a quarterly dividend and tendered a debt offering in its first quarter. Earnings for that period are expected to have more than doubled from a year ago to $0.24 per share. Revenue for the three months that ended in April, however, is expected to have inched up 1.4% in the past year to $3.9 billion. And analysts expect to see year-over-year earnings and revenue growth in the second quarter. JCPenney's per-share earnings have come in within pennies of consensus estimates in the past five quarters, beating by two cents in the fourth quarter.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• AutoZone Inc. (AZO) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, as well as sales and gross margin growth.
• Big Lots Inc. (BIG) beat Q4 earnings expectations, raised its guidance, and lifted its share repurchase program.
• Carmike Cinemas Inc. (CKEC) swung to better-than-expected profit in Q4 and reported strong sales growth.
• Ciena Corp. (CIEN) reported a bigger-than-expected Q1 net loss and some revenue growth, and offered guidance.
• DISH Network Corp. (DISH) posted a year-over-year increase in Q4 revenue but also a decline in per-share earnings.

Urban Outfitters (URBN - option chain) shares are rising today after the company reported earnings this morning, posting a fourth-quarter profit of $77.68 million, or 45 cents per share, on revenue of $588 million. Analysts had forecast a profit of 40 cents per share on revenue of $586 million. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on URBN.

URBN opened this morning at $34.44. So far today the stock has hit a low of $33.95 and a high of $34.75. As of 11:45, URBN is trading at $34.24 up 84 cents (2.5%). The chart for URBN looks bullish and S&P gives URBN a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

The Federal Reserve's next Beige Book report is scheduled to be released this week. This report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts, and it is released eight times a year. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The previous report, released in January, showed some improvement in most districts and growth in consumer spending over the holiday period, though unemployment remained high. The December report showed modest improvement in eight of the districts.

Retailers were in the earnings spotlight last week and for the most part made a strong showing of it. Even as the earnings season winds down, some more retailers are scheduled to release quarterly results this week.