Call today a Bernanke-induced euphoria that rates will stay very low, even if the Fed has still hinted at an exit of the free and endless money supply. The trade deficit was narrower than expected and oddly enough, we are running a trade surplus if you don't consider China and foreign energy. Even the yield on the 10-Year auction came in at lower levels. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,361.61 +120.16 (1.30%)
S&P 500 1,005.81 +11.46 (1.15%)
Nasdaq 1,998.72 +28.99 (1.47%)

Top Analyst Calls

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, YRC Worldwide and Syniverse were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Soleil upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) to Buy from Hold on improving fundamentals, as they believe the economic stimulus package should drive consumer demand in 2H08.
  
• Stephens upgraded shares of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Overweight from Underweight as they believe management is making meaningful changes.
  
• Syniverse (NYSE: SVR) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. The firm upgraded shares based on accelerating organic growth from consumer wireless data usage.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Buy from Hold.
  
• VASCO Data Security (NASDAQ: VDSI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Goldman upgraded Lukoil (OTC: LUKOY) to Buy from Neutral.

YRC Worldwide (Nasdaq: YRCW) is the largest U.S. operator of motor carriers that offer less-than-truckload freight services.

Just because a sector is down doesn't mean that there aren't opportunities within the business category. Trucking transport has been a sector under pressure, and with the above in mind, YRC Worldwide is worth a review.

Analysts expect road freight sector conditions to improve gradually in 2008, with a slight revenue increase for YRCW, on mild tonnage gains and some pricing power. Margins should also improve in 2008.

Longer term, analysts expect YRCW to improve operational performance via ongoing efforts to rightsize its fleet and eliminate operational overlaps. The Reuters F2008/F2009 EPS consensus estimates for YRCW are $1.64/$2.42.

To be sure, YRCW's stock carries considerable risk, but the argument here is that improved operations and a pull-back in average oil prices for 2008 to the 'low' $75-80-level will provide enough tailwind to improve bottom-line results. Those facts, combined with a p/e of 8 make the YRCW risk/return favorable.

The risks? A U.S. recession would (obviously) hurt YRCW's results. Analysts also have an eye on the company's pension costs.

The First Call mean rating for YRCW is: Hold. [13 firms.] Mean 2008 target: $18.00. [high: $25, low: $15.]

Stock Analysis: YRC Worldwide is a moderate-risk stock not suitable for low-risk investors. Investors with an investment horizon longer than 2 years should be rewarded from YRCW's shares. Sell / Stop Loss if you were to purchase shares in this company: $8.

Disclosure: Lazzaro has no positions in stocks. In addition to private real estate holdings, he owns corporate and municipal bonds, and cash certificates of deposit.

Goodrich (NYSE: GR), a supplier of components, systems and services to the commercial and general aviation airplane markets, is recently up $1.14 to $68.20 on unconfirmed takeover chatter. GR has market of $8.4 billion with long term debt of $1.7 billion. GR October 70 calls have traded 41 times on transaction volume of 884 contracts above its open interest of 449 contracts. GR October option implied volatility of 29 is above its 26-week average of 25 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW), a transportation holding company with brands including Yellow Transportation, Roadway, Reimer Express, Meridian IQ, New Penn, USF Holland and USF Reddaway, is recently up $0.45 to $28.25 on unconfirmed chatter Deutsche Post has made a $41 bid for YRCW. YRCW has a market cap of $1.5 billion with $903 million in long-term debt. YRCW call option volume of 5,697 contracts compares to put volume of 319 contracts. YRCW October option implied volatility of 45 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL, two units of Fed Ex Corp (NYSE: FDX) have cut their standard Less-Than-Truckload fuel surcharge by 25% this morning, effective immediately. The drop in surcharge rates comes at an unexpected time, the summer. According to the Department of Energy, the average U.S. retail price for diesel fuel hit its highest point last week since September of 2006.

Logic suggests that FedEx would lose money on this announcement. However, management believes the move will provide them an advantage in the market. Douglas G. Duncan, President and CEO of FedEx Freight said, "By significantly reducing our fuel surcharges, we offer immediate and long-term assistance to shippers who are facing both a challenging economy and volatile fuel prices." Both units update fuel surcharges on a weekly basis based on prices published by the DoE.

While the cuts mean that FedEx Freight will assume more of the fuel costs, Duncan hopes that additional volume would make up for "a great deal of that." This additional volume Duncan talks of has to come from somewhere. FedEx has some serious competition in the LTL market, including United Parcel Services' (NYSE: UPS) Overnite Corp, Con-way (NYSE: CNW) and the largest of the truckers, YRC International Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW).

It looks like FedEx struck first blood in the battle for additional market share. Shares of FedEx are only down 14 cents today, to $115.53 in mid-day trading. In order to compete, look for Overnite, Con-Way and other LTL companies to cut their surcharge rates after the summer, when diesel prices are expected to taper off.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Amazon.com (AMZN), YRC Worldwide (YRCW), SanDisk (SNDK), Activision (ATVI), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and KB Home (KBH) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• BWS Financial cut Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares to Sell from Hold on valuation.

• YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) was assumed with an Underweight rating, down from Neutral, as JP Morgan is cautious on the industry's L-T-L pricing.

• UBS downgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.

• Gabelli downgraded shares of Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) to Hold from Buy to reflect their expectation of increasing competition for some of the company's key titles.

• Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at HSBC on valuation.

• Matrix believes the prolonged weakness in the housing market is eliminating economic profits and cut KB Home (NYSE: KBH) to Strong Sell from Sell...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Citigroup and ABN Amro cut Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RTP) to Hold from Buy.

• Merrill Lynch downgraded J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM) to Sell from Neutral.

• First Albany downgraded shares of Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) to Neutral from Buy.

• Matrix downgraded Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) to Hold from Buy.

• AG Edwards downgraded Aetna (NYSE: AET) to Hold from Buy.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: YRC Worldwide (YRCW), BEA Systems (BEAS), Isle of Capri Casinos (ISLE), Assured Guaranty Ltd (AGO) and Avaya (AV) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• Wachovia downgraded YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Market Perform from Outperform citing the challenging LTL freight environment and continued integration issues.

• UBS downgraded shares of BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Neutral from Buy on valuation as they believe expectations for a takeover or investor activism is already priced into shares.

• Matrix believes Isle of Capri (NASDAQ: ISLE) is expensive on a performance-adjusted basis and recommends investors sell shares into the recent rally, downgrading shares to Sell from Hold.

• JP Morgan cut Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO) to Underweight from Neutral on valuation.

• JMP Securities downgraded Avaya (NYSE: AV) to Market Perform from Strong Buy, as the firm doesn't expect a superior offer to the Silver Lake/TPG bid...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• MicroChip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Baird downgraded Authorize.net Holdings (NASDAQ: ANET) to Neutral from Outperform.

• Morgan Keegan downgraded Inter-Tel Inc (NASDAQ: INTL) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Stifel cut Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment (NYSE: DDE) to Sell from Hold.

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

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)

Amazing. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), that big online retailer, sees the flix for the net. The shares keep rising for the online DVD rental company-up about 15%, highest since January-- even if their discs do come a little scratched. More than that though is while new subscribers are coming on; it's not exactly going gangbusters. Still, 6.8M is a whole lot of subscribers. Will Amazon, or someone else, overpay?

Rackable Systems Inc (NASDAQ: RACK)

Which came first: The ongoing takeover rumors or the higher stock price? Or was it that Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) is said to be after Rackable, a provider of servers and storage products for high density data center deployments. Rack it up.

Feldman Mall Properties Inc (NYSE: FMP)

Word is that this real estate investment trust will look for a sale, combo or merger. They said the venerable firm of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. will help them "explore strategic alternatives." Then the stock went up.

STILL FLYING AROUND

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: TRMP)

Dennis Gomes, whose name surfaced in March, is a one time gaming exec and regulator. He's signed a confidentiality agreement to have a look see at the firm's Atlantic City casinos. Separately, Las Vegas' Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) has also been mentioned as a possible contender.

YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW)

The CEO of this Kansas-based transportation service provider has been quoted as saying that a takeover is possible. An LBO is likely. This week the shares have actively been trading up.

Dollar Tree Stores Inc (NASDAQ: DLTR)

Imagine a dollar tree where the stock keeps going up, up, up. Well, here it is, once again, a subject of takeover talk.

BUZZ

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X): Russia's Severstal may be prowling around...Plains Exploration & Production Company (NYSE: PXP): Takeover candidate's stock is sharply higher... Micron Technology Inc (NYSE: MU): Blackstone has interest...Ameristar Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA): A hot stock and takeover rumors abound...Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA): Remains an LBO candidate...The First Marblehead Corporation (NYSE: FMD): The student loan business is booming and earnings growth is strong, but who would buy it?...Marriott International Inc (NYSE: MAR): A target? But where's the movement?...Oakley Inc (NYSE: OO) as a target has been around and around, and now some say it will be bought by Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX).

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Online's "Inside Scoop" column reported that Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) CEO John Hess recently bought more $1M worth of Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), and now directly owns 23,350 DOW shares.
• The Financial Times reported that the European Union is concerned that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) may be skirting European privacy laws by keeping data on Internet searches for too long.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The U.S. Navy awarded an $11.9M contract to Force Protection Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) to build and deliver 14 next-generation armored vehicles, according to the Associated Press.
• From BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" section:
  
• In spite of its problems, Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a long-term value play, according to Joseph Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck's Washington Crossing Advisors unit.
• Bioenvision Inc (NASDAQ: BIVN) is attracting big investors because the company has teamed up with biotech biggie Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) to develop clofarabine, a treatment for leukemia in children.
  
• Big truckers see YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW) as a tempting asset play with "compelling earnings power and potential value," according to Justin Yagerman of Wachovia Securities.

Monday April 23

• CA World 2007 to be held in Las Vegas
• L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LLL) to report Q1 earnings, conference call at 10 a.m.

Tuesday April 24

• Defense companies Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) to report Q1 earnings.
• Low-cost airline Jetblue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) to report Q1 earnings. Will Jetblue follow Southwest Airlines Co.'s (NYSE: LUV) disappointing report (which caused two analyst downgrades)? Or is the recent increased investment buy George Soros a sign that Jetblue is doing better?
• Alternative Energy Conference, hosted by Friedland Investment Events, to be held in NY.

Wednesday April 25

• The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:30 a.m. Will Boeing discuss Airbus's decision to halve the price of its A350 planes in order to become more competitive with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner?
• Market darling Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will also report Q2 earnings, conference call at 5 p.m.

Thursday April 26

• XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10 a.m. Investors will look for any comments relating to the state of the potential merger with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI).

Friday April 27

• YRC Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30 a.m.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: YRC Worldwide Inc (YRCW), Baidu.com, Inc (BIDU), an several e-commerce names were today's more notable initiations:

• Prudential started YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW) with an Underweight rating and $41 target. The firm said recent organizational changes could be a distraction in what it expects to be a challenging first-half of 2007.

• Susquehanna views Baidu.com Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) as a strategic holding in its China portfolio and expects the company's massive brand value to drive continuous growth; shares were initiated at Susquehanna with a Positive rating.

• Oppenheimer initiated three e-commerce names today:
  
• eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) was initiated with a Buy rating and $38 target
• Overstock.com, Inc (NASDAQ: OSTK) and Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) were initiated with Neutral ratings.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• In addition to YRC Worldwide, Prudential initiated several companies in the transportation sector:
  
• Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW) was started with an Underweight rating and $47 target
  
• Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) were initiated with Overweight ratings
  
• Canadian National Railway (NYSE: CNI) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $47 target.

• Jefferies initiated Forest Oil Corp (NYSE: FST) with a Buy rating and $42 target.

• Citigroup believes aQuantive, Inc (NASDAQ: AQNT) will be one of the key beneficiaries of the strong secular growth in online advertising and they note that shares are trading in the lower half of its 52-week range; shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $33 target.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nokia Corp (NOK), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings (XMSR) topped today's list of upgrades.

• Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of Nokia Corp ADS (NYSE: NOK) to Buy from Neutral and added the company to their Conviction Buy List. Goldman believes Nokia's profit cycle has bottomed and shares could rebound from current levels. In addition, the broker expects Nokia to report solid fourth-quarter earnings.

• JP Morgan upgraded Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings 'A' (NASDAQ: XMSR) to Overweight from Neutral as they believe retail and competition fears are largely understood and that both companies will grow subscribers due to deals with automakers.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Wachovia upgraded YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Outperform to Market Perform citing the trucker's recent realignment actions in its regional and long-haul LTL's, the timing cycle to buy trucking stocks and valuation.

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) to Overweight from Neutral, citing valuation.

• Prudential upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch Co 'A' (NYSE: ANF) to Overweight from Neutral and raised their target to $89 from $66, citing valuation and easier comps.

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

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Magazine (subscription required) highlighted a number of possible M&A targets, along with a few stocks it believes to be undervalued:
• M&A is expected to continue in Europe: possible large cap targets include Barclays (NYSE: BCS), Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN), Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY), Koninklljke (NYSE: KPN) and Swisscom (NYSE: SCM); possible small-mid cap targets include Hellenic Telecom (NYSE: OTE).
  
• There may still be upside in shares of Xerox (NYSE: XRX), says James Benson, a partner and securities analyst at Harris Associates.
• Shares of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) may be undervalued by as much as 50%, says Barron's "Bottom Line," which writes that shares could climb above $60.
• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) featured an article on Pfizer's new CEO and his strategic plan.
• Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) new CEO, Jeffrey B. Kindler, is preparing to detail his strategic vision for the company that will likely involve more job cuts.
• Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is claiming a nanotechnology research breakthrough that would bring big benefits in performance.
• According to a Nomura report, Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE) will reach only 75% of its global target for PlayStation 3 sales this fiscal year through March.
• The New York Times had an article highlighting the possibility of New York funding stem cell research.
• New York Governor Eliot Spitzer called for the passage of a $2B 10-year bond initiative for research and development, at least half of which would be set aside to pay for stem cell research.
• Citigroup (NYSE: C) may shorten its name to Citi and drop its umbrella logo.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The UK Times wrote that Ford (NYSE: F) may have trouble selling its Aston Martin unit after potential buyers found problems in the divisions books while doing due diligence.
• El Pais wrote that Fidel Castro is in "very grave" condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection known as diverticulitis.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Circuit City (CC), Best Buy (BBY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) top today's list of downgrades.

• Prudential downgraded Circuit City Stores Inc. (NYSE:CC) to Underweight from Neutral, with a $22 target, citing concerns of flat-panel TV price erosion and the high cost structure as compared with Best Buy and other retailers.
• In addition, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) was also downgraded by the firm to Neutral from Overweight with a $50 target, citing third-quarter margins that were below expectations.
• Credit Suisse removed Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) from their U.S. Focus List.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded L-T-L transporters JB Hunt Transportation Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) and YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:YRCW), citing valuation.
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) was downgraded at Bernstein to Market Perform from Outperform, based on the lower subs forecasts and the fact that Sirius is more reliant in the retail after-market than competitor XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:XMSR).
• AG Edwards downgraded Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU) to Sell from Hold, citing the DRAM pricing risk; the firm said prices are currently running at more than twice its projected trend and it sees a risk of a correction in the next few months.

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

Prudential is hitting the large electronics sellers after Best Buy numbers disappointed yesterday. The firm cut Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) to Neutral and Circuit City (NYSE:CC) to Underweight.

Staples Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS), Orthfix (NASDAQ:OFIX), and Office Max Inc. (NYSE:OMX) were all initiated with a Buy at Banc of America.

Trucker valuations are a concern at Deutsche Bank: YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ:YRCW) and J.B.Hunt (NASDAQ:JBHT) were both cut to Hold because of excessive valuation despite the private equity and management buyouts in the sector.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods announced a competing call by starting American Express (NYSE:AXP) as an Outperform and MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA) as an Underperform (MA trading down almost 0.5% on this rating call).

Full list of research calls here.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St, LLC. He dows not own securities in the companies he covers.