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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Apple, Novartis and Infineon were today's noteworthy downgrades:
- Morgan Keegan downgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Underperform from Market Perform citing increased evidence of broad-based weakness in consumer technology spending in the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, the firm expects challenges in the company's education vertical due to state and local budget issues, which could lead to decelerating growth over the next 2-3 quarters.
- Bear Stearns downgraded Novartis(NYSE: NVS) to Peer Perform from Outperform following the acquisition of Alcon (NYSE: ACL), as they find the deal expensive.
- Credit Suisse cut Infineon (NYSE: IFX) to Neutral from Outperform to reflect weakness in the U.S. dollar.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Goldman downgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Zions Bancorp (ZION) to Neutral from Buy.
- Keefe Bruyette cut Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) to Underperform from Market Perform.
- Baird downgraded Flowserve (NYSE: FLS) to Neutral from Outperform.
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Merck, On2 Technologies and Zions Bancorp were today's noteworthy downgrades: 
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