MOST NOTEWORTHY: GameStop (GME), Brocade (BRCD), Tween Brands (TWB), Plantronics (PLT) and Arcelor Mittal (MT) were today's more notable upgrades:

• First Albany sees upside potential in GameStop (NYSE: GME) through 2008 and upgraded shares to Strong Buy from Buy.

• JMP Securities upgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Market Outperform from Market Perform on valuation.

• Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) was upgraded to Buy from Sell on valuation at Matrix USA.

• JMP Securities' checks indicate Altec Lansing's im600 iPod docking station/FM radio is selling better than expected, and upgraded shares of Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) to Market Outperform from Market Perform.

• Merrill upgraded shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's inclusion in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index in September as well as the positive global carbon steel environment...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

• Morgan Stanley raised RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

• Matrix upgraded Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) to Buy from Hold.

• Jefferies upgraded Advanced Medical (NYSE: EYE) to Hold from Underperform.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cadbury Schweppes plc (CSG), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Arcelor-Mittal (MT) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Citigroup downgraded shares of Cadbury Schweppes (NYSE: CSG) to Hold from Buy as they see limited upside now that the company is close to divesting its beverage division.

• Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman and was removed from the Americas Buy List as they do not believe revenue growth will significantly top 17% this year and may not meet investors high expectations.

• Soleil downgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) to Sell from Hold on valuation as they think the stock is trading near the high end of a reasonable trading range. They believe shares are due for a 10%-15% correction.

• Merrill expects carbon steel prices to come under pressure in Q3, sending Arcelor-Mittal (NYSE: MT) shares to Neutral from Buy...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Lehman cut Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI), Millennium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MLNM) and Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Stifel cut U.S. Xpress Enterprises (NASDAQ: XPRSA) to Hold from Buy.

• Calyon downgraded SkyWest, Inc (NASDAQ: SKYW) to Neutral from Buy.

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

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) has launched a new, free Web-based email, called Windows Live Hotmail, available in 36 different languages.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that House lawmakers will challenge a deal made by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and the U.S. Treasury to overhaul the supervision of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).
• The Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column wrote that investors are betting that dealmaking is not done in commodities, with United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) and Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) among those that could receive takeover offers.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) "Alphaville" section reported that Arcelor-Mittal (NYSE: MT) is looking at AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS), with a offer of as mush as $40 a share.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The New York Times reported, citing investigators, that Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is preparing to acknowledge that it should have known kickbacks were being paid to Saddam Hussein on oil the company bought in Iraq.

WEBSITES:

• DigiTimes.com reported that Aruba Networks Inc (NASDAQ: ARUN) CEO Dominic Orr said that the company is expecting to nearly double its share in the global enterprise mobility solution market in 2008 from 10%-12% to around 20%.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) is reportedly attempting to tighten its financial reporting procedures, the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported. The auto maker is under investigation by the SEC and a federal grand jury for its accounting of transactions as far back as 2000.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) is in talks with India's Reliance Industries for a joint venture that would enable Dow to reduce its exposure to commodity products and gain access to cheaper raw materials. Indian newspapers report that a deal could lead to a full takeover by Reliance.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to the Korea Economic Daily, citing an unnamed Posco ADS (NYSE: PKX) executive, a senior Arcelor Mittal Steel Company (NYSE: MT) executive expressed interest in Posco's merger plans. Posco denied the report, saying "There was no discussion on issues related to M&A when the Mittal executive met Posco CEO last month," according to the Economic Times.
• The Independent reported that Imperial Tobacco Group plc (NYSE: ITY) has made a GBP7.6B bid for the Franco-Spanish tobacco company Altadis. The private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is also reported to have interest in acquiring Altadis. An Imperial-Altadis merger could derail a hostile bid by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
  
• BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" section mentioned Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE: NEM), CB Richard Ellis Group Inc (NYSE: CBG) and Superior Energy Services Inc (NYSE: SPN) positively.
• Which gold producer will shine brightest? Newmont Mining "is the one," says Vincent Carrino, Chief of Brookhaven Capital Management, which has loaded up on its stock.
  
• Douglas Roberts at Channel Capital Research Institute doesn't see the Fed cutting rates soon, and hence he likes CB Richard Ellis Group.
• Superior Energy Services aims to be everything to oil-and-gas explorers in the Gulf of Mexico, and in most cases it is. "Superior can't keep up with the tremendous demand for its repair and recovery services, which will provide strong growth through the end of the decade," says Martin Sass, CEO of MDSass, which owns a 1.2% stake.

A billion here, a billion there – yes, pretty soon, it adds up to a lot of money. That's the case with today. Wall Street was able to strike up $90 billion in merger & acquisition (M&A) deals.

Even during the boom times of the 1980s and 1990s, this would be a blockbuster day. 

Here's a look at the key deals:

First, Phelps Dodge crafted a $40 billion deal to buy two companies in the nickel mining business, Inco Ltd. and Falconbridge Ltd. With the transaction, Phelps Doge will have 40,000 employees. The company's name also changes to Phelps Dodge Inco (kind of like a law firm, huh?) The massive entity will be the #2 worldwide in copper and molybdenum, as well as #1 for nickel.