MOST NOTEWORTHY: Some of today's notable downgrades were National City Corp (NCC), Aeroflex Inc (ARXX) and Compass Minerals International (CMP):
- Morgan Stanley cut National City Corp (NYSE: NCC) to Underweight from Equal-Weight with and $35 target to reflect increased losses on the company's remaining subprime loans and slower growth in the Midwest.
- AG Edwards downgraded Aeroflex Inc (NASDAQ: ARXX) to Sell from Buy to reflect the company's acquisition agreement.
- Matrix USA cut Compass Minerals Int'l (NYSE: CMP) to Strong Sell from Buy to reflect weak demand for deicing products.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- CIBC downgraded Pathmark Stores Inc (NASDAQ: PTMK) to Sector Perform from Outperformer based on the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co (NYSE: GAP) acquisition.
- UBS cut Apria Healthcare Group Inc (NYSE: AHG) to Reduce from Neutral on valuation.
- Goldman Sachs downgraded Progressive Gaming International Corp (NASDAQ: PGIC) and Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc (NYSE: BEE) to Sell from Neutral.
- Brean Murray cut Youbet.com (NASDAQ: UBET) to Hold from Buy based on increased competition concerns.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).
MOST NOTEWORTHY: AstraZeneca plc (AZN), Aeroflex Inc (ARXX), Symantec Corp (SYMC), Chevron Corp (CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) were just some of today's noteworthy downgrades: 
Comfort Zone Investing: The unmighty dollar
Five winners of a weak dollar
For a quick-read on the U.S. economy, check the price of gasoline
