Before the bell 5-29-07: M&A activity pushing stocks higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 May 2007 07:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Before the bell 5-18-07: MSFT, AQNT, INTU, BAB, AAPL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 May 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Hitachi Ltd (NYSE: HIT) Strategic Storage Announcement conference call at 8am.
• Aircastle Limited (NYSE: AYR) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 11am.
• Another Vioxx trial starts for Merck and Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) in Texas.

• Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) mobile experience at 10am.
• Yamana Gold Inc (NYSE: AUY) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 11am.

• Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) shareholder meeting at 11am.
• Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

• JC Penney Company Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Liz Claiborne Inc (NYSE: LIZ) annual shareholder meeting at 10am.
• Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) research and development day at 8:30am.

• British Airways (NYSE: BAB) to report preliminary Q4 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• Federated Department Stores Inc (NYSE: FD) shareholder meeting at 11am.

Market highlights for next week: Another Vioxx trial begins for Merck originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 May 2007 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of both British Airways (NYSE: BAB) and Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Hold from Sell on valuation.

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Cox Radio Inc (NYSE: CXR) to Neutral form Underperform on valuation following the stock's recent pullback. Bear Stearns also upgraded Cox Radio to Outperform from Peer Perform on valuation.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV) to Neutral from sell.

• Wachovia upgraded Heelys, Inc (NASDAQ: HLYS) to Outperform from Market Perform following positive channel checks, which could lead to upside to the Street's Q1 EPS estimate of 18c, and valuation.

• Stifel upgraded VistaPrint Ltd (NASDAQ: VPRT) to Buy from Hold with a $43 target. The firm said risks from taxes and non-transaction revenue have been diminished to levels that allow them to focus on the core printing business.

• Ameristar Casinos, Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

• Bear Stearns upgraded Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc (NYSE: WDR) to Outperform from Peer Perform based on strong operating leverage and valuation.

• Potash Corp (NYSE: POT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst upgrades 4-05-07: Cox Radio, Heelys & Potash Corp were upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Canaccord Adams downgraded shares of Insituform Technologies (NASDAQ: INSU) to Underweight from Neutral following the company's reduced outlook and announcement to exit the tunneling business.

• Prudential downgraded shares of Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA) to Underweight from Neutral on valuation following the recent run-up due to speculation the company will be sold; based on management statements, Prudential believes a company sale is unlikely.

• Buckingham cut Christopher & Banks (NYSE: CBK) to Underperform from Neutral.

• ABN AMRO downgraded shares of British Airways plc (NYSE: BAB) to Sell from Hold as the firm believes profits on trans-Atlantic routes may drop from increased competition due to the "open skies" agreement between the European Union and the U.S.

• JP Morgan downgraded China Unicom Limited (NYSE: CHU) to Underweight from Neutral.

• RBC cut Paychex, Inc (NASDAQ: PAYX) to Sector Perform from Outperform.

• Matrix USA downgraded EarthLink, Inc (NASDAQ: ELNK) to Sell from Hold and WCI Communities, Inc (NYSE: WCI) to Strong Sell from Hold on valuation.

Analyst downgrades 3-30-07: Ameristar Casinos, Paychex & Earthlink downgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Online ad firm DoubleClick is exploring a sale, and is in talks with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), among others, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that BP plc ADS's (NYSE: BP) Russia venture, TNK-BP, abandoned its bid for a stake in Rosneft less than ten minutes into bidding, leaving Rosneft able to buy its own shares back at a 10% discount.
• According to the Financial Times, Tyco International Ltd (NYSE: TYC) bondholders are worried the company may try to avoid paying them in full when the company completes its break-up later in the year.
• The Financial Times reported that Cadbury Schweppes ADS (NYSE: CSG) CEO Todd Stitzer said a merger with Hershey (HSY) would make "commercial, strategic and financial sense" for Cadbury, which is preparing to split into two divisions.

• The U.K. Times reported that British Airways ADS (NYSE: BAB) is considering making a GBP1B bid for bmi, a competing British airline.

• BusinessWeek Online reported that Beazer Homes USA Inc (NYSE: BZH) is being investigated for potential mortgage fraud by the FBI.
• CNet.com reported that Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) will offer unlimited email storage beginning in May, according to an announcement by the company.

Newspaper wrap-up 3-28-07: Microsoft to buy DoubleClick? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Mar 2007 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Travelzoo Inc (NASDAQ: TZOO) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Underperform with a $38 target at First Albany based on valuation and the potential for significant upside in first quarter. Stifel upgraded Travelzoo to Hold from Sell, also on valuation.

• Following the company's Q2 results and guidance, Baird upgraded shares of Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) to Outperform from Neutral with a $32 target.

• AG Edwards upgraded shares of Marriott Int'l Inc (NYSE: MAR) to Buy from Hold with a $56 target. The firm believes that given recent indications of sulid industry fundamentals, Marriott is being overlooked. In addition, AG Edwards believes Marriot is poised to report strong earnings on Thursday.

• Broadcom Corp (NASDAQ: BRCM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $40 target at Morgan Stanley.

• FEI Company (NASDAQ: FEIC) was upgraded by Credit Suisse to Neutral from Underperform following its Q4 report and outlook.

• Goldman added Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) to the America's Buy List based on its HIV franchise and pipeline. Goldman also upgraded Earthlink (ELNK) to Neutral from Sell on valuation.

• Baird upgraded Business Objects ADS (NASDAQ: BOBJ) to Outperform from Neutral following the company's solid Q4 report.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded British Airways ADS (NYSE: BAB) to Buy from Neutral.

• Digene Corp (NASDAQ: DIGE) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst upgrades 2-07-07: Cisco Systems upgraded to Outperform originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Lehman Bros. downgraded the Major European Pharmaceutical Sector based on its 2007 outlook.
  
• The firm downgraded Sanofi-Aventis ADS (NYSE: SNY) and Glaxosmithkline plc ADS (NYSE: GSK) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Deutsche Bank is cautious on British Airways' ADS (NYSE: BAB) 2007 outlook and downgraded the airliner to Sell from Hold, citing valuation.

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Hornbeck Offshore Svc (NYSE: HOS) to Sell from Neutral following the driller's disappointing fourth quarter outlook.

• Wachovia downgraded CACI Int'l (NYSE: CAI) to Market Perform from Outperform following the sudden announcement last night that CFO Waechter has resigned from the company.

Analyst downgrades 1-11-07: Major European Pharma downgraded originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.