MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" advises avoiding Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) despite its recent rally.
• Barron's "Weekday Trader Extra" reported that the Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners increased $39 a share offer for Clear Channel Communications Inc (NYSE: CCU) is not guaranteed to succeed, with Barron's saying $42 a share or higher likely would.
• Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) said that parts of the Coast Guard's "Deepwater" modernization program are under investigation by the Justice Department, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• According to the Financial Times (subscription required), citing a comprehensive independent study from IHS, Iraq may hold twice as much oil in its reserves as previously thought.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Business reported that Barclays plc ADS (NYSE: BCS) may have identified several ways of offering a higher price for ABN Amro Holdings (NYSE: ABN), the Dutch bank it is trying to acquire, according to sources.
• The National Security Council, or NSC, has called for "special scrutiny" of VodafoneGroup plc ADS's (NYSE: VOD) takeover of Hutch-Essar, which may further delay the deal, reported the Economic Times.

WEBSITES:

• Macrumors.com reported, citing Reuters, that AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) COO Randall Stephenson said the Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone is on target for a late June launch.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Costco Wholesale Corp (COST), Apple Inc (AAPL), DirecTV Group, Inc (DTV) and EchoStar Communications (DISH) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• Piper Jaffray upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $65 target to reflect valuation, improved fundamentals and hidden value in real estate.
• Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) was added to American Technology's Focus List with a $145 target.
• Cowen upgraded shares of DirecTV Group, Inc (NYSE: DTV) and EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) to Neutral from Underperform citing potential cash flow growth and re-capitalization opportunities that will offset competitive risks in the near-term.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens citing a tonnage rebound at the company.
• Bear Stearns transferred coverage and raised its rating of Netease.com, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing valuation.
• Bernstein upgraded its Cardiac Rhythm Management group, which contained Boston Scientific Corp (NYSE: BSX), Medtronic, Inc (NYSE: MDT) and St. Jude Medical, Inc (NYSE: STJ), to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm cited anticipated recovery of the ICD market and easier comps for 2007 and expects the U.S. ICD market to have 10% growth compared to last year's negative growth.
• JP Morgan upgraded Borland Software Corp (NASDAQ: BORL) to Overweight from Underweight, as the firm expects the company to achieve margin targets and named Borland its turnaround pick for 2007.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Vonage Holdings Corp (VG), Boston Scientific Corp (BSX), Sunoco, Inc (SUN) and CV Therapeutics, Inc (CVTX) were some of today's more notable downgrades:

• Vonage Holdings Corp (NYSEL VG) was downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns following the court injunction barring Vonage from using Verizon Communications' (VZ) patented technology.

• Boston Scientific Corp (NYSE: BSX) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO. Cowen removed Boston Scientific from its Focus List citing superior clinical results from Abbott Laboratories' (ABT) drug-eluting stent, Xience V.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Hold from Buy with a $72 target on valuation.

• CV Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CVTX) was downgraded at Deutsche Bank, to Sell from Hold with a $2 target. The downgrade was ahead of the full Ranexa Merlin PIII data to be presented at the American College of Cardiology on Tuesday, March 27th, as the firm believes it will fall short of generating sufficient positive data trends for supporting Ranexa's outlook.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) was removed from JP Morgan's Focus List as the firm believes the potential divestiture of Chrysler is at least partially priced into shares; JP Morgan maintains an Overweight rating on the stock.

• Morgan Stanley cut Progressive Corp (NYSE: PGR) to Underweight from Equal-Weight.

• William Blair downgraded Kronos Inc (NASDAQ: KRON) to Market Perform from Outperform following the company's acquisition.

• Bank of America downgraded Paxar Corp (NYSE: PXR) to Neutral from Buy on news of Avery Dennison Corp's (AVY) acquisition of the company.

• Deutsche Bank cut Tesoro Corp (NYSE: TSO) to Sell from Hold with an $85 target.

• Goldman Sachs cut Volvo (NASDAQ: VOLV) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.

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

Monday March 26

• Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will evaluate Tiffany's holiday performance, new products and note management's comments on global diamond and jewelry trends.
• Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) to hold analyst meeting at 8:30am.
• Canon Inc ADR (NYSE: CAJ) to hold shareholder meeting at 10pm.

Tuesday March 27

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) to hold shareholder meeting at 9:30am.
• McCormick and Company Inc (NYSE: MKC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10am. Analysts will focus on McCormick's consumer segment [largest business], but will also note industrial business line performance, new spices/ingredients and commodity costs.

Wednesday March 28

• Teco Energy Inc (NYSE: TE) to provide 2007 outlook; webcast at 8am.
• Media Telecommunications & Entertainment Conference 3/28-3/29

Thursday March 29

• PDUFA date for Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc's (NASDAQ: NSTK) Calcitonin-Salmon Nasal Spray for Osteoporosis.

Friday March 30

• Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ: FINL) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Note that the company issued disappointing guidance earlier this month.
• CKE Restaurants Inc (NYSE: CKR), the owner of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9am. Analysts will review the company's same store sales by restaurant chain, average lunch/dinner checks, menu changes and margins. Analysts will also evaluate management's the performance of breakfast offerings, and the company's chain expansion plan.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Embarq Corp (EQ) and Boston Scientific Corp (BSX) were today's most notable downgrades:

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Embarq Corp (NYSE: EQ) to Sell from Neutral based on valuation and potential margin dilution.

• Boston Scientific Corp (NYSE: BSX) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns based on regulatory and competitive challenges.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Despite expectations of strong Q4 results and 2007 guidance, Needham downgraded Garmin Ltd (NASDAQ: GRMN) to Hold from Buy based on valuation, as they believe the multiple the market is willing to give the stock is likely to decline as PNDs continue to increase as a percentage of revenue.

• Roth Capital downgraded China BAK Battery Inc (NASDAQ: CBAK) to Hold from Buy.

• DA Davidson downgraded Weyerhaeuser Co (NYSE: WY) to Neutral from Buy.

• BMO Capital Markets downgraded Brady Corp (NYSE: BRC) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Wachovia downgraded Boyd Gaming Corp (NYSE: BYD) to Market Perform from Outperform, expecting weakness in 2007 from the Las Vegas locals market and Atlantic City.

• Penn National Gaming Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank citing valuation.

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

Put back the crash carts. Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is up and walking. A sharp, short-term decline in use of drug coated stents, brought on by studies that show they may cause heart problems, has not significantly hurts sales overall. The FDA, after a survey of its own, has not restricted use of the devices.

According to analysts at several Wall Street firms, drug coated stents will keep a 75% to 80% share of the market. At Boston Scientific, sales of the stents represent 25% of sales. If the market in the product stabilizes, it could be the event that helps repair the company's image which has been damaged by worries about stent sales and problems with products from its Guidant unit.

Boston Scientific's stock has been pounded like a red-headed mule as concerns about stents and problems with Guidant have mounted. The stock traded for $36 two years ago and now changes hands at a little over $16. While the S&P is up close to 20% over the 24 months, BSX stock is off by slightly over 50%.

With stents back in fashion, it is now or, perhaps, never for a BSX recovery.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

When the iPod launched it brought along with it a plethora of accessories that created an entire iPod ecology. There are custom grip cases, lanyards, FM transmitters, recorders, external power packs, speakers, and docks for the device. The iPod has driven digital media sales, and helped create the phenomena of podcasting. And now it is also noted as helping drive sales of hearing aid manufacturers.

Swiss company Phonak AG said in a recently that younger and younger people are now showing up with hearing damage from people jamming out hard with their headphones on. And that's sweet sounding news for them. They pushed a 32% rise in profit after tax over the last half year.

There is a big glut of people with damaged hearing expected to hit the hearing aid markets in the upcoming years as my generation proceeds to slowly blast itself out of our collective eardrums. Phonak will not be seeing fewer customers.

And Phonak is not the only audio company out there. You might be able to invest and benefit from the increasing audio issues of generation-iPod. Here are a handful of audio-related companies, as well as companies within larger conglomerates that you can invest in, to get you started: