MOST NOTEWORTHY: Allied Capital, ZIX Corp and Staples were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Oppenheimer believes Allied Capital's (NYSE:ALD) dividend is sustainable and that the equity portion of its portfolio will drive outsized returns once market conditions return to normalcy. Shares were initiated with a Perform rating.
  
• ThinkPanmure believes ZIX Corp (NASDAQ:ZIXI) has a large opportunity in e-prescribing encryption market, with a potential catalyst being the E-MEDS bill. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $4.50 target.
  
• Banc of America reinstated its Buy rating on Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) following the Corporate Express (NYSE:CXP) deal, which it views as a positive catalyst for the stock. The firm has a $29 target on the stock.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was initiated at Thomas Weisel with an Overweight rating and $62 target.
  
• Stephens assumed Wabash (NYSE:WNC) with an Equal Weight rating and $10 target.
  
• Compass Diversified Trust (NASDAQ:CODI) was initiated with a Sector Perform rating and $14 target at RBC Capital.

U.S. stock futures were higher early Wednesday ahead of the release of the Beige Book on economic conditions and the release of weekly oil inventory supplies that could move oil prices again.

U.S. stocks ended mixed but unchanged much Tuesday following the release of April trade deficit, which widened further and despite crude-oil prices edged lower. Comments from Bernanke on inflation concerned investors. The Dow industrials rose 9 points, or 0.08%, while the S&P 500 fell 3.3 points, or 0.24%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 10 points, or 0.43%.

Today, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to issue its Beige Book - a survey of regional economic performance - at 2 p.m EDT.
At 10:30 a.m., weekly crude inventories are due out. Oil prices rebounded in electronic trading Wednesday back above $133 a barrel ahead of the report as traders speculate inventories declined and as the dollar weakened.

U.S. stock futures were mixed early Tuesday morning, trading in a narrow range as investors awaited Fed Chairman Bernenake's speech, examined oil prices and reacted to news Lehman Brothers might $4 billion in capital.

After a four-day winning streak, U.S. stocks declined on Monday following renewed concerns about the financial markets following management changes at Wachovia and Washington Mutual, downgrades of several financials and Britain's Bradford & Bingley warning about profits. The Dow industrials dropped 134 points, or 1.06%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 31 points, or 1.23%, and the S&P 500 dropped 14 points, or 1.05%.

Before the bell: Futures lower after WMT earnings, ahead of data

Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) stepped up its hostile campaign to acquire Dutch office supplies group Corporate Express (NYSE: CXP), lifting its offer to 8 euros ($12.43) a share, up from 7.25 euros previously and taking its bid directly to shareholders. CXP shares were 6% higher.

In its attempt to shore up its balance sheet, American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) priced an offering of 171.1 million common shares at $38, valuing the deal at $6.5 billion. On Monday AIG also said it priced an offering of 72 million equity units at $75 each, a deal value of $5.4 billion.

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) shares are down over 6% in premarket trading after the Chinese solar energy company reported first-quarter results late Monday. While earnings topped forecasts and the company raised its revenue outlook for the year, raw material costs caused it to cut its gross margin forecast.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) also reported results after closing bell Monday. While the results are important, they don't have the weight they would had the Street not expected Sirius to complete the purchase of larger rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR). Both companies reported more losses, although Sirius narrowed its loss, while at XM, the loss increased. This may be the reason why StreetInsider says that Merrill Lynch upgraded Sirius from Sell to Neutral. Interestingly, though, XM shares climbed Monday following its results, while SIRI shares are down in premarket trading following its.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: NutriSystem, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Corporate Express NV, Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings and BioFuel Energy were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Lazard and to Buy from Strong Buy at Broadpoint following its lowered Q3 guidance.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENDP) to Hold from Buy after Impax Laboratories (NASDAQ: IPXL) filed a Paragraph IV challenge against Opana ER yesterday to reflect the potential for a generic version of Opana ER arriving as early as 2010 and the possibility of a similar threat against Lidoderm.
  
• Corporate Express (NYSE: CXP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at ING, as they believe the new CEO's long-term targets are overly ambitious.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded Aventine Renewable (NYSE: AVR) and BioFuel Energy (NASDAQ: BIOF) to Neutral from Overweight, citing weaker fundamentals in ethanol pricing.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan downgraded Charlotte Russe (NASDAQ: CHIC) and The Wet Seal (NASDAQ: WTSLA) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Goldman downgraded Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ: MPWR) and Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) to Neutral from Buy; Goldman removed National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) from its Conviction Buy List.