MOST NOTEWORTHY: British American Tobacco, Covad Communications, Pacific Capital, Volcom and American Medical Systems were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded shares of British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.
  
• Covad Communications (NYSE: DVW) was lowered to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. The firm downgraded shares after Platinum Equity Holdings agreed to acquire the company.
• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Pacific Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ: PCBC) to Market Perform from Outperform following its Q3 credit loss pre-announcement.
  
• ThinkEquity reduced Volcom (NASDAQ: VLCM) to Accumulate from Buy following its reduced guidance.
  
• American Medical Systems (NASDAQ: AMMD) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James and at Piper Jaffray. Piper downgraded shares following the lower-than-expected Q3 results. Shares were also downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel following the weak Q3 report.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Citigroup downgraded Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Hutchison Telecommunications (NYSE: HTX) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital.
  

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Polaris Industries, Edwards Lifesciences, BearingPoint and Fortis were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Rochdale upgraded Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) to Buy from Hold, as they have increased confidence in the company's ability to achieve estimates.
  
• Piper upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW) as they believe the bad news is behind the company with a U.S. turnaround expected in 2008.
  
• Jefferies raised shares of BearingPoint (NYSE: BE) to Hold from Underperform on valuation as they believe the risk/reward is neutral following the recent pullback.
  
• Fortis (OTC: FORSY) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns. The firm upgraded shares on valuation as they believe the recent weakness is overdone.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs added Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Commercial Metals (NYSE: CMC) to its Conviction Buy List.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Varian Semiconductor (NASDAQ: VSEA) to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Bear upgraded Bruker Biosciences (NASDAQ: BRKR) and Hutchison Telecom (NYSE: HTX) to Outperform from Peer Perform.
  
• Banc of America upgraded Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) and J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) to Neutral from Sell.

"Chinese stocks are deep in bubble territory," notes John Christy, editor of The Forbes International Investment Report. Despite his concerns, he still sees select opportunities suggests several long-term buys in the region.

The advisor explains, "The Shanghai Composite Index -- which is limited mainly to local Chinese investors - is up more than 50% this year. It's only a matter of time before we see a huge correction, if not a crash."

But, he adds, that doesn't mean that all things Chinese should be avoided. Christy states, "China-related stocks that are listed in Hong Kong and here in the U.S. are still attractive if you are willing to stomach a little volatility in the short term." Included on his list of top long-term China holdings are Lenovo (OTC: LNVGY) and China Mobile (NYSE: CHL).

Lenovo, he notes, missed the China bubble entirely, despite he says, being the country's top PC maker. The company, he notes, just announced a new round of restructuring which will involve 1,400 job cuts-roughly 5% of its workforce in the coming year.

Says Christy, "Lenovo is still struggling to reap the full benefit of its acquisition of IBM's personal computer business. At the same time, it is trying to refashion its identity from a small Chinese PC maker to a truly global brand. These are not easy tasks and they will take time, but Lenovo is on the right track."

The advisor also looks to China Mobile, which he notes is is the country's leading cellular service provider. He says, "CHL is growing rapidly and offers tremendous long-term potential." However, it cautions that is not "especially cheap" at current levels and suggests patience for a better entry point.

In addition, he also looks toward Hutchison Telecom (NYSE: HTX), which he notes moved to a profit positon in the first quarter. He observices, While it is not a China play, it has operations in Hong Kong as well as other rapidly growing Asian markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia."

For more stock picks from the leading financial newsletter advisors, visit Steven Halpern's free daily website, TheStockAdvisors.com.