MOST NOTEWORTHY: YRC Worldwide (YRCW), BEA Systems (BEAS), Isle of Capri Casinos (ISLE), Assured Guaranty Ltd (AGO) and Avaya (AV) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• Wachovia downgraded YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Market Perform from Outperform citing the challenging LTL freight environment and continued integration issues.

• UBS downgraded shares of BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Neutral from Buy on valuation as they believe expectations for a takeover or investor activism is already priced into shares.

• Matrix believes Isle of Capri (NASDAQ: ISLE) is expensive on a performance-adjusted basis and recommends investors sell shares into the recent rally, downgrading shares to Sell from Hold.

• JP Morgan cut Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO) to Underweight from Neutral on valuation.

• JMP Securities downgraded Avaya (NYSE: AV) to Market Perform from Strong Buy, as the firm doesn't expect a superior offer to the Silver Lake/TPG bid...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• MicroChip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Baird downgraded Authorize.net Holdings (NASDAQ: ANET) to Neutral from Outperform.

• Morgan Keegan downgraded Inter-Tel Inc (NASDAQ: INTL) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Stifel cut Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment (NYSE: DDE) to Sell from Hold.

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

Microsoft spends a lot of time in the hallowed halls of academia, and according to an article today from the AP,  more than most companies of its ilk. The company sponsors contests, research centers, and academic chairs, as well as giving deep discounts to students and faculty.

Sure, Bill Gates & wife are big on education through their foundation. But the AP warns this may not be all about altruism (and really? is anyone surprised here? oldest trick in the book, right?), but about persuading "young minds to become loyal to Microsoft products." The AP interviewed Bill, who told them that putting money into colleges and universities is "an investment" and there is a "commercial element ... [a] benefit to us that people have this exposure" while they're still impressionable. After all, he says, the idea of creating the next version of Microsoft Office or the Xbox console is way more fun than the idea of inventing the next, um, hamburger.