Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) to Outperform from Market Perform due to valuation and the company's capital position. The firm has an $8 target price on the stock.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded its view of the semiconductor sector and upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) to Buy from Neutral, LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) to Buy from Underperform, and Maxim (NASDAQ: MXIM) and National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) to Neutral from Underperform. The firm now sees 2010 revenue growth of 21% vs. its prior estimate of 14% due to improving electric demand and lean inventories.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Vital Images (NASDAQ: VTAL) to Overweight from Market Weight based on compelling valuation and potential upside from its new ViTAL Enterprise product offering.
• Jones Apparel (NYSE: JNY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Nationwide Health (NYSE: NHP) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded Anglo American (NASDAQ: AAUK) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on a potentially higher bid from Xstrata (OTC: XSRAY) or a white night willing to pay a premium for the group, higher copper prices, and improving operating performance.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB) to Buy from Neutral citing improved bagged salad margins, strong free cash flow, solid banana trends, and valuation. The firm has a $13 target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Legacy Reserves (NASDAQ: LGCY) to Buy from Hold due to the firm's belief that the back of the crude board is still very cheap, the firm's increased distribution outlook, and the movement of the stock after the discontinuation of the company's talks with Apollo.
• Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported strong Q1 results easily beat expectations.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, helped by home refinancing.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported its first quarterly loss since 1992 and cut its revenue outlook.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted Q1 earnings that were in line with expectations, but shares fell.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings despite a decline in sales.

3M (NYSE: MMM) had a not-that-great first quarter. The declines were significant and ugly. First, net sales plunged over 20%. Second, net income on an adjusted basis likewise spiraled out of control, declining over 40% to $0.81 per share. And no, that didn't meet expectations. Wall Street was looking for $0.86 per share. Sorry, gang.

You've got the dollar and the global recession to blame. Currency translations affected sales, and declines in economic activity didn't help much, either. Many people look to 3M as a staunch dividend play. As such, cash flow is important. Unfortunately, the statement of cash flows this quarter was hard to read. Net cash from operations decreased 30%, and free cash flow lost 35% of its value when compared to the year-ago period. Thankfully, there was enough free cash to cover the dividend.

Most investors know that this market is not for the squeamish. The United States remains in a pronounced recession and although there are some 'green shoots,' the reality is commercial conditions could remain sluggish for another year, or perhaps longer.

Still, no one ever made a dime by not taking prudent risks, and with this in mind, 3M (NYSE: MMM) is worth a review.

First, in general, analysts expect 3M's revenue to decline 8-12% in 2009, but improvement in the second half creates a silver lining, and an opportunity for investors who can tolerate moderate risk.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says economic fundamentals haven't changed enough to make last week's rally a lasting force.

Stocks are the tools to tell the tale, and last week made you want to own stock. The banks showed you they need not be wards of the state, GM (NYSE: GM) (Cramer's Take) acted as if didn't need to be a ward of the state and oil held its own. Drug companies, among the enterprises with the best balance sheets, decided to "give up" and combine in the face of diminishing returns courtesy of changes in governments worldwide, but particularly in the United States, that would impinge on long-term profitability.

Most important, the backtracking of Obama in his position toward business, something that would never be articulated but most surely occurred as the stock market was no longer ignored -- a Bill Clinton moment in a tone-deaf White house -- set a better tone for risk-taking.

Despite the TARP bank CEOs being grilled on Capitol Hill, the financial stocks and the market eked out a rally. Chicago Federal Reserve President Evans gave a speech today, saying he expects more unemployment and more GDP contraction.

Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) rose slightly after it actually raised its dividend to $0.51 per share per quarter. It was a mere 2% hike, but it was a hike. The conglomerate shares were up 0.5% at $51.30 right before the close.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q4 profit rose on higher prices, and its forecast matched expectations.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Q4 earnings grew on cost cutting but revenue remained flat.
• Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE: BDK) shares tanked after the dismal Q4 report, and it announced job cuts.
• Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE: CRS) Q2 numbers resulted in a downgrade from one analyst.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) reported a Q4 loss due to writedowns from recent acquisitions.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) swung to a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss and its revenue fell as well.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) swung to a Q4 loss on acquisition costs but reaffirmed its guidance.

If you thought that four days of rallying was too much, it looks like the traders did too. Financials took a breather after critics started panning the BAD BANK theory. We also had much weaker durable goods and wider jobless claims to pour fuel on the fire. Here are today's closing unofficial bell levels:
DJIA: 8,147.73 (-2.72%)
S&P500: 845.10 (-3.32%)
NASDAQ: 1,507.84 (-3.24%)
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) suspended its share buyback plan after its net earnings fell sharply. Maybe investors will have to decide if a dividend north of 7% is finally enough. This stock was just above the flat-line at $16.83 right before the close.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) posted a loss of $5.9 billion, or $2.46 per share, in the fourth quarter, but it said that it still has no plans to seek federal aid unless economic conditions worsen. Ford burned through $5.5 billion in cash during the quarter. Excluding one-time items, Ford lost $1.37 per share, below estimates of a loss of $1.30 per share. Revenue fell to $29.2 billion, down from $45.5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2007. Ford's shares are gaining nearly 2.5% in premarket trading. Fifteen minutes after the open, Ford shares were 2.2% lower.

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) reported worse-than-expected quarterly results late Wednesday after the close, as its quarterly profit dropped 69%. It also also announced 6,700 more job cuts and plans to close 300 stores. As the company has been hurt by tighter consumer spending, it said it will not provide any sales or earnings guidance. SBUX shares are defclining over 4% in premarket trading. Fifteen minutes after the open, SBUX shares were flattish.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer looks at the next six components of the Dow, including a lousy drug company and a winning financial.

This is the fourth part of Jim Cramer's series of predictions for the Dow components in 2009. Be sure to read the first, second and third parts.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) (Cramer's Take): Jamie Dimon is revered, but we are in a tough market for the consumer in 2009, which truly worries me. That said, the stock has been killed by Dimon's own pessimistic projections, and I don't believe they will pan out as badly as he does.

The dividend appears safe, and I believe that the second half of the year will see some lending improvement and merger activity. I see it going back to where it did a huge equity offering at $39 a share, a nice appreciation from this beaten-down level. It's good, but I believe that Wells Fargo's (NYSE: WFC) (Cramer's Take) performance will give it a run for the money.

My one worry here is the purchase of Washington Mutual. This was another deal that looked great when the Resolution Mortgage Trust part of TARP was still alive -- I don't believe that it would have been worth buying Washington Mutual without it. But that's all too late, and now JPMorgan has to rationalize the two entities and cut costs as aggressively as possible, something Jamie Dimon knows to do better than anyone in the banking world ... with the exception of Wells Fargo.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Analogic Corp. (NASDAQ: ALOG) Q1 earnings plunged well below expectations due to costs.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) solid Q3 earnings were in line with analysts expectations.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) beat Q1 expectations and same-stores sales increased.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) lowered its guidance and announced layoffs and factory closings.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) withdrew its guidance due in part to weak consumer spending.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) lowered its outlook due to weaker-than-expected holiday sales.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) offered a full-year profit forecast that missed analysts' expectations.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) lowered its earnings guidance and announced price increases.
• FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) reported a deeper-than-expected loss but topped sales estimates.
• H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) Q2 net loss was in line with expectations but revenue fell short.
• Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG) raised its full-year forecast, doubling the share price.
• Hooker Furniture Corp. (NASDAQ: HOFT) shares sold off following disappointing Q3 results and outlook.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) reported a deeper-than-expected Q3 loss on increased costs.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says each day we come closer to getting rid of President Bush is a day where the market is better.

This one's not going down that easy. It hasn't mattered all that much how companies have been doing, so don't think that Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) (Cramer's Take) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) (Cramer's Take) can create any more of a rout on the downside than Du Pont (NYSE: DD) (Cramer's Take), Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) (Cramer's Take) or 3M (NYSE: MMM) (Cramer's Take).

The whole source of this rally is President Bush, meaning that each day we come closer to getting rid of him is a day where the market is better. If you haven't figured this out you would be shorting the heck out of this market. Consider that in the last few days we had downgrades, shortfalls, job cuts and negative news on several major Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks and that hasn't stopped the Dow.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) -- Seems I start almost every day with these two public automakers of the Big 3. Well, the bailout for the industry is nearing the final stage of approvals as a plan for a $15 billion rescue was sent to the White House. It seems a federal "car czar" would oversee a government-run restructuring which would give the U.S. government a substantial ownership stake in the industry, impose many restrictions, but start giving money out immediately. After several days of strong gains, GM shares were down 2.8% in premarket trade (8:09 am), Ford's were flattish.

Ford is apparently also in talks to sell Volvo to its China partner Changan Automobile Group, according to sources cited by the National Business Daily. No further details were provided.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) announced job cuts. Yes, another daily news item is companies slashing their work force. Sony said it is cutting 8,000 jobs, or 4% of its global work force, aiming to cut costs by $1.1 billion a year. The company will also close several plants. Another 8,000 temporary workers will also lose their jobs at the electronic giant by 2010. Sony shares were 3.5% higher in premarket (8:00 am).

On what would have been any normal Monday, the markets saw a huge rally after some overseas stability. Many emerging markets were closed for holidays and investors loved the Obama plan for new infrastructure build-outs as a stimulus package and jobs package. Bond yields even rose a bit as investors were moving away from that "flight to quality trade." In fact, this was the first day the DJIA broke above 9,000 since November 10, 20008.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Top Analyst Calls

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) shares were off after joining in on the layoff and lower guidance game. The conglomerate said the economy and currency issues made it lower expected guidance on earnings. It is also laying off 1,800 workers, slowing manufacturing capacity, and sending some workers home temporarily.

Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) gave some pretty ghastly forecast numbers, but shares rose as the company had already snuck this data out on a tease last week. The chemical giant was up 7% at $20.38 shortly before the close. That isn't bad for a company canning 11% of its workforce and closing 20 of its factories.