MOST NOTEWORTHY: PepsiCo (PEP), Countrywide Financial (CFC), KKR Financial (KFN), Home Depot (HD) and Visteon (VC) were today's notable downgrades:
- PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman based on valuation.
- Merrill downgraded Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) to Sell from Buy, citing liquidity concerns in the mortgage sector as accelerated margin calls and forced asset sales could lead to further problems and selling pressure.
- KKR Financial Holdings (NYSE: KFN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Friedman Billings based on the liquidity crisis and impact on equity. Lehman cut shares to Equal Weight from Overweight based on capital market funding concerns.
- Home Depot (NYSE: HD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Gabelli due to near-term uncertainty.
- Goldman downgraded Visteon (NYSE: VC) to Sell from Neutral...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Credit Suisse downgraded UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Neutral from Outperform.
- Keefe Bruyette downgraded Security Bank (NASDAQ: SBKC) to Underperform from Market Perform.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).
For a quick-read on the U.S. economy, check the price of gasoline
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