Analyst upgrades:

• ThinkEquity upgraded Yahoo! (YHOO) to Buy from Hold based on valuation, checks that indicate Q2 display/search improvement, search stabilization, improved cost structure, and share repurchases.
• Societe Generale upgraded Roche Holding (RHHBY) to Buy from Hold based on expectations Avastin will be approved in breast cancer, despite negative FDA briefing documents.
• FBR Capital upgraded Atheros (ATHR) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and positive checks that indicate powerline networking chips are gaining traction in China. The firm has a $43 price target on the stock.
• Juniper (JNPR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord.
• Ultimate Software (ULTI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital.
• Liberty Property Trust (LRY) was upgraded to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Analyst downgrades:

• Auriga downgraded ADC Telecomm (ADCT) to Hold from Buy following the company's merger announcement with Tyco Electronics (TEL).
• TD Newcrest expects Manulife's (MFC) Q2 loss to be worse than expected due to the impact from lower interest rates. The firm cut shares to Hold from Buy.
• Goldman downgraded Perrigo (PRGO) to Sell from Neutral and lowered its target to $50 from $61. The firm cites relative valuation for the downgrade. Target to $50 from $61.
• F5 Networks (FFIV) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord.
• Anglo American (AAUKY) and BHP Billiton (BHP) were downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Analyst initiations:

• QKL Stores (QKLS) was initiated with a Buy rating and $7 price target at Global Hunter.
• Rodman & Renshaw started Rick's Cabaret (RICK) with an Outperform rating.

You can call it more positive data or you can call it better expectations than what was out there in recent days. But today can be almost entirely chalked up to Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) beating earnings by so much. Oil inventories and a tame CPI report did not hamper the rally at all, nor did the FOMC minutes hinting at a Fed exit strategy. It looks like 29 of 30 DJIA components were higher at the end of the day.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 8,616.89 +257.40 (3.08%)
S&P 500 932.24 +26.40 (2.91%)
Nasdaq 1,860.90 +61.17 (3.40%)

Top Analyst Calls
Top Tech Analyst Upgrades

Analyst upgrades:

• PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell.
• Prudential (NYSE: PUK) was lifted to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) to Outperform from Market Perform and added shares to their Best Ideas List on valuation as they see an attractive risk/reward at current levels.
• UBS upgraded ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) to Buy from Neutral on valuation as they believe the company remains a market leader.
• Oppenheimer raised Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN) to Outperform from Perform on valuation following the recent weakness as they expect positive clinical news flow beginning in December.

Analyst downgrades:

• UBS downgraded U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) to Sell from Buy and lowered its target to $30 from $60 citing deteriorating U.S. conditions and concerns about the company's high fixed costs in a falling steel price environment.
• Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) was lowered to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

I saw this photo of George Bush wearing Crocs on Styledash, and laughed at the suggestion he be impeached for wearing such ugly footwear (although, to be honest, I thought he looked rather dashing in them -- did I just type that?). I thought, hey, great endorsement! and started clicking around to other web sites.

That's when I saw this Forbes article about how Bush's May 18 fundraiser for the Republican Party was held at the estate of Rick and Sherry Sharp. Guess which company Rick Sharp is chairman of? Well, there are two, but the first one is Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX). (The other one is Carmax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX).)

Could it be a coincidence that the country's president is shot sporting the iconic Crocs beach shoes at about the same time his buddy Rick helped raise $630k? Sure, that's chump change when it comes to party fundraising, but I'd be willing to bet the buzz surrounding Bush's fashion choices could have an equal effect to the price of Crocs' stock, which is (of course) very near its all-time high as it is, at $91.01, up 11 cents as of this writing. It's not quite dirty politics, but it is curious and curiouser.

Another BloggingStocks blogger, Garry E. Sattler, opined on the matter: President Bush and Crocs thumb their noses at media polls approval rating

Do you love or hate Crocs? See our gallery for more.