Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman added McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) to its Conviction Buy List as they believe the company will beat their earnings expectations over the next couple quarters. Note that Burger King (NYSE:BKC) was removed from the list.
  
• Baird upgraded Woodward Govenor (NASDAQ:WGOV) to Outperform from Neutral citing increased confident in its outlook following the better-than-expected Q1 report.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) to Hold from Sell and removed shares from their Top Picks Live List as a Sell as they believe current expectations are very low following the recent weakness. Citigroup lowered their target price to $13 from $18.
• Ford (NYSE:F) and Lear (NYSE:LEA) were upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.
  
• KT Corp (NYSE:KTC) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.
  
• Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Collins Stewart and to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst downgrades:

• Goldman removed Burger King (NYSE:BKC) from its Conviction Buy List citing recent share strength. Note that McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) was added to the list.
  
• Keefe Bruyette downgraded shares of Och-Ziff Capital (NYSE:OZM) to Market Perform from Outperform to reflect the company's near-term headwinds. The firm lowered their target to $5 from $6.50.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), Alcoa (NYSE:AA), and Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) to Equal Weight from Overweight as they believe industrial metals will be depressed through next year.
• Air France (Other OTC:AFLYY) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) was lowered to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  
• Radware (NASDAQ:RDWR) was cut at Argus to Hold from Buy.

Analyst initiations:

• Merriman initiated Suntech (NYSE:STP) with a Sell rating. The firm is concerned by the company's debt load and narrowing maturity and thinks further cost reduction in China could be a challenge. The firm believes a fair price target range is $3.50-$4.50 per share.
  
• JMP Securities views Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) as a long-term "must buy" given its dominant market position, strong balance sheet, and low valuation. Shares were initiated with an Outperform rating and $400 target.
  
• Auriga started Micron (NYSE:MU) with a Buy rating and $5 target. The firm expects DRAM oversupply to ease in the second half of 2009 and believes Micron will not burn significant cash this year.
• Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) was initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal Weight rating and $41 target.
  
• Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) was initiated with a Buy rating and $80 target at Wunderlich.
  
• Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) was started with a Buy rating and $16 target at Citigroup.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) plans to sell its Japanese trust banking unit NikkoCiti Trust and Banking for about 40 billion yen ($416.7 million) as it struggles to survive the global financial crisis, according to the Nikkei. Also, a Citigroup fund, Citi Infrastructure Partners, is bidding 7.9 billion euros ($10.2 billion) to buy a Spanish highway operating firm, Sacyr Vallehermoso, the firms said on Monday. Citi shares were down over 12% by 11:30 am.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) -- over the weekend there have been conflicting reports regarding the two. There were reports that Microsoft is going to offer $20 billion for Yahoo's search business, but then other sources said these are completely unfounded. Meanwhile, SAI posted that Sue Decker is the front runner for the CEO job at the portal company. YHOO and MSFT shares were down about 3.5% by 11:30 am.

General Motors Corp's (NYSE: GM) board met Sunday to review a restructuring plan intended to win support for up to $12 billion in emergency funding from the U.S. government, according to different reports. GM's plan includes cuts to executive pay andcould indicate that the company will ask some bond holders to accept equity and a limited cash payout to redeem the debt they hold and focus on fuel-saving technology. GM shares were down about 9% at 9 am.

[Update 8:50 am: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has agreed to buy breast-implant maker Mentor Corp. (NYSE: MNT) for $1.07 billion, or $31 per Mentor share, a 92% premium to Friday's closing price. The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2009, is expected to have a dilutive impact to Johnson & Johnson's 2009 earnings per share of approximately $0.03 - $0.05. Of course, MNT shares are up over 88% in premarket trading. JNJ shares were down about 2.7%, but MNT's up about 90% by 11:30 am.]

Analyst upgrades:

• Calyon upgraded major network carriers based on falling oil prices and capacity cuts. The analyst is positive over the next 12 months but cautious short-term given the uncertain economy, and volatile markets and oil prices. AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR) and Delta Air (NYSE: DAL) were upgraded to Add from Neutral and UAL Corp (NASDAQ: UAUA) was raised to Neutral from Reduce.
• Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was upgraded at Citigroup to Buy from Hold.
• Boardwalk Pipeline (NYSE: BWP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Cowen lifted Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Outperform from Neutral.
• JP Morgan upgraded Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) to Neutral from Underweight following the better-than-expected Q3 report.
• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Integra LifeSciences (NASDAQ: IART) to Outperform from Perform on valuation, the company's minimal exposure to economic conditions, and expectations for margin improvement and a rebound in organic growth.

Analyst downgrades:

• Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) and AerCap Holdings (NYSE: AER) were downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
• UBS downgraded Embarq (NYSE: EQ) to Neutral from Buy following the CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL) merger announcement.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation, new product cycles, and confidence in 2H08 results.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Repsol (NYSE: REP) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they believe the potential sale to Sacyr Vallehermoso SA could lead to a restructuring.
  
• Stanford lifted National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) to Buy from Hold citing valuation. In addition, the firm, which set a target of $70, thinks most of the drop in commodity prices is now over.
• Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was raised to Hold from Sell at Societe Generale.
  
• Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) was upgraded at Piper to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Goldman added Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) to the Conviction Buy List.

Analyst downgrades:

• Argus downgraded shares of Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) to Hold from Buy post-close given the volatility in the stock as they can no longer recommend CEG until concerns over its capital and liquidity are resolved. Shares were also downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
  
• Collins Stewart downgraded Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE: LYG) to Hold from Buy following the acquisition of HBOS (OTC: HBOOY) as they expect short-term weakness in the stock.

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

• Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) net income rose on membership growth and a hike in premium rates.
• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) beat Q2 estimates, excluding charges related to its international cigarette unit.
• Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Q2 profit doubled on higher prices and it offered upbeat guidance.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Q2 net income rose on higher rates but missed expectations.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) earnings were in line with expectations, but revenue fell short.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) posted another record quarterly profit but Wall Street was looking for more.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) missed Q2 revenue estimates as fuel prices depressed growth.
• IAC/InterActive Corp. (NASDAQ: IACI) swung to a Q2 loss on a one time charge, but revenue rose.
• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) beat Q2 earnings expectations on price hikes, and raised its guidance.
• McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) reported healthy Q2 results and announced an acquisition.
• MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) missed earnings expectations and lowered its full-year guidance.
• Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) reported record Q2 results and forecast a strong next quarter.
• Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY) said Q1 profit tumbled on rising fuel prices and recession fears.
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) said it expects a narrower Q2 loss ahead of the merger.
• Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) swung to a Q3 loss on charges related to store closings.
• Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) Q2 earnings fell 67% but still beat Wall Street estimates.
• Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) posted better-than-expected earnings driven by Iron Man and Indiana Jones.

For more highlights from this week, see: General Motors, Motorola, Disney, Sony, Visa, CBS and others

Upcoming quarterly reports include Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Jack-in-the-Box (NYSE: JBX), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), and Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Analyst upgrades

• Rodman & Renshaw upgraded shares of Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) to Outperform from Market Perform following the positive top line results from the FREEDOM study. The firm established an $80 target. Jefferies upgraded shares to Buy from Hold following the positive top-line efficacy and safety results for Denosumab in PMO as they view it as a "big win." The firm raised their target to $71 from $47.
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America.
  
• Goldman upgraded Kimberly Clark (NYSE: KMB) to Neutral from Sell and Dick's Sporting Good (NYSE: DKS) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Rowan Companies (NYSE: RDC) was lifted at JP Morgan to Neutral from Underweight.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jesup & Lamont downgraded shares of Moog (NYSE: MOG.A) to Neutral from Buy on concerns of the company's high rate of R&D and its relative valuation. Keefe Bruyette downgraded shares of Federated Investors to Market Perform from Outperform following the company's lower than expected Q2 results and cut their target to $35.
  
• Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.

Analyst initiations:

• Morgan Joseph believes Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN)'s positive FREEDOM trial results will have a profound and lasting impact on the company's growth but also on its scientific credibility. The firm initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $77 target.
• Piper assumed Ctrip.com (NASDAQ: CTRP) with a Neutral rating and Epicor Software (NASDAQ: EPIC) with a Buy rating and $8 target.
  
• Banc of America initiated Britannia Bulk (NYSE: DWT) with a Buy rating and $19 target.

U.S. stock futures were lower early Monday as investors concerns over the banking sector grew. Federal regulator seized two more banks, 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, which were scheduled to reopen on Monday as Mutual of Omaha Bank branches. The Senate also passed a major housing bill over the weekend, and this could actually give a boost to mortgage lenders like Fannie (NYSE: FNM). Meanwhile, oil prices rebounded as European markets declined. As of 8:00 a.m., it seems Wall Street would start weak.

Reporting earnings today are Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) - Kraft reported 58 cents earnings per share excluding items, beating estimates of 50 cents; Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) - Verizon reported earnings of 67 cents per share, excluding items, beating estimates by 2 cents; and after the close of trading, Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN).

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) stock is jumping over 17% in premarket trading after announcing late Friday its experimental osteoporosis drug, denosumab, significantly reduced the risk of bone fracture in post-menopausal women in a large trial. Rodman & Renshaw and Jefferies & Co both upgraded Amgen to Market Outperform and to Buy respectively.

Unilever NV (NYSE: UL) will sell its North American laundry detergents business to private equity investor Vestar Capital Partners for $1.45 billion (euro924 million). Unilever said the sale consistent with its strategy of divesting non-core businesses and concentrating on a few core ones.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Verizon, AT&T, Invitrogen and General Electric were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• UBS downgraded Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) to Neutral from Buy citing the weak economy and increased wireless competition.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Invitrogen (NASDAQ: IVGN) to Neutral from Buy as the company's acquisition of Applied Biosystems (NYSE: ABI) alters their investment thesis. The company's target was cut to $38 from $50.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Neutral from Overweight citing further risk to earnings and dislocation from necessary portfolio management in 2009.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Office Max (NYSE: OMX) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  
• Goldman lowered Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Sell from Buy.
  
• WebMD Health (NASDAQ: WBMD) was downgraded to Sell from Source of Funds at ThinkPanmure.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: J Crew, Ryanair and Sigma Designs were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Citigroup downgraded shares of J Crew (NYSE:JCG) to Sell from Hold following the company's lowered guidance as they expect slowing sales to push shares lower. The firm cut their target to $34 from $42. Wachovia downgraded J Crew to Market Perform from Outperform based on lower growth rate forecast, sourcing costs, and competitive pressures.
  
• Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) was cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS to reflect the rise in fuel costs and lower face prices.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Sigma Designs (NASDAQ:SIGM) to Sector Perform from Outperform following the Q1 report and cited pricing pressure.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Piper downgraded Costco (NASDAQ:COST) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Ashland (NYSE:ASH) was cut at JP Morgan to Underweight from Neutral.
  
• Friedman Billings cut Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) to Market Perform from Outperform and removed the stock from the Top Picks list.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sunoco, Ryanair and HSBC Holdings were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Underweight from Neutral citing expected margin pressure due to high leverage to sweet crude. Goldman also downgraded shares of Sunoco to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Sell from Hold as they believe the European airlines sector will trade well below book value until the companies deal with higher oil prices.
  
• UBS cut HSBC (NYSE: HBC) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the potential for higher losses at the company's household unit and weak performance at its U.S. bank.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Broadpoint lowered MTS Medication (NYSE: MPP) to Neutral from Strong Buy.
  
• HSBC cut Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Goldman downgraded CNH Global (NYSE: CNH) to Neutral from Buy and PetroChina (PTR) to Sell from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Wilmington Trust, DiamondRock Hospitality and Omrix Biopharm were today's noteworthy initiations:

• B. Riley initiated Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) with a Neutral rating and $33 target and points out the company has greater exposure to construction and development loans than most small- and mid-cap banks.
  
• DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE: DRH) was assumed with a Market perform rating and $13.50 target at Keefe Bruyette. The firm sees limited upside given expectations for continued moderation in RevPAR trends, limited operating margin expansion and an uncertain economic outlook.
  
• Rodman & Renshaw believes that the issues that have plagued Omrix Biopharm (NASDAQ: OMRI) are now largely reflected in shares and that the company has improved visibility on business fundamentals with solid execution. The firm assumed coverage with an Outperform rating and $18 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• UBS initiated Millennium Pharma (NASDAQ: MLNM) with a Neutral rating and $16 target.
  
• Credit Suisse initiated Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Morgan Stanley started Brasken (NYSE: BAK) with an Underweight rating.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Schering-Plough, Vodafone and Tibco were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) to Neutral from Buy following the panel discussion suggestion that doctors cut use of Vytrorin, Zetia. Shares were also cut at Lehman to Equal Weight from Overweight and at Cowen to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• Morgan Stanley lowered Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) to Underweight from Overweight as they believe the European Commission will aggressively lower mobile termination rates to cost to improve competition.
  Jefferies downgraded shares of Tibco (NASDAQ: TIBX) to Underperform from Hold as they believe the economy will catch up with the company in the coming months.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman removed Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Thomson (NYSE: TOC) was cut to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  
• Broadpoint downgraded Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) to Buy from Strong Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: ATP Oil & Gas, Foot Locker, DynCorp and Circuit City were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Calyon upgraded shares of ATP Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: ATPG) to Add from Neutral and raised their target to $52 from $50 as they believe the company is nearing its year-end production target and its balance sheet is positioned to improve.
  
• Merrill upgraded Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) to Buy from Neutral citing easing comps and stabilization in premium product demand.
  
• Wachovia upgraded DynCorp International Inc. (NYSE: DCP) to Outperform from Market Perform citing its re-compete award for the $4.6 billion Army Linguist contract.
  
• Soleil upgraded shares of Circuit City Stores (NYSE: CC) to Buy from Hold, as they believe the company's real estate rationalization program and new "The City" store concept will drive earnings growth over the next few years.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• StatoilHydro (NYSE: STO) was raised to Hold from Sell at Societe Generale.
  
• UBS raised its rating on Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) and Air France (NYSE: AKH) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) to Buy from Hold.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: New York Times, Finlay Enterprises and AXA were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Banc of America downgraded shares of New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) to Sell from Neutral and lowered their target to $14 from $21, as they believe the luxury categories, which represent 28% of NYT's national ad revenue, are not recession proof and that the company is also vulnerable to a cyclical contraction in the financial services sector.
• B. Riley lowered its rating on Finlay Enterprises (NASDAQ: FNLY) to Sell from Neutral to reflect the weak consumer environment, higher gold prices, and lower sales expectations for Bailey.
• Goldman downgraded shares of AXA (NYSE: AXA) to Sell from Buy and added AXA to their Conviction Sell List on valuation and the company's exposure to the equity markets.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Volkswagen AG (OTC: VLKAY) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Societe Generale.
• Deutsche Bank cut Air France KLM (NYSE: AKH) and Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Hold from Buy.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The exchange sector, Progenics Pharma, Tyco Electronics and PharMerica were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Keefe Bruyette initiated coverage on Exchange Sector: The firm started shares of CME Group Inc (NYSE: CME), NYMEX Holdings Inc (NYSE: NMX) and NYSE Euronext Inc (NYSE: NYX) with Outperform ratings and a $669 target, $147 target and $90 target, respectively. The firm also started shares of Investment Technology Group (NYSE: ITG), Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc (NYSE: ICE) with Underperform ratings and a $47 target, $36 target and $158 target, respectively, and shares of Knight Capital Group (NASDAQ: NITE) with an Underperform rating and $13 target.
  
• Progenics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PGNX) was added to Friedman Billings' Top Picks list and its Outperform rating was maintained. The firm has a high degree of confidence in the success of the MNTX Ph III studies in post-operative ilieus, as well as the FDA approval of the subcutaneous injection in terminally ill patients with opiod-induced constipation around the 1/31/07 PDUFA date.
• RBC believes margin expansion will drive long-term appreciation in Tyco Electronics Ltd (NYSE: TEL) and started shares with an Outperform rating and $41 target.
• PharMerica Corporation (NYSE: PMC) was initiated with an Underperform rating at Bear Stearns. The firm believes PMC will be pressured by customer losses and generic reimbursement cuts and sees shares trading in $12-$13 range.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was initiated with a Market Outperform rating at Avondale.u
• Banc of America initiated shares of Town Sports International (NASDAQ: CLUB) with a Sell rating and $15 target.
  
• Goldman started shares of Genesis Lease Ltd (NYSE: GLS) and Aircastle Ltd (NYSE: AYR) with Neutral ratings.