This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Japan continues to reel from the aftershock of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunamis; among the hardest hit is the nuclear industry, which supplies 30 percent of the country's electricity" notes utility sector expert Roger Conrad.

The editor of The Utility Forecaster explains, "There's still a lot we don't know about the crisis. We've seen a massive selloff of in all things nuclear.In my view, this drop will be reversed as the situation calms down.

Analyst Upgrades

• Medicis (MRX) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray, to outperform from market perform at Bernstein, to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital and to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Wellpoint (WLP) to buy from neutral at Davenport.
• Humana (HUM) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Frontier Oil (FTO) to equal weight from underweight and Resources Connection (RECN) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

Analyst Upgrades

• Procter & Gamble (PG) upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Capital One (COF) upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Airgas (ARG) upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Broadcom (BRCM) upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Lululemon (LULU) upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• DryShips (DRYS) upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Analyst Upgrades

• Stifel Financial (SF) and CVR Energy (CVI) to buy from neutral and Principal Financial (PFG) to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Suntech (STP) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Internap (INAP) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Andersons (ANDE) to buy from hold at BB&T.

"Over the next five years new Growth Portfolio Core Holding Sempra Energy (SRE) will spend $12 billion adding to its collection of low-risk power and gas distribution, pipeline and energy storage assets," says utility sector specialist Roger Conrad.

The editor of The Utility Forecaster explains, "That's a powerful driver for dividend growth, which has already averaged more than 9% the past five years."

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord upgraded BHP Billiton (BHP) to buy from hold. The firm expects BHP Billiton to emerge from the downturn with better operating margins and less dependence on an economic recovery. The firm also upgraded Rio Tinto (RTP) to buy from neutral but expects BHP Billiton to outperform near-term.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Raymond James (RJF) to market perform from underperform after raising estimates to reflect higher revenues and lower loan loss provisioning. Despite the upgrade, the firm remains cautious on the stock.
• Goldman upgraded InterActiveCorp (IACI) to buy from neutral. The firm upgraded shares based on improved momentum for its Search and ServiceMagic units and its belief that Ask.com may be an acquisition target. The firm believes Microsoft (MSFT) could be a logical acquirer for the unit once it receives approval for the Yahoo! (YHOO) partnership.
• Baidu.com (BIDU) was raised to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Symantec (SYMC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to Buy from Hold after meeting with management as it believes a more aggressive strategy will lead to the company regaining market share. Citi raised its target on shares to $66 from $54.
  
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Allscripts (NASDAQ:MDRX) to Overweight from Neutral after learning the company signed a large contract with North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital. Piper now sees upside to estimates and raised its target on shares to $22.50 from $14.
  
• UBS upgraded Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) to Buy from Neutral following a review of the Senate Finance Committee's healthcare proposal, which they view as "benign." The firm raised its target to $57 from $46.
• Daimler (NYSE:DAI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
  
• Boston Private (NASDAQ:BPFH) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• E-Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) is recently trading at $22.65 in pre-open trading, above its close of $15.04. Samsung Electronics made public a $5.8 billion offer to purchase SNDK. SNDK, a supplier of flash storage cards, rejected Samsung's buyout proposal. SNDK overall option implied volatility of 79 is above its 26-week average of 63 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movements.

Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy company serving 29 million consumers worldwide, closed at $53.04. SRE October option implied volatility of 51 is above its 26-week average of 25 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Volatility Index S&P 500 Options-VIX at 30.29; 10-day moving average is 25.31.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) has five separately managed segments comprising of Southern California Gas, San Diego Gas and Electric, Sempra Commodities, Sempra Generation and Sempra Pipeline and Storage. SRE is expected to report earnings on 11/1. SRE overall option implied volatility of 23 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting flat risk.

Edison International (NYSE: EIX) is the parent of Southern California Edison, the largest electric utility in California. EIX is expected to report earnings on 11/2. EIX overall option implied volatility of 28 is above its 26-week average of 26 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger risk.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Founded in 1998 when two well-established California utilities merged, Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) develops energy infrastructure, operates utilities and provides natural gas and energy services to more that 29 million consumers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America and Asia. Headquartered in San Diego, it is the city's largest Fortune 500 Company and its growth is aggressive.

Its huge size is one of its best assets, allowing it to be competitive in markets here and abroad. It also has been smart in its foray into liquefied natural gas, and in its use of cash. Instead of offering a big dividend, it has reinvested its cash into investments with high yields. So, in addition to servicing the largest customer base of any energy utility in the U.S., it also sells energy commodities, builds and runs energy infrastructure, and provides asset risk management. It is building three liquefied natural gas import facilities in North America, and has formed a smart pipeline partnership with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (NYSE: KMP) to bring natural-gas from the Rocky Mountains, where it is abundant, to the Midwest.

It also is getting into the fast-growing renewables field. In late June, SRE's subsidiary, Sempra Generation, announced it is entering the renewable-energy-development business. Its first project is a 250-megawatt wind-power generation facility in Baja California, Mexico.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: FormFactor, Inc (FORM), Graco Inc (GGG), China Telecom (CHA), Sempra Energy (SRE) and Unica Corp (UNCA) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan cut FormFactor (NASDAQ: FORM) to Underweight from Neutral citing expected competition from Micronics Japan, which has successfully ramped up production at its new advanced probe card factory.

• CIBC's checks suggest that challenges still remain in Graco's (NYSE: GGG) contractor segment and is likely to impact results, downgrading shares to Sector Performer from Sector Outperformer.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) to Hold from Buy to reflect slower user growth as the company added 77% fewer fixed-line customers in the first five months of 2007.

• Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) was cut to Outperform from its Top Pick rating at RBC Capital following the company's JV announcement with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBSPY).

• Jefferies downgraded shares of Unica (NASDAQ: UNCA) to Hold from Buy after the company reported lower than expected Q3 licenses to reflect too much variance in execution...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC) was downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at ThinkEquity.

• Rackable Systems (NASDAQ: RACK) was downgraded to Sector Outperform at RBC Capital.

• Stanford cut Dobson (NASDAQ: DCEL) to Hold from Buy.

• Lehman assumed coverage of Extreme Networks (NASDAQ: EXTR) with an Equal Weight rating, downgrading shares from Overweight.

• Lazard downgraded First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) to Hold from Buy.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: US Airways (LCC), Cigna Corp (CI), Gentex Corp (GNTX) and China Life Insurance (LFC) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• UBS upgraded US Airways (NYSE: LCC) to Neutral from Reduce based on valuation.

• Cigna Corp (NYSE: CI) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Banc of America to reflect the company's market share gains and share buybacks.

• Banc of America also raised Gentex Corp (NASDAQ: GNTX) to Buy from Neutral to reflect increased penetration of the company's new rear-camera display product.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) to Hold from Sell on valuation and the continued strong equity markets...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Morgan Stanley raised DirecTV Group (NYSE: DTV) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

• Citigroup upgraded Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) to Buy from Hold.

• Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America.

• Merrill Lynch raised Citadel Broadcasting Corp's (NYSE: CDL) rating to Buy from Neutral.

• CyberSource Corp (NASDAQ: CYBS) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at ThinkEquity.

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

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) highlighted Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) ongoing options probe among its headlines.
• Federal Authorities are "actively" investigating backdated stock-option grants awarded to Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.
• The NYSE Group's (NYSE: NYX) New York Stock Exchange is planning a pilot program later this year that may bring real-time stock price data to investors via web sites such as Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO).
• The Financial Times (subscription required) highlighted Britain's announcement to pull troops out of Iraq as the U.S. adds more to Iraq.
• Siemens AG's (NYSE: SI) ex-CFO Heinz-Joachim Neuburgerwas named in a bribery probe.
• British Prime Minister William Blair is set to announce an Iraq troop pullout of 2,600 soldiers.
• Regulators in Britain say that stem cell work with animals may be legal, despite a proposal to ban on hybrid embryo experiments.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Economic Times reports that Reliance Industries may make a bid for General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) Plastics Operations.
• The Chicago Tribune reports that McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) may put its Boston Market chain up for sale.
• CNet.com reports that Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) has lost its top executive in China, Li Gong.
• Investor's Business Daily's "New America" column said that Middleby Corp (NASDAQ: MIDD) should profit from the trend away from trans fats with their new Rocket Fryer.
• BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column mentioned Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT), Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) and Thermage Inc (NASDAQ: THRM) positively.