Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes the issuance of new common stock in exchange for outstanding preferred and trust preferred stock is a net positive. The firm has a $3.50 target on the stock.
• Merriman upgraded Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) to Buy from Neutral as if finds the currrent valuation compelling and believes the company should directly benefit from improving IT budgets. The firm thinks fair value is in the $9.11-$11.13 range.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Buy from Hold after its proprietary survey indicated the company is well positioned longer term. The firm finds the valuation on shares attractive at current levels and raised its target price to $53 from $48.
• Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Boardwalk Pipeline (BWP) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Lloyds Banking (NYSE: LYG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at RBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Canaccord upgraded Imperial Oil (NYSE: IMO) to Buy from Speculative Buy following an increase in crude oil forecast.
• BT Group (NYSE: BT) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
  
• Novartis (NYSE: NVS) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• CommVault (NASDAQ: CVLT) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
  
• AvalonBay (NYSE: AVB) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Sandler O'Neill.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded KBW, Inc (NYSE: KBW) to Market Perform from Underperform as it sees increased capital-raising opportunities for small and mid-sized banks and believes the company's quarter is off to a strong start. The firm raised its target price to $23 from $18.
• Pali Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Buy from Neutral on expectations the company's strategic shift towards advisory, distribution and retail will be monetized sooner than expected and its capital markets business is gaining traction. The firm set a $33 target on the stock.
• Baird upgraded Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $58 from $55 based on valuation predictable earnings, and its market leading platform.
• Apollo Investment (NYSE: AINV) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) was lifted at Goldman to Buy from Neutral.
• Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Analyst upgrades:

• RBC Capital believes software stock fundamentals have bottomed and that the next several quarters should see reduced earnings risk, easier comps, stimulus spending benefits, and lower FX headwinds. The firm upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO), Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) and Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) to Outperform from Sector Perform.
  
• Rodman & Renshaw upgraded Provectus (OTC: PVCT) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm has increased conviction in the success of the company's ongoing trial of PV-10 in melanoma.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Hold from Sell as it believes the risk/reward is balanced at current levels and that there are signs of potential credit market stabilization. The firm raised its price target on shares to $16 from $9.
• Brinker (NYSE: EAT) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Federal-Mogul (NASDAQ: FDML) was lifted to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Argus upgraded CBRL Group (NASDAQ: CBRL) to Buy from Hold as it believes increased efficiency at Cracker Barrel will help to boost restaurant traffic and same-store sales. The firm has a $33 target on shares.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's blood-thinning drug Effient is on track for a Q2 U.S. launch. The firm raised its price target on shares to $41 from $36.
  
• Needham upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Buy from Hold after recent channel checks suggested Intel's PC OEM orders are tracking better than expected. The firm expects Intel to keep prices and product mix stable, enabling margins to recover in Q2. Needham has an $18 target on INTC shares.
• SEI Investments (NASDAQ: SEIC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) was raised at Jefferies to Buy from Hold.
  
• Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO) was lifted to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: SuccessFactors, Taleo and Penn National were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Oppenheimer initiated SuccessFactors Inc (NASDAQ: SFSF) with an Outperform rating and $15 target. The firm believes the company's double-digit revenue growth will continue as its differentiated HCM solutions gain broad-based adoption. Deutsche Bank believes the company has a strong opportunity to build a highly profitable business as it broadens its footprint, and started shares with a Buy rating and $15 target.
• Deutsche Bank also reinstated coverage of Taleo Corporation (NASDAQ: TLEO) with a Buy rating and $35 target. The firm believes the Vurv acquisition will create significant accretion in 2009 and that investors should take advantage of the recent share weakness.
• Oppenheimer assumed coverage of Penn National Gaming Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) with an Outperform rating and believes the termination of Penn's acquisition by Fortress Investment and Centerbridge will be catalysts for the stock, as they think it provides the company with financial flexibility. In addition, the firm believes Penn's management team has historically made prudent capital decisions.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Petrobras Brasileiro SA (NYSE: PBR) was initiated with a Buy rating and $92 target at Goldman.
• Cowen resumed coverage of LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ: LMAT) with an Outperform rating.
• Sanofi-Aventis SA (NYSE: SNY) was started at ING with a Hold rating.

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

• Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) lifted its outlook on improved performance of its Plant Nutrient Group.
• BP Plc (NYSE: BP) was upgraded by Societe Generale due in part to its earnings prospects.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) has developed an earnings improvement plan based on collective bonuses.
• Corel Corp. (NASDAQ: CREL) solid Q2 results did not address a buyout offer from Vector Capital.
• Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) Q2 earnings were boosted by dumping its Goldfish card division.
• Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE: FO) lowered its earnings outlook on challenging consumer environment.
• Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) blamed dismal results on floods and smoking bans.
• MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MXB) strong Q2 results didn't save it from being dumped by Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).
• PAREXEL International Corp. (NASDAQ: PRXL) lifted its Q4 and full-year guidance, leading to an upgrade.
• Texas Industries Inc. (NYSE: TXI) was downgraded due to fears about its earnings prospects.
• Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ: TLEO) reaffirmed its outlook as an acquisition would boost results.
• WD-40 Co. (NASDAQ: WDFC) posted solid Q3 results and offered conservative guidance.

More highlights from this past week: Apollo Group, Family Dollar, Kroger, Deutsche Bank and others

Also, while Jim Cramer ponders what will signal the bottom, many investors will be looking at next week's earnings results for General Electric (NYSE: GE), the world's largest conglomerate, as a sign of the direction of the global market. And BusinessWeek reminds us that cheap stocks -- even with big names such as Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), and Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) -- are no bargain if they have no earnings.

Upcoming results to watch for include Alcoa (NYSE: AA), Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE: PBG), Marriott International (NYSE: MAR), and General Electric (NYSE: GE).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Taleo Corporation (NASDAQ: TLEO) offers software that allows businesses to efficiently manage their staffing processes. Products help to automate recruitment, background screening, regulatory compliance, skills assessment and tracking of professional, hourly, and temporary employees. The firm's professional services division provides implementation and technical support. Customers range from small businesses to global enterprises. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) and Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) are among Taleo's large-cap clients.

Investors were pleased last month, when the company affirmed its Q2 EPS and revenue guidance figures. Management also said it expected this week's acquisition of talent management software maker Vurv Technology to add to its 2008 results, projecting EPS of 62 cents (60 cent consensus) and revenues of $175-$177 million ($162.8M consensus).

ThinkPanmure reiterated its "buy" rating on Taleo (NASDAQ:TLEO) ahead of the company's analyst meeting, according to the AP.

Goldman Sachs upgraded International Paper (NYSE:IP) from "buy" to "neutral", according to Briefing.com. The news service also writes that Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from $185 to $210.

EMC Corp (NYSE:EMC) was cut to "neutral" at Bernstein, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Douglas A. McIntyre

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Taleo, Hatteras Financial and Harmonic were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Baird initiated Taleo (NASDAQ:TLEO) with a Neutral citing uncertainty regarding the integration plan and financial guidance regarding the Vurv acquisition.
  
• Wachovia believes Hatteras Financial (NYSE:HTS) is well-positioned to capitalize on opportunities in the Agency RMBS sector given the steep yield curve & slow mortgage payments, low expense structure, and Agency-only strategy. Shares were initiated with an Outperform rating.
  
• Brean Murray expects Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) to benefit from an increased competitive environment among cable, telco, and satellite operators and their need for encoding and video stream processing equipment. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $13 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Jesup & Lamont initiated GP Strategies (NYSE:GPX) with a Buy rating and $12.50 target.
  
• Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) was initiated at BMO Capital with a Market Perform rating.
  
• UBS assumed Genesis Energy (AMEX:GEL) with a Neutral rating and $22 target.

Update: See the latest posts about stocks to buy from BloggingStocks.

After nailing the top in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and warning investors this would be a painful year, I've been getting hundreds of emails from people asking me what to do next? As if suddenly after two correct predictions, I'm Nostradamus or David Blaine!

Make no mistake, I'm neither a forecaster nor a magician, I'm just a trader who bases his decisions around these key elements: a distrust of everyone and every company on Wall Street (made easier by the likes of MBIA (NYSE: MBI), E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) and Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC); a respect, bordering on religion, for charts and a quick trigger finger if the charts turn against me. I know people want longer term predictions, but I believe those to be 100% guessing games and potentially hazard to your investment health. Pregnant women should avoid them at all costs. Just kidding, it's fine for some people, but I like to make my predictions and cash out, so I can enjoy stress-free weekends if you catch my drift.

So, here's what I see right now: two weeks in and we're already halfway to my 10%-down market prediction, and Apple is down 15% (take that you stereotypical cheerleaders, go date some football players)! The markets are definitely rolling over, and while it's usually a long, drawn-out process, the charts seem to have little concern for what's normal as all the major indices have formed perfect head-and-shoulders patterns (a very bearish sign) and investors are rightfully freaking out.

Corporate strategy expert Sramana Mitra had a nice post yesterday that looked at a broad spectrum of the burgeoning Software as a Service (SaaS) market. Companies like salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) are revolutionizing the software industry by providing hosted versions of traditional software packages and essentially renting them to customers. Customers benefit by paying less money upfront and don't assume the cost of ownership, opting instead to rent software from SaaS companies. Updating and maintenance of software is handled by SaaS firm.

I've been looking at Concur Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNQR). Concur's solutions address automate corporate travel and expense management. Larry Schutts had a good post on the firm saying:

Its flagship program provides the process and information for management to reduce manual processing, improve internal controls, increase business policy compliance, speed up reimbursement, and increase expense report accuracy. The software features Web-based modules for tracking, submitting, and processing reports.

Large corporations like The Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) and Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) are all looking to 1) manage complicated expense processing 2) lower costs.

SaaS companies are just in their infancy as more business look to rent rather than buy. Check out Taleo Corporation (Nasdaq: TLEO), RightNow Technologies (Nasdaq: RNOW), and Vocus, Inc. (Nasdaq: VOCS).

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) has struck again -- that is, another acquisition. This time, Dell purchased Everdream, a privately-held firm based in Fremont, California. The price tag was not disclosed.

Started in the heyday of the internet, Everdream has displayed staying power. The company has been able to build software tools that allow for remote management of computers -- such as dealing with patches, backups, and antivirus updates. The company uses an on-demand approach, which is gaining lots of traction in the tech sector. Just look at the success of companies like Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), NetSuite, and Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ: TLEO).

Currently, Everdream manages about 140,000 desktops. Although, with the power of Dell, that footprint will likely spike. What's more, the deal should be a nice fit with Dell's recent acquisition of SilverBack Technologies, which is also a remote services player.

Visit DealProfiles.com to check out other recent M&A deals.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Credit crunch? Not so for the venture capital space. According to various surveys, there is still lots of strength.

For example, the MoneyTree Report (from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association) shows $7.1 billion in VC investments for the third quarter. A report from Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) VentureOne shows about $8.1 billion in fundings.

It certainly helps that there has been a pick-up in the IPO market. Oh, and the tech sector has had a nice rally. The most popular categories for VCs include software and biotech.

As for software, there has been a megatrend for on-demand offerings. As seen with the growth of companies like Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), VMware (NYSE: VMW) and Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO), the enthusiasm is certainly understandable.

However, I'm not so sure about biotech. The sector has been fairly weak in terms of public offerings. But, then again, it seems biotech companies always need to raise gobs of money, right?

Something else: There's been a pick-up in cleantech deals. After all, with high energy prices, there appears to be lots of opportunity.

Visit DealProfiles.com if you want to see other recent VC fundings.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Human resources can be kind of boring (except when there are lawsuits). And it is often an area that is largely neglected in terms of the budget. Yet this is not stopping venture capitalists from investing in the space.

The latest funding in the space is a $22.5 million round for Authoria, which "provides talent management solutions," according to the company's website. It's the firm's fifth round. The investors include Horizon Technology Finance, Velocity Financial Group, Menlo Ventures, Austin Ventures and Van Wagoner Capital Management.

It does help that Authoria takes an on-demand approach. That is, the technology is delivered via the Web, which tends to be cheaper and easier. More importantly, it's a red-hot trend in tech, as seen with Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) and Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ: TLEO).

It's not clear if Authoria is profitable, but the company says that its bookings surged 40% for the first half of this year.

With a plethora of IPO filings for on-demand software – which include companies like NetSuite – we'll probably see Authoria take the same path at some point.

If you want to check out other venture capital fundings, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.