Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Clorox (NYSE: CLX) to Buy from Hold on valuation and believes upside to earnings forecasts is likely. The firm raised its target on shares to $66 from $65.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Buy from Hold on expectations improved Marketplace fundamentals will serve as a positive catalyst for shares. The firm raised its price target on the stock to $29 from $22.
• Roth Capital believes Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is well positioned for improved results and margins. The firm, which upgraded shares to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $22 from $16, said September back-to-school results bode well for the holiday season and demonstrate that Zumiez can drive conversion during peak shopping periods.
• Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) was upgraded to Sell from Conviction Sell at Goldman.
• Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded WinTrust (NASDAQ: WTFC) to Neutral from Underperform and raised its target to $20 from $13 citing the accretive purchase of AIG (NYSE: AIG) loans and reduced risk of a capital raise.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Coach (NYSE: COH) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations product sell-throughs and margin trends will improve in the coming quarters. The firm has a $32 target on the stock.
• RBC Capital upgraded Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) to Sector Perform from Underperform and raised its target to $33 from $29. The firm cites Campbell's recent innovation, easy volume comps, and "reasonable" consensus estimates for its upgrade.
• Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company will benefit from the broadband Stimulus funds.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on relative valuation and views the company as a "survivor." Additionally, the analyst lowered 2009 industry estimates but believes it is the last cut for the year and is incrementally more positive on the sector.
• Morgan Stanley also upgraded EXFO Electro-Optical (NASDAQ: EXFO) to Overweight from Market Weight based on valuation.
• Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Ascent Solar (NASDAQ: ASTI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
• Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM - option chain) shares are headed higher today as the company officially begins booking sales of its Nano today. The car has been called the world's cheapest automobile, and analysts are eagerly waiting to see how well the car sells in rapidly-growing India. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on TTM.

TTM opened this morning at $6.96. So far today the stock has hit a low of $6.95 and a high of $8.30. As of 11:45, TTM is trading at $7.65, up 1.01 (15.2%). The chart for TTM looks neutral and S&P gives TTM a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

With the Big Three auto companies in dire need of cash, they've all considered the possibility of selling some of their brands. General Motors' (NYSE: GM) Hummer, Saab and Saturn, along with Chrysler's Jeep and Viper and Ford's (NYSE: F) Volvo are all reportedly on the block.

"Trouble is, nobody seems to have the interest - or the equity - to make a deal," Fortune reports.

Honda (NYSE: HMC) closed at $22.40 Thursday. HMC overall option implied volatility of 92 is above its 26-week average of 42 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) closed at 67.09 Thursday. TM overall option implied volatility of 70 is above its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM), an Indian car manufacturer, closed at $4.50 Thursday. TTM overall option implied volatility of 84 is above its 26-week average of 61 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Nissan (NSADQ: NSANY) closed at $8.57 Thursday. NSANY overall option implied volatility of 76 is above its 26-week average of 49 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The banking unit of National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC) recently entered into a "memorandum of understanding" with federal regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported. The banking unit has bad loans, and the agreement basically means that the bank is on probation, as the government pressures financial institutions.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that Justice Department criminal prosecutors and its U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, NY are investigating American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) to see if they overstated the value of contracts tied to subprime mortgages.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) is thinking of releasing its Q2 results a week earlier than planned, and announcing a capital raising plan at the same time, according to the New York Post, in order to reduce negative speculation about its future.
• The Economic Times reported that Indian auto companies Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM) and Mahindra and Mahindra may be interested in acquiring Hummer from General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM).

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is cutting production at its Volvo unit, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move, which could affect one-third of workers -- some 700 -- is seen as an attempt to cut the costs and losses at the upscale Swedish brand.

The question everyone is asking is whether this move is done in preparation for a sale. According to "people familiar with the matter" who discussed such things with the Journal, CEO Alan Mulally is interested in putting Volvo, whose sales have been declining, on the block. Of course, to analysts, Mulally sang a different tune last month, saying the priority is improve the Swedish auto maker operations "dramatically."

As Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. continues to build its stake int he company, he may also have a thing or two to say on the matter.

For now, Volvo is cutting where it makes larger, less popular vehicles, and it plans to make fewer cars overall. But can this make Volvo more profitable for Ford, or at least more attractive to buyers? There are costs associated with producing a smaller number of vehicles, but with Volvo reporting 22,000 fewer vehicles sold during the first quarter, cutting production makes sense. Another matter Ford has to consider is the massive losses it suffered lately just from the kronor-dollar exchange rate.

It was reported long ago that Ford Motor (NYSE: F) was shopping its Jaguar and Land Rover brands. Today it finally announced it has closed the deal to sell these premier British brands to Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) of India for $2.3 billion. Ford, which has been losing money, found its share price way down, closing yesterday at $5.96 (now up a few cents in premarket trading) and was in need of a cash infusion.

Tata Motors, having just introduced a low-end $2,500 car to the Indian market, is now filling out the upper end of the spectrum by bringing these two well known British brands to a country with a tradition and heritage long ago saturated with British "imperialist" remnants like cricket and tea time. If Jaguar and Land Rover are to be revitalized, then Tata Motors probably has a better chance of success than most.

Ford bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion in 1989 and Land Rover for $2.7 billion in 2000. Nine months ago I posted Chasing Value: Tata Motors LTD - patience, patience, GOT IT! and now Tata has got it! What it hopes to do with these brands is gain some international credibility, based on a solid Indian foundation.

Tata's stock closed yesterday at $17.36, up slightly on the rumors. It is about midway between its 52-week low of $14.71 and its high or $21.30. This deal could send both companies forward humming a new tune. I would even speculate more wildly just for fun that in this world of expanding markets, integrated economies and corporate consolidation, Ford and Tata Motors could one day find reason to unite.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: We own shares in TTM.

Before the bell: Futures decline on renewed credit concerns

With reports all over the place yesterday that Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was close to a deal with Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM), it is no surprise the deal was announced this morning with Ford selling British automakers Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata for roughly $2 billion.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) are discussing a plan to fund a new wireless Internet venture that would be run by Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) and Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) and create a nationwide network using WiMax technology. This would provide faster wireless Web connection speeds for laptops and cell phones than the current networks, according to The Wall Street Journal.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that private loans under the Federal Family Education Loan, or FEEL, program have begun to give way to the federal direct loan program, as private lenders run into subsidy cuts and problems raising capital. To date about 60 colleges and universities have made the switch.
• Carl Icahn, a 6.3% Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) shareholder, has sued the company to get board of director documents, turning away offers of two board seats, the Wall Street Journal reported. Icahn wants information about the company's unprofitable handset business.
• Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is expected Wednesday to announce an agreement to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover units to India's Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM) for about $2B, the Financial Times reported.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to the Business Review, New York State Senator Charles Schumer is planning to 'reveal details' of a conversation he had with the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) on March 21 about the company's plans to build a $3.2B computer chip plant in Saratoga County.

U.S. stock futures turned positive recently, despite being lower earlier this morning. With the recent advances on Wall Street the past two sessions, some investors feel it may be prudent to be more cautious and wait for some more data to be released before rejoining the activity.


Today, two main economic releases are due. The S&P/Case-Shiller index on home prices in January is due before the market open and March consumer confidence is due out at 10 a.m. EDT. Judging from yesterday's existing home sales report, housing prices haven't recovered yet and will likely show yet another decline. Similarly, consumer confidence is expected to be lower than the previous month as well, as consumers haven't regained confidence in the economy.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have said no to buying Motorola Inc's (NYSE: MOT) handset business, and potential Chinese interest is not there. The perception now, according to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street," is that Motorola's problems may be to difficult to fix.
• The Financial Times reported that the Los Angeles city attorney launched a wide-ranging legal action on Thursday against Health Net Inc (NYSE: HNT), one of California's biggest health insurance providers, accusing the company of defrauding customers by setting illegal policy cancellation targets for its sales agents.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to sources, the Economic Times reported that Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM) may be looking to spin off Jaguar into a separate entity once the acquisition of the brand from Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is complete.
• The U.S. government has approved the first virtual fence, built by The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, the Associated Press reported. Along the 28 mile stretch of border, radar and surveillance cameras will be used to try to catch people entering the country illegally.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI has opened criminal inquiries as part of an investigation over subprime mortgage issues. The probe into 14 companies will focus on accounting fraud, insider trading and securitization of loans.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that Merck and Co Inc's (NYSE: MRK) osteoporosis treatment Fosamax is facing increasing scrutiny and lawsuits, as a growing number of patients allege the drug causes a condition called ONJ.
• According to a Federal judge, antitrust supervision of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) should be extended for two years longer than originally planned, until November 2009, the Financial Times said. The supervision was imposed as part of its landmark settlement in 2002, when Microsoft was accused of failing to produce an adequate licensing arrangement for certain protocols essential for rivals to work their own products through the Windows operating system.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Economic Times reported that Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) has decided not to retain any stakes in its Jaguar and Land Rover divisions after selling them to India's Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM), according to sources.

GM (NYSE: GM) does not like to be trumped. Last week, India's Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) launched a car that costs about $2,500. It is geared to consumers who only have money to drive motorcycles now. The vehicle may sell well in India, but Tata understands that it could be exported to other emerging markets like Russia and China.

GM does not need any more competition in emerging countries. With its sales flat to down in the U.S. market, the company says its goal is to have 75% of its sales from outside America in just a few years. To do that, GM will need cars to fit the markets, not just versions of GM cars that it can build and sell abroad.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "GM's Asia-Pacific chief is working on developing a car for emerging markets that could play in the sub-$4,000 price range, as the company looks to compete with auto makers that are already building cheaper cars."

The plan may look good, but only if GM can find facilities and a workforce that is cheap enough to build a super-low-cost vehicle at a profit. With wages rising in China and India due to increased demand for products from these countries, the job may be difficult.

GM may want to be in the $4,000 car business, but it is not clear that it is a business which GM can afford.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.