Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Vistaprint (VPRT) to buy from hold on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm also raised its price target on the stock to $62 from $55.
• Fox-Pitt upgraded Eaton Vance (EV) to outperform from in line citing strong fundamentals. The firm raised its target to $36 from $34.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Hospitality Properties (HPT) to buy from hold citing valuation and expected cash dividend in 2010. The firm has a $22 target on the stock.
• The Advisory Board (ABCO) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at First Analysis.
• Technip (TKPPY) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Jefferies upgraded Energy XXI (EXXI) to hold from underperform and raised its target to $2 from $1.

Nike's (NYSE: NKE) "swoosh" logo is incredibly powerful and captures the essense of the company. Interestingly enough, back in 1971 Carolyn Davidson designed the logo for a mere $35 (for more stories about logos, check out the LogoBlog).

So of course, your company's logo is critical -- in terms of branding, getting customers, and presenting the right image. And, the good news is that there are many affordable options to get a top-notch one.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) is today expected to increase its sales and profit projections for the next two years, as it reports results of its fiscal year ended April 30. The Wall Street Journal reported that sales are to grow 6% or higher from 4%, while earnings per share growth for the next two years is projected to grow between 8% and 11% from the earlier projection of 7% to 9%.
• It appears that Vistaprint Limited (NASDAQ: VPRT), a graphic design services and printed products company, counts on referral fees from pop up rewards programs on it website for a certain amount of its revenue and profit and also relies on the referral of its customers to outside firms offering rewards programs, which turns out to be a monthly fee for services such as discounts on movies and amusement parks, according to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street". Some believe the stock, whose shares have plummeted over concerns of slowing revenue and slimmer gross margins, may be trading too high for its own good.
• According to people familiar with their plans, the Financial Times reported that the CEOs of UAL Corporation's (NASDAQ: UAUA) United Airlines and US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) will today meet to discuss the carriers' potential merger agreement.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Independent reported that for the second time this month, Barclays Plc (NYSE: BCS) revised lower its calculation of analysts' consensus for its full-year profit, cutting its 2008 figure by nearly 8% to GBP5.876B pre-tax; Barclays cut the calculation 15% two weeks ago.

Email marketing can be quite effective. According to a report from the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing returned $51.58 in sales for each dollar spent. This compares to $17.07 for newspaper ads and $15.64 for direct mail.

The good news is that there are cost-effective email marketing tools, such as from Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT).

But what are some useful strategies? Well, I had a chance to talk to Trynka Shineman, the senior vice president of North American marketing for VistaPrint (NASDAQ: VPRT). Let's take a look:

Getting Action: Try to cross-sell customers, such as through an order confirmation email. You can provide a special price and a link to a splash page to a relevant product offer.

"It's also important to create a sense of urgency," said Shineman. "Customers need to know not only that they are receiving something targeted to them, but a date encourages them to act quickly versus delaying the decision."

MOST NOTEWORTHY: International Paper, Autodesk, Oracle and Vistaprint were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of International Paper (NYSE: IP) to Buy from Hold on valuation and their belief that recent declines in the dollar will support pulp, paper and paperboard prices going forward.
  
• Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies after their proprietary survey yielded positive data points going into Q3. They also raised their estimates due to currency. Broadpoint raised its rating on Oracle to Buy from Neutral on valuation following the recent underperformance.
  
• Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was also upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC, as they believe the company's growing product portfolio, improving margins and successful acquisition strategy should continue to drive double-digit EPS gains.
  
• William Blair added Vistaprint (NASDAQ: VPRT) to its Current Better Values List. The firm believes the company has a large market opportunity and expects its business momentum to continue. They view the recent weakness as a buying opportunity.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Merrill Lynch upgraded Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• UBS upgraded Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• Banc of America upgraded Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) to Buy from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: British Airways plc (BAB), Ryanair Holdings plc (RYAAY), Cox Radio, Inc (CXR) and Autoliv Inc (ALV) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of both British Airways (NYSE: BAB) and Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Hold from Sell on valuation.

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Cox Radio Inc (NYSE: CXR) to Neutral form Underperform on valuation following the stock's recent pullback. Bear Stearns also upgraded Cox Radio to Outperform from Peer Perform on valuation.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV) to Neutral from sell.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Wachovia upgraded Heelys, Inc (NASDAQ: HLYS) to Outperform from Market Perform following positive channel checks, which could lead to upside to the Street's Q1 EPS estimate of 18c, and valuation.

• Stifel upgraded VistaPrint Ltd (NASDAQ: VPRT) to Buy from Hold with a $43 target. The firm said risks from taxes and non-transaction revenue have been diminished to levels that allow them to focus on the core printing business.

• Ameristar Casinos, Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

• Bear Stearns upgraded Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc (NYSE: WDR) to Outperform from Peer Perform based on strong operating leverage and valuation.

• Potash Corp (NYSE: POT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

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

Noting that it's always harder to swim upstream, trader Bill Martin looks into groups set to benefit from "rising tides" in the year ahead." Martin, the original found of the Raging Bull website, now features his stock advice in his FindProfit newsletter.

In his latest issue he looks at themes for "nimble investors in the year ahead," including a trio of tech trends - emissions control, print-on-demand, and web analytics.

New Emission Technology:

Martin explains, "Thanks to new government regulations that kicked-in in early 2007, and with additional rules on tap for 2010, the opportunities around automobile and truck emission technologies continue to grow."

His top picks include Tenneco (NYSE: TEN), which he says, "Should be a prime beneficiary, as it has already locked up a number of valuable design wins that are going to market this year and next."

His other top pick is Corning (NYSE: GLW), which is best known for its LCD glass and fiber businesses. Martin notes, "Corning is set to ramp its Environmental Technologies business, thanks to its innovations in diesel emission technologies. We believe that this upside is not priced into GLW stock, and thus we would be interested in accumulating the stock on weakness.

Print On-Demand Technology:

"Enabled by brisk advances in printing technologies, the world of large-scale printing is poised to rapidly change," observes Martin. He notes that it is now becoming more cost competitive for companies and consumers to print exactly what they need when they need it, rather than the inefficient and wasteful process of warehousing thousands of varying forms, brochures, stationery, etc.

He notes, "This is a tectonic shift for the printing industry that will drive consolidation among providers, while rewarding companies that jump out in front with the latest technologies." His picks to play this trend are Cenveo (NYSE: CVO) as well as VistaPrint (NASDAQ: VPRT).

Web Analytics:

"With online advertising, e-commerce, and other Internet businesses becoming increasingly sophisticated," notes Martin, "and with ever-larger dollars at stake, businesses are spending big bucks to track the behaviors of their website visitors, the efficiency of their marketing dollars, and to see how the online channel relates to their other markets."

One early big winner, he notes is Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR), which he says, "has grabbed the lead in this nascent market." Another beneficiary of this trend is the number-two player in the industry, WebSideStory (NASDAQ: WSSI). He adds, "We believe that the rising tide of web analytics is going to benefit more than just Omniture, and have also added WebSideStory to our buy list."

Steven Halpern is the editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, a free daily website which features the latest stock picks from the nation's leading financial newsletters.

For years, I have bought tons of things online – from big places like Amazon.com to small outfits. For the most part, service has been fine, especially from Amazon.com.

About a month ago, though, things went haywire. In one week, I had three bad experiences with online merchants.

The good news is that two of them were resolved very quickly. In fact, in one case, I knew the CEO. His company, VistaPrint Ltd. (NASDAQ:VPRT), is a fast-growing online printer.

Hey, even those companies that are built-to-last get things wrong. The important thing is how they respond. And VistaPrint was flawless. Impressively, I talked to the CEO a couple hours before his earnings conference call (and, by the way, his company had a blow-out quarter).

But my experience was much different with another company, Network Solutions. The company sells web hosting and domain names. I'm sure I've spent thousands of dollars – over the years – with this company.