The market won't let QE2 go ahead of the G20 meetings. Now the talk is that the second wave of quantitative easing is mostly priced in, as well as fears of ongoing currency wars. The markets were mixed at the open, but shares were lower by the close on the DJIA, and trying to hold on to positive in the NASDAQ and S&P500.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,132.26 -14.31 (-0.13%)
S&P 500 1,183.05 +2.79 (0.24%)
Nasdaq 2,479.39 +19.72 (0.80%)

Top Analyst Calls
Next Week's Top Earnings

The earnings crunch begins in earnest this coming week, with companies from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) to Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) and Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) scheduled to report results for the quarter just ended. But with the ongoing turmoil in the markets, much attention is on the tech and financial sectors. This week will provide plenty to mull over on both counts.

Wall Street expectations for tech stocks are fairly optimistic. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for chip maker Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) and software/service company iGate Corp. (NASDAQ: IGTE) to be the sector's biggest earnings gainers of the week. Altera is expected to report earnings of 30 cents per share (up 33.3% from a year ago) on revenue of $355.1 million. Altera had previously forecast flat sales for the quarter, and shares fell to a 52-week low last week. iGate is expected to report earnings of 14 cents per share (up 42.9%) on revenue of $55.6 million. India-based iGate recently spun off its Mastech consulting services. Shares are down 45.0% in the past three months, and also reached a new 52-week low last week.

San Jose-based Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS), on the other hand, is expected to report that net income tumbled 90.4% from a year ago to 4 cents per share, on revenue of $245.6 million. Novellus fell to a 52-week low early last week, and shares are down 44.5% year to date.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Ford, Imperial Tobacco and Schlumberger were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Soleil upgraded Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) to Buy from Sell as they expect improved sentiment towards shares given new product launches, cost cutting efforts, North American capacity reductions, and better than expected performance on the cash side.
• Imperial Tobacco Group Plc (NYSE: ITY) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup to reflect FX benefits and pricing in continental Europe.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) to Overweight from Equal Weight following the company's Q1 results, as they expect consensus estimates to move higher over the coming quarters.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• B. Riley raised Wilmington Trust Corporation (NYSE: WL) to Buy from Neutral.
• Morgan Keegan upgraded Healthcare Services Group Inc (NASDAQ: HCSG) to Outperform from Market Perform.
• Bear upgraded MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

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.

For more earnings forecasts, see Peter Cohan's Earnings expectations for 10 banks tell a mixed story.

Thomson Financial expects Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) to earn $0.65 when it announces its fourth-quarter results on January 18th. That's down 7% from the same period in 2006, when it earned $0.70.

Wilmington Trust is a Wilmington, DE-based bank that has four segments: Regional Banking, Wealth Advisory Services, Corporate Client Services, and Affiliate Money Managers. In the last year, its revenues were $726 million and its net income totaled $186 million. Its stock has fallen 27% in the last year and it trades at a P/E of 11.4.

It has a mixed record when it comes to meeting estimates. In the second quarter of 2007, Wilmington Trust beat the consensus estimate by 4.4%, but in the third quarter it missed by 9.9%. My hunch is that this quarter, Wilmington Trust will miss expectations.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Wilmington Trust securities.