MAKO

Market Update

Stocks Pare Gains after Bernanke Comments

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Stocks have pared their early gains and are well off their session highs following comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. In his testimony to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, Bernanke said that the Feed remained relatively optimistic about the health of the domestic economy. The Fed Chairman said that economic growth appears poised to continue at a moderate pace over coming quarters, supported in part by accommodative monetary policy. Bernanke did not give any indication that the Fed is planning to implement fresh measures to boost growth. The Fed Chairman’s comments dashed hopes of another round of quantitative easing. At last check, the Dow Jones was trading 0.55% higher at 12,483.17, the S&P 500 was trading 0.48% higher at 1,321.18, and the Nasdaq was trading 0.20% higher at 2,850.29. All three major indexes had risen sharply earlier today after China unexpectedly cut its benchmark deposit and lending rate to […]

Market Update

Stocks Headed for a Sharply Lower Finish

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Stocks are headed for a sharply lower finish in trading today, with all three major indexes near session lows in late trading. Stocks have been pushed lower by rising worries about political uncertainty in Greece. Investors are worried that the political unrest in Greece will limit the county’s ability to tackle the ongoing debt crisis. At last check, the Dow Jones was trading 1.08% lower at 12,868.29, the S&P 500 was trading 1.09% lower at 1,354.81, and the Nasdaq was trading 1.11% lower at 2,924.90. All sectors in the S&P 500 are headed for a sharply lower finish in trading today. Energy stocks are leading the losses in the S&P 500 in late trading. At last check, the sector was trading 2.41% lower. Basic Materials stocks are also down sharply in late trading. At last check, the sector was trading 2.08% lower. Consumer Cyclical stocks are currently trading 2.10% lower.

Analyst Upgrades

Analysts Upgrades – AMP, MU, RPXC, CYMI, CMG, PAY

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The following stocks have recently had their ratings upgraded by stock analysts. Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) : RBC Capital Mkts has upgraded Ameriprise Financial’s ratingfrom: Outperform – to – Top Pick Target Price: $64.00 . Ameriprise Financial, Inc. through its subsidiaries is engaged in providing financial planning, products and services as solutions for its clients’ cash and liquidity, asset accumulation, income, protection and estate and wealth transfer needs. Micron (NYSE:MU) : Barclays Capital has upgraded Micron’s ratingfrom: Equal Weight – to – Overweight Target Price: $9.00 . Micron Technology, Inc. is a global manufacturer and marketer of DRAM, NAND Flash memory, CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components. It has two segments, Memory and Imaging. RPX (NASDAQ:RPXC) : Barclays Capital has upgraded RPX’s ratingfrom: Equal Weight – to – Overweight Target Price: $17.00 . RPX Corp. provides a subscription-based patent risk management solution that facilitates more efficient exchanges of value between

Analyst Upgrades

Analysts Upgrades – AXP, MAKO, WPI, TWER, EGOV, PCS

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The following stocks have recently had their ratings upgraded by stock analysts. American Express (AXP) Argus has upgraded American Express’s ratingfrom: Hold – to – Buy Target Price: $50.00 MAKO Surgical (MAKO) BioLogic Equity Research has upgraded MAKO Surgical’s ratingfrom: Sell – to – Hold Watson Pharm (WPI) UBS has upgraded Watson Pharm’s ratingfrom: Neutral – to – Buy Target Price: $59.00 Towerstream (TWER) Morgan Joseph has upgraded Towerstream’s ratingfrom: Hold – to – Buy Target Price: $4.75 NIC Inc (EGOV) Northland Securities has upgraded NIC Inc’s ratingfrom: Market Perform – to – Outperform Target Price: $10.50 MetroPCS (PCS) Oppenheimer has upgraded MetroPCS’s ratingfrom: Perform – to – Outperform Target Price: $15.00 MedAssets (MDAS) Morgan Keegan has upgraded MedAssets’s ratingfrom: Mkt Perform – to – Outperform Goodrich Petroleum (GDP) Stifel Nicolaus has upgraded Goodrich Petroleum’s ratingfrom: Hold – to – Buy Target Price: $17.00 Ashford Hospitality Trust (AHT) Robert W.

Earnings

ACTS, AKRX, ALTE, ARP, ABC, AHII are Releasing Earnings November-2

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The following stocks are scheduled to release earnings today, Tuesday, November 02, 2010. ACTIONS SEMICONDUCTOR CO LTD (ACTS) Akorn, Inc. (AKRX) — Before Market Opens Alterra Capital Holdings Limited (ALTE) — After Market Closes American Reprographics Company (ARP) — After Market Closes AmerisourceBergen (ABC) — Before Market Opens ANIMAL HEALTH INTERNATIONAL INC (AHII) APPROACH RESOURCES INC (AREX) — After Market Closes Arch Chemicals, Inc. (ARJ) — Before Market Opens Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) — Before Market Opens Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (AGII) — After Market Closes AsiaInfo Holdings (ASIA) — After Market Closes Aspen Technology (AZPN) — Before Market Opens Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (AACC) — 4:00 PM ASSISTED LIVING CONCEPTS INC (ALC) — Before Market Opens BG Group (BRGXF) — 3:00 AM Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV) — After Market Closes Bill Barrett Corporation (BBG) — Before Market Opens BioLase Technology (BLTI) — 9:00 AM BioScrip