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Despite coordinated rate cuts from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, shares of equities fell lower today. It seems that the auto-begging bailout presentations left the feeling that the $34 billion was only a front-running head start on what may be needed ahead. Weekly jobless claims were above 500,000 again, but did come in under last week and not as bad as expectations. Unfortunately, most traders are bracing for a bad jobs number and unemployment number tomorrow morning.

DJIA: 8,375.81 (-216.88) (2.52%)
S&P500 845.15 (-25.59) (2.94%)
NASDAQ 1,445.56 (-46.82) (3.14%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) said it expected a sequential decline from Q3-2008 revenues of $1.585 billion by a sharp 25%. That gives an implied revenue number of around $1.188 billion. Thomson Reuters had estimates of $1.54 billion. Shares were down over 6% at $2.06 right before the close.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced this morning that it was cutting 4% of its workforce. The company sees a Q4 charge of $600 million. The company did not warn on earnings, but it did note that the cuts are the result of the change in climate in telecom business mix and economic pressure. Shares were down almost 4% at $27.97 before the close.

General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) fell the worst as it is still in the hot seat. The fear is that the auto companies are going to hold out a tin cup sooner rather than later even if they get this first round of money. Shares were down 16% at $4.08 before the close.

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) gave sub-par guidance for 2009 of $3.15 to $3.30 EPS, yet Thomson Reuters had estimates of $3.52 EPS. Shares were down over 5% at $24.95 before the close.

If you were watching the market today, it really felt like a mixed bag despite the rally and sell-off. The Fed's Beige Book said that all sectors showed weakness with weakening across the board. Rumors that Hank Paulson might ask Congress to approve a second wave of TARP funds failed to generate any hard interest today.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG) traded up on reports that the state-controlled utility group Electricite de France SA in France is rivaling a Warren Buffett bid for the nuclear assets. The bid is $4.5 billion for 50% of the nuclear assets. Unfortunately, the gains here faded throughout the day.

Equities managed a comeback after yesterday's huge sell-off. Today was on little economic data, but "less bad" data from companies helped as well as overseas markets stabilizing before U.S. traders woke up this morning. We also did not see the continued flight to quality as sharply today in what looks like a Treasury Bubble right now.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 8,423.08 (+3.31%)
S&P500: 849.02 (+3.99)
NASDAQ: 1,449.80 (+3.70)

Top Analyst Calls

Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) is under pressure on a Wall Street Journal report that the company could lose $2 billion or $5.00 EPS for the quarter in its first loss since coming public. The loss is not going to be a surprise as many have already reported and speculated this, but the magnitude of the losses may catch some off guard.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) engineers and technical worker union members voted to approve new four-year contracts, which will avert another work stoppage at the company's Commercial Airplanes unit.

If you were hoping that last week's stealth rally was going to continue, that didn't happen. Manufacturing data was atrocious here in the U.S., and even China gave horrible data on that front. Then, the NBER came out and officially declared the recession has been afoot -- in case you hadn't noticed. To show how much demand destruction there is, oil was down another $4.00 by 2:00 PM. All this data led to record lows on Treasury maturity yields.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Top Upgrades & Downgrades

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was hit on a research report predicting that tomorrow's GE Capital presentation will be a platform that will allow the company to reduce guidance further than it already has.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) traded up early on reports that a new deal between Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo! may occur on a search pact rather than a merger. This was refuted elsewhere and it took the wind out of the rumor.

If you ever wondered what a quick stealth 1,000 point move in the DJIA looks like, you just have to look at the move from last week's lows. Today's economic reports came out fairly dismal again, although the deterioration in "some" areas was not quite as bad as expected. Enjoy tomorrow's tryptophan laziness after turkey on Thanksgiving.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels.
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

BCE, Inc. (NYSE: BCE) announced that KPMG found that BCE might not fit within the solvency test at the December 11 closing date on a post-merger basis because of the added debt, which may throw the going-private deal led by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan in jeopardy. Shares were down before the close.

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) shares rallied again today after it was reported last night that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim bought a stake of over $100 million in Citigroup. Shares were up before the close.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) rose sharply on rumors and reports that it and the other automakers would outline some sort of formal plan next week. Shares were up before the close.

If you want a little bear market humor, here is a quick take on some familiar financial terms that have been redefined to fit the new economy.

Stocks staged a comeback late in the day after swinging up this morning and then down in the afternoon. What is odd is that it was another one of those days where if you were not watching the actual index readings tick by tick, you might not know if the market was up or down because of a lack of enthusiasm. Confidence did come in a tad higher than expected. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA: 8,479.86 (+0.43%)
NASDAQ: 1,464.73 (-0.50%)
S&P 500 857.41 (+0.66%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was down on word that it was closing most of its headquarter offices for four days around the Christmas and New Years periods as part of its cost containment. The interpretation is that there is no magic growth when there shouldn't be any reason to expect it anyway. Shares were down almost 6% at $15.47 right before the close.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) rose sharply on word that it is cutting many contract worker positions, but said it is not laying off full-time workers. Oddly enough, the search giant used to be measured by its headcount growth for a means of forward growth, so this rally is a bit odd even in a cost containment world. Shares were up 10% at $284.95 right before the close.

Today's atrocious housing data was already a given, and the markets keyed off of additional strength from Friday on the introduction of the Obama Financial team today. We are also coming off of severely oversold conditions and much of the rally seen was technical rather than fundamental.

Here are today's unofficial closing levels:

DJIA: 8443.39 (4.93%)
NASDAQ: 1472.02 (6.33%)
S&P 500:851.81 (6.47)

Top Analyst Calls

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A) was written up in Barron's after closing at $90,000 on Friday and seeing a low of $74,100 last week. The "financial bible" publication believes that the stock now finally looks cheap. Shares were up almost 4% at $93,300.00 right before the close.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was a huge gainer after the government bailout that Wall Street wanted finally came to save the stock. The US Government is injecting $20 billion in fresh capital and will absorb most of the potential losses on a $306 billion pool of high risk assets. The government will also receive preferred shares with an 8% yield and Citi's common stock dividend will go down to $0.01. Shares were up a whopping 60% at $6.04 right before the close.

Today's late rally tied to breaking news of President-elect Obama's naming Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary for the next administration, but there was also an end of week bargain-buying hunt. Today was also options expiration. Whatever the real determination was, at least it was not yet another miserable day of relentless selling.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA: 8,046 (+6.5%)
Nasdaq: 1,384 (+5.2%)
S&P 500: 800 (+6.3%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) posted earnings at $0.35 EPS on revenue of $246 million. While other retailers are stinking up a storm, this compares to earnings of $0.30 EPS and revenue of $238 million last year. While sales did drop over 7% to $3.56 billion, analysts' estimates from Thomson Reuters (First Call) were only $0.34 EPS and $3.57 billion. Shares were up 21% at $11.62 right before the close.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) hired Sean Suchter, the former head of search operations at Yahoo! This could give them the brains and engine behind the search business without ever having to pay Yahoo! a dime. Shares were up 8% at $19.01 shortly before the close.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) managed a show of force when times are tough. The sporting apparel giant raised its quarterly dividend payout by 9% to $0.25. Shares were up over 6% at $46.41 right before the close.

USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) shares surged after disclosing that Warren Buffett and Faifax invested a combined $400 million into the home building products maker. This was on top of their investments in the company in the past. Shares were up 24% at $7.04 shortly before the close.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) rallied after the board of directors elected Mike Duke to replace Lee Scott as President and CEO of Wal-Mart, effective February 1, 2008. Shares were up almost 2% at $51.55 right before the close.

Again, what is left to say? Nothing you haven't heard before. Jobless claims were the highest in over 15 years, earnings are at risk, the recession is here, and redemptions are still coming in droves. Sorry for the gloomy attitude.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 7,552.29 (-5.56%)
NASDAQ: 1,316.12 (-5.07%)
S&P 500: 752.48 (-6.71%)
Top Upgrades & Downgrades

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) was down after it and Takeda's Millennium Pharma said that enrollment in a lung cancer trial was being suspended because of higher deaths in part of the control group over the placebo group. Shares were down over 6% at $50.13.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was slapped today on reports that the company is in talks with several private or sovereign wealth funds over capital. This stock put in a decade low, even though GE said it was not raising capital. Shares were down 11% at $12.80 right before the close.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) filed a shelf registration statement that will allow it to sell debt instruments from time to time if it chooses, although no terms were given, no size is indicated, and no underwriters are mentioned. Shares were down 4% at $17.54 right before the close.

PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) reaffirmed its previously announced full-year 2008 core EPS guidance at an investor conference. Shares were down almost 4% at $50.17 right before the close.

Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) was hit after it posted $0.35 EPS vs. $0.42 estimates, and it guided next quarter and 2008 lower. The term "global warming" back to "climate change" right now even for the green investors. Shares were down 37% at $5.55 right before the close.

How many days, months, quarters, etc. will this ugly bear market continue? It is just as bad as buying dips on Internet stocks in 2000. The FOMC minutes gave a lowered economic expectation for 2009, like we didn't know that was coming. Housing starts were the worst on record, and now inflation is coming down so hard that deflation is the new damnation of the markets. Does it really matter what gets said anymore? No, it doesn't. Gee, were you even surprised that the deterioration into the close only picked up steam and the Dow shed 5% to close below 8,000 as the S&P decided to close at a five-year low? Sorry there is no good news, but this market is no longer a market.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is trading like it is no longer going to be around as its old self. This is truly ugly and unfair, but then again ... who has been rewarded for defending a financial stock? NO ONE. Shares were down 21% at $6.53 before the close.

E*TRADE Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) gave pretty decent numbers considering the current climate, yet it is getting crushed every day along with anything and everything else financial. This one was down 17%at $1.03 right before the close.

Today was another one of those days where it was hard to tell if the market was up. The market gapped up and then posted a great morning rally, and then proceeded to give back most of the gains from noon until late in the afternoon. Housing was dismal, producer prices were down, and Bernanke and Paulson testified about the TARP usage.

Below are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Analyst Calls: Top Upgrades and Top Downgrades

Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. (NYSE: BUD) is no more..... The merger was completed today with InBev and the stock will now be European listed and be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. Shareholders of common stock receive $70.00 per share in cash as part of this $52 billion merger.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) gave disappointing LCD panel guidance which was "below" the $1.1 to $1.2 billion in revenues previously offered and "at the low end of below" the $0.20 to $0.28 EPS range previously offered just a few weeks ago. Shares were down 7% right before the the close.

Today was a light volume and mixed trading day where there was no real feeling for the market being up or down. The G20 meeting yielded no major score for the markets and the Empire State manufacturing number for New York's region was the worst on record.

Below are the unofficial closing bell levels:
Top Analyst Calls

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was one of the few public companies position that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway actually trimmed its stake in by about half during the last quarter. B of A shares were down over 6% at $15.32 shortly before the close.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) didn't quite get the reaction it was hoping for. Vikram Pandit announced the new restructuring plan where the company will let go a total of about 50,000 jobs via attrition, asset sales, and layoffs. Citi announced other cost cutting measures as well. Shares were down almost 5% at $9.07 right before the close.

What a difference a few hours makes. Earlier today, we were in the process of seeing the stock market take out the lows of October. At that point the buyers ignored the 516,000 jobless claims from this morning and they started hitting their "buy" buttons on their keyboards. The gains came on strong in the afternoon, and most of them late in the afternoon. Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 8,835.25 (+6.67%)
NASDAQ: 1,596.70 (+6.50%)
S&P 500: 911.28 (+6.92%)

52-Week Lows
Top Upgrades & Downgrades

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) had been down all day on rumors and fears about the dividend status, but shares came back and ended up 4.3% at $16.87.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) closed up 6.7% at $14.43 despite the company's warning last night. While warnings are somewhat expected, this was a severe drop of about 15% to revenues.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) rose over 14% to $2.24 after the company announced that it was going to pursue employee buyouts for certain back office peronnel. Cutting costs seems to be popular in hard times, and buyouts do not create the unpleasantries inside an office like layoffs do.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) managed to beat earnings, but the company said that currency issues were making it take guidance slightly under the mid-point for next quarter. Shares closed up over 4% at $54.39.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was up 9.5% at $16.66 right at the close today. Shares were down earlier after the company met earnings expectations, but strange options trades may have helped lift the stock.

Today was another one of those days where one could feel like the Duke Brothers from Trading Places. It was just another down day, yet the pain seemed to capture everything and everyone. The reasons markets are hurting are all the same as they have been, but such is life and expanding the TARP bailout money isn't helping.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Major Stocks Breaking Under $10.00
Short Sellers Move To Healthy Companies
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) fell again after negative headlines that it supposedly wants $3.5 billion in TARP funds. Although these are much of the same concerns as yesterday since becoming a bank holding company. Shares were down over 10% at $19.99 right before the close.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) got to see insult added to injury. Moody's cut its debt ratings further into junk status. Shares were down more than another 5% at $5.03 right before the close.

Today was a strange day as Veteran's Day was observed by the bond market but not by the stock market. Stocks traded lower most of the day as the realization that even a Chinese stimulus package was not going to prevent a global recession. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 8,693.96 (-1.99%)
NASDAQ: 1,580.90 (-2.22%)
S&P 500: 898.94 (-2.21%)
Analyst Upgrades
Analyst Downgrades

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) announced a joint venture in the Marcellus Shale and an international unconventional natural gas exploration alliance with StatoilHydro. Despite this supposedly being a win, shares were down 5% at $22.45 right before the close.

Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN), a Chinese advertising agency for online, outdoor, and print ads, was hit extremely hard after posting light earnings and guiding estimates lower ahead. Shares were trading down over 45% at $8.74 right before the close.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) announced the pricing of a full financing package to keep it within its debt covenants, but it did so at what appears to be a 40% discount on a fully diluted basis. Shares were trading down 35% at $5.22 right before the close.

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) traded down after the high-end coffee retail destination posted light earnings and gave a warning for the base case for its fiscal year of Sept-2009. Shares were down 13% at $22.00 right before the close.

Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) posted earnings at $0.81 EPS, well above the $0.73 EPS estimates. Unfortunately, the company said the current environment was going to put pressure on earnings ahead, and that somehow managed to surprise the investor community. Shares were down 13% at $22.01 right before the close.