S&P Analyst Stuart Plesser rates JPMORGAN CHASE a STRONG BUY:

a. The company agrees to buy back $3 billion worth of auction-rate-securities and pay a $25 million fine.

b. The purchase will not reduce capital or result in material losses.

c. 48 target price

S&P Analyst Stewart Scharf rates WASTE MANAGEMENT a BUY:

a. Republic Services rejects Waste Management’s sweetened buyout bid of $37 per share in cash (about $6.7 billion), saying that the new offer undervalues Republic and that it remains committed to its own acquisition of Allied Waste Industries (AW) .

b.  Waste Management will have to restructure its proposal to include stock in order to meet its financing requirements, while offering a substantial premium to its latest bid, for Republic to even consider negotiating for a possible business combination.

S&P Analyst Rafay Khalid Rates VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY a BUY:

a. Vishay proposes to acquire International Rectifier at $21.22 per share in cash, a total of $1.6 billion, subject to approvals.

b. The deal would be expensive if completed at the proposed price and we are concerned about financial and integration risk in the near term. However, the transaction would boost Vishay’s market share, eliminate a competitor, and we see long-term benefit to its margins.

c. 12-month $12 target price

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