• Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) was added to Goldman Sach's (NYSE:GS) conviction buy list from a previous "neutral" rating, due to both the company's significant operating leverage as well as growing confidence in the PC upgrade cycle expected next year , with the additional opportunity of improved consumer sentiment

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) downgraded shares of IBM (NYSE:IBM) to "neutral" from "buy"

• Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ:INFY) beat estimates by 8 cents, posting fiscal first-quarter earnings of 55 cents a share as revenues fell 2.9% y/y to $1.12 billion.  The company expects second quarter earnings of 50 cents to 51 cents a share and full-year earnings of $1.97 to $2.00

• Barclays (NYSE:BCS) upgraded KLA Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC) shares to "overweight"

• General Motors (NASDAQ"GMGMQ) exits bankruptcy today

• Nissan Motor (NASDAQ:NSANY) CEO Ghosn warned 2010 is likely to prove "as difficult as 2009," with Europe expected among the slowest areas to recover worldwide

• Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) upgraded Western

American markets at a standstill… can the Far East drive stocks forward? … Chris Mayer on buying “what China needs, but can’t make for itself” … Dan Denning’s pair trade for the next decade … Bill Bonner and Goldman Sach’s CEO on the current “bull market” … Plus, a CEO pay debate fills our inbox… your letters and our response, below…

The Dow crashed 1.4 points yesterday, wiping out Monday’s 1.3 point moonshot. Desperate for something beyond these 0.014% “swings,” the market’s putting China in the driver’s seat today… and these guys still have quite a lead foot:

Chinese auto sales soared 34% in May, year over year. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the Red Nation scooped up 1.12 million vehicles last month, outpacing any nation in the world. Consider the course of the last 12 months,

J.P. Morgan Chase [JPM: 32.78, 0.00 (0.00%)] was a beacon of light that the government had been waiting for this quarter. It reaffirmed its strength as a financial institution by crushing analysts projections of 32 cents, posting earnings of 40 cents a share. This news highlights a week where the banking system may have finally pulled out of its dismal performances. Goldman Sach’s [GS: 120.90, 0.00 (0.00%)], Bank of America [BAC: 8.92, 0.00 (0.00%)] and Citigroup [C: 3.07, 0.00 (0.00%)] have also produced solid earnings. However, numerous questions have arisen to the strength of these companies’ earnings. J.P Morgan, however, is not stopping at just its latest filing, and has declared that it will repay its TARP money and avoid future government subsidies.

The Earnings

The returns produced by

Back on August 7th, perhaps in a bid to jump ahead of government officials and do things in a manner that would cost it the least, Merrill Lynch (MER) announced that starting in January 2009 and ending a year later, it would purchase at par, ARS that were purchased from the firm by its retail clients.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo promptly jumped on the firm, claiming that that was not good enough and this week, announced that if Merrill Lynch (MER) did not reach an agreement with his office by Thursday, he would sue the firm on Friday. On Thursday evening August 21st, Merrill Lynch (MER) announced that it had reached such a settlement.

It will now move the starting date of its repurchase of ARS from its retail clients up to October 1, 2008 and a start date of January 2, 2008 from other eligible parties. It will