• Bank of America/Merrill (NYSE:BAC) downgraded a number of semiconductor companies, expecting a modest inventory correction, even as economies improve and demand for electronics rises.  Four shares were downgraded to neutral, including Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), Marvel Technology Group (NASDAQ:MRVL) and LSI Corp (NYSE:LSI).  The form lowered Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ:MXIM), National Semiconductor (NYSE:NSM), Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI) and Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) to underperform

• Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) rose 10.6% yesterday. The firm announced a private debt offering of $500 million of senior notes. This morning's news saw FBR Research raising its price target to $9 from $8, while maintaining a "market perform" opinion

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated its "buy" rating on CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS), saying the shares are cheap at current levels.  The firm said at $30, CVS is selling at just 10.6 times 2010 estimates, below a two year, 14x average, with long-term growth of 13% anticipated

• Reports

...

Two seemingly unlikely candidates are sitting near the top of the Zacks Industry Rank List: Furniture and Retail-Home Furnishings.

Given the macroeconomic environment, it would be reasonable to assume that people are not spending on furniture. The numbers support this assessment. La-Z-Boy (LZB) recently reported an 18.3% drop in quarterly net sales. Ethan Allen (ETH) experienced a 41% drop.

Yet, several analysts have recently raised their fiscal 2010 profit forecasts on both companies.

The Worst May Be Over

Though the furniture industry is certainly not healthy right now, there are signs that the worst of the storm may have passed.

Bottom-line results for both companies surpassed expectations. ETH's positive surprise was its first in 4 quarters. The company lost 23 cents per share, 2 cents less than analysts had feared. LZB earned 5 cents per share, its second consecutive positive surprise.

The housing industry is moving

...

• Toyota (NYSE:TM) cut output with a halt to a Japanese production line, saying, "Though sales in some countries have been picking up, the outlook for global car demand is still uncertain"

• Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) reported a surprise second quarter earnings of 5 cents a share ex-items, versus Zacks projections of a 9 cents a share loss as revenues beat estimates at $672 million, ahead of expectations of $659 million.  The company expects 2009 sales of $2.84 to $2.94 billion

• JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) analysts initiated coverage of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $19

• Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) began coverage of Visa (NYSE:V) and MasterCard (NYSE:MA) with "buy" ratings    • Sony (NYSE:SNE) announced its e-reader, the Sony Reader Daily Edition, priced at $399, $100 more than Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle's entry-level version. A December launch is planned

Zacks Investment Research

It ain't easy being a retailer right now; it's even harder being a high-end retailer. Therefore, these difficult circumstances make Williams-Sonoma, Inc.'s (WSM) fiscal second quarter report - which included a surprise profit and a raised guidance - all the more noteworthy.

< ?DART(15);?> Shares are up approximately 12% on Wednesday, which easily makes the company a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank. Volume has soared to nearly 7 million shares, substantially higher than the daily average of 1.8 million.

WSM is a nationwide specialty retailer of high quality products for the home. These products are represented by 6 distinct merchandise strategies: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma Home.

Fiscal Second Quarter

WSM, which is the only representative from the retail-home furnishings industry on today's Zacks #1 Rank List, announced adjusted fiscal second-quarter earnings per share of 5 cents

...

Dell (DELL) will release its results on Thursday, after the close, as second-quarter earnings season nears an end. The technology company is projected to have earned 23 cents per share.

Joining Dell will be fellow S&P 500 members Big Lots (BIG), Medtronic (MDT), Novell (NOVL), Staples (SPLS) and Tiffany & Co. (TIF). A total of 76 companies are confirmed to release results.

Given the surprisingly strong July existing home sales report, all eyes will be on Wednesday's new home sales report. Specifically, economists will want to see that new home sales also rose for a fourth consecutive month.

Tuesday: August Conference Board consumer confidence, June S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Wednesday: July durable goods orders, July new home sales, weekly crude inventories Thursday: Preliminary second-quarter GDP, weekly initial jobless claims Friday: July personal income and spending, revised August University of Michigan consumer confidence

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President

...

Recommended Investment Books: Nine Invaluable Resources For Every Investor

by Marc Lichtenfeld, Advisory Panelist

Heaven help me… Mrs. L is on a mission.

My house has been turned upside-down, as she prepares to redecorate several rooms. Fortunately for the household, my input is neither required, nor requested.

Undeterred by the recession, the missus has made Pottery Barn her second home. And look for Williams Sonoma’s (NYSE: WSM) earnings to cruise higher next quarter, thanks to her spending there.

Trouble is, when I return home from work, the items I expect to find in their regular spots are gone, replaced by new stuff.

Yesterday, I found my books lined up in the hallway and was asked to donate the ones I don’t want anymore. However, a good chunk of my library consists of investing books, which I like to

...

* Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) announced plans to offer 40 million common shares with the option for an additional 6 million shares

* China's Tengzhong and General Motors (OTC:GMGMQ) affirmed talks regarding sale of the Hummer brand

* Aetna (NYSE:AET) lowered its 2009 earnings forecast, citing higher medical costs from its commercial plans and lower-than-estimated revenues from its Medicare business. The firm dropped its 2009 operating earnings guidance to $3.55 to $3.70 a share, from its prior view of $3.85 to $3.95 a share.

* Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) reported a fiscal first quarter loss of 14 cents per share, beating estimates by 7 cents a share, as revenues plunged 21.7% year-over-year to $612 million. The firm issued inline revenue guidance of $2.81 billion to $2.93 billion, versus the Street estimates of $2.87 billion

* Joy Global (NASDAQ:JOYG) reported fiscal second quarter earnings of $1.17 per share, beating estimates by 28 cents, as revenues jumped 9.6% year-over-year

...

Ciena (

...

div style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)/span is getting two downgrades today:br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"- Merrill Lynch/BAM /spanis downgrading WSM to Neutral from Buy with a $13 tgt noting that while WSM’s LT viability and strong brand identity remain intact the shares up substantially since December as a result of the realization of numerous factors, which are reflected in today's share price, the current risk/reward ratio is not as compelling. The balance sheet has strengthened, cash flows have improved, the dividend is intact, bank agreements have been renegotiated, inventory levels significantly reduced, capex reduced to a minimum, comps sequentially improved from Oct 2008 lows.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"- Sanford Bernstein/span is out with a U.S. Retail downgrade taking their rating down on WSM, HD and LOW (from OP to MP).br /br /Early cycle retail call is rapidly running its course, leading them to shift their overweight sectorbr /positioning to a ...

People of good intentions and progressive predilection are scratching their heads wondering just how President Barack Obama managed to turn himself into George W. Bush Lite with sugar-on-top just twelve weeks after that fateful walk down the US Capitol’s east stairway to the waiting helicopter. I’m hardly the first observer to note that Mr. Obama’s actions in the face of an epochal finance fiasco and economic collapse are a mere extension of the pre-January-20 policies, carried out by much the same cast of characters.

The assumption up until now was something about the reassuring value of continuity — if we could just prop up an ailing set of banks for a little while, the US public could resume a revolving credit way-of-life within an economy dedicated to building more suburban houses and selling all the needed accessories from supersized “family” cars to cappuccino machines. This would keep everyone employed at the

...