MORNING COFFEE

Warren Buffett Says Japan Is Buying Opportunity.  Warren Buffett has often said “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful,” and in so many word said it again.  The investing guru while speaking in South Korea commented on the current situation in Japan saying that “Frequently, something out of the blue like this, an extraordinary event, really creates a buying opportunity. I have seen that happen in the United States, I have seen that happen around the world. I don’t think Japan will be an exception.”  He also said that “It will take some time to rebuild, but it will not change the economic future of Japan.”

Upgrades

TCF Financial (TCB): Stifel Nicolaus raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $18.00 on the company.

Nu Skin (NUS): Stifel Nicolaus raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $35.00 on the company.

Coverage Initiated

Archer-Daniels (ADM): Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage with a Buy rating and placed a target price of $44.00 on the company.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Yahoo! (YHOO): The Benchmark Company reiterated their Hold rating and raised their target price from $16.00 to $18.00.

Earning Reports

Dollar General (DG): Reported Q4 EPS of $0.65 beating estimates by +$0.06 on revenue of $3.49 billion, in-line with estimates. The company also issued upside guidance, saying it sees FY'12 EPS of $2.20-2.30, revenue growth Y/Y of 12-13% and will open 625 new stores in 2011.

Express (EXPR): Reported EPS of $0.55 beating estimates by +$0.06.

Walgreens (WAG): Reported EPS of $0.80 in-line with estimates.

·         Futures at 7:00: Dow 0.0%. S&P -0.1%. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude -0.3% to $102.03. Gold -0.1% to $1425.40.

·         Europe: London +0.0%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt -0.2%.

·         Asia: Japan +4.4% to 9608. Hong Kong +0.8% to 22858. China +0.3% to 2919. India +0.8% to 17988.