Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Summers Taps Out of Fed Chair Job. Reports say that Larry Summers has officially taped out for consideration as the next Fed Chairman, saying that "any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious." Both Democrats and Republican were expected to object to his nomination to replace Ben Bernanke. The top remaining contenders for the position are Janet Yellen, who would be the first woman Fed Chairman and Don Kohn.

Upgrades:

AstraZeneca (AZN): Nordea raised their rating from Sell to Buy. Pre-market: 51.88 +1.23 (2.43%)

Barclays (BCS): Nomura raised their rating from Reduce to Buy. Pre-market: 19.50 +0.28 (1.46%)

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY): JPMorgan raised their rating from Neutral to Overweight and raised their target price from $50.00 to $52.00. Pre-market: 44.41 +0.85 (1.95%)

Dominion Resources (D): ISI Group raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price to$66.00.

Express (EXPR): The ResearchTeam raised their rating from Hold to Accumulate.

Intel (INTC): The ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold. Pre-market: 23.62 +0.18 (0.77%)

Mosaic (MOS): The ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold. Pre-market: 46.62 +0.63 (1.37%)

Synaptics (SYNA): The ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold. Pre-market: 64.26 +0.72 (1.13%)

Teleflex (TFX): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform.

Western Union (WU): Sterne Agee raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $22.00 on the company. Pre-market: 18.87 +0.46 (2.50%)

Downgrades:

Las Vegas Sands (LVS): ISI Group lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and placed a target price of $61.00 on the company.

Under Armour (UA): Susquehanna lowered their rating from Positive to Neutral and maintained a target price of $77.00 on the company. Pre-market: 78.25 -0.25 (-0.32%)

Wynn Resorts (WYNN): ISI Group lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and placed a target price of $149.00 on the company. Pre-market: 151.14 +0.79 (0.53%)

Markets: 

Futures at 6:20: Dow +1.1%. S&P +1.1%. Nasdaq +1%. Crude -1.3% to $106.84. Gold +0.45% to $1314.50.  U.S. 10 Year +22/32 2.805%.

Europe: London +0.89%. Paris +0.98%. Frankfurt +1.29%. 

Asia: Japan closed. Hong Kong +1.47% to 23252. China -0.22% to 2231. India +0.05% to 19742. 

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

World Markets Fall on Fed Comment. World markets are selling off after Ben Bernanke yesterday signaled that the Fed may soon stop trying to prop up the U.S. economy by printing money. Additionally, he said that the bond buying program could end by mid-2014. Some economists and traders have fear that the economy is not strong enough and needs the Fed’s stimulation to prevent another recession. They point to the weak GDP and job numbers as their evidence. U.S. futures are lower with government bond yields spiking, while gold had plunged -5.22% to $1302.40 hitting a 2 1/2 year low.

Upgrades: 

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): UBS raised their rating from Sell to Neutral. Pre-market: 2.02 +0.09 (4.66%)

Hewlett-Packard (HQP): Wells Fargo raised Market Perform to Outperform and raised their target range from $23.00 - $25.00 to $30.00 - $32.00. Pre-market: 25.50 +0.07 (0.28%)

Plum Creek Timber (PCL): DA Davidson raised their rating from Underperform to Neutral. Pre-market: 45.15 -0.08 (-0.18%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $84.00 on the company. Pre-market: 74.65 +0.19 (0.26%)

Weyerhaeuser (WY): BMO Capital raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $33.00 on the company. Pre-market: 27.31 0.00 (0.00%)

Downgrades:

FedEx (FDX): JPMorgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered their target price from $116.00 to $108.00. Pre-market: 98.50 -2.04 (-2.03%)

FedEx (FDX): Morgan Stanley lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight. Pre-market: 98.50 -2.04 (-2.03%)

Newmont Mining (NEM): Cowen lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral. Pre-market: 30.95 -0.95 (-2.98%)

Sprint Nextel (S): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 6.97 -0.03 (-0.43%)

Walt Disney (DIS): Goldman Sachs lowered their rating from Conviction Buy to Neutral and placed a target price of $70.00 on the company. Pre-market: 63.29 -1.04 (-1.62%)

Coverage Initiated:

Owens Corning (OC): Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $50.00.           

Earning Reports:

Jabil Circuit (JBL): Reported EPS of $0.56 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 19.00 -0.82 (-4.14%)

Micron (MU): Reported EPS of $0.04 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 13.66 -0.31 (-2.22%)

Pier 1 (PIR): Reported EPS of $0.19 in-line with estimates. After Hours: 24.55 +0.56 (2.33%)

Red Hat (RHT): Reported EPS of $0.32 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 47.78 +1.56 (3.38%)

Rite Aid (RAD): Reported EPS of $0.09 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 3.05 -0.06 (-1.93%)

Markets: 
Futures at 7:25: Dow -0.57%. S&P -0.78%. Nasdaq -0.84%. Crude -1.53% to $96.74. Gold -5.22% to $1302.40.

Europe: London -2.26%. Paris -2.51%. Frankfurt -2.49%. 

Asia: Japan -1.74% to 13015. Hong Kong -2.88% to 20383. China -2.77% to 2084. India -2.74% to 18719.