MORNING COFFEE

Bernake Says No To Inflation. Fed Chairman Bernanke in a speech to the National Press Club said stronger hiring is needed for the economic recovery to be truly “established.” He noted that he is optimistic as the economy gradually rebounds and consumer spending remains “broad-based.” Despite recent price increases in gasoline and food, overall inflation remains close to 1.2%.  He also rejected of claims by China and other developing countries that U.S. policies are driving up global prices, saying that it's "really up to emerging markets to find appropriate tools to balance their own growth."

JPMorgan Chase Warned About Madoff. Court documents from a lawsuit filed by Bernie Madoff trustee Irving Picard show that JPMorgan Chase (JPM) bank executives were highly suspicious of Madoff’s accounts as over 18 months before the Ponzi scheme collapse. Although the executives were very suspicious they failed to alert regulators as to their suspicions. The court documents also detail how the JPMorgan earned hundreds of millions of dollars from its relationship with Madoff's firm.

Upgrades

Tiffany & Co (TIF): Oppenheimer raised their rating from Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $64.00 to $72.00.

Downgrades

First Solar (FSLR): Kaufman Bros lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and maintained their target price of $165.00 on the company.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Coinstar (CSTR): The Benchmark Company reiterated their Buy rating and lowered their target price from $70.00 to $60.00.

Starwood Hotels (HOT): FBR Capital reiterated their Market Perform rating and raised their target price from $57.00 to $63.00.

Noble Energy (NBL): Wunderlich reiterated their Buy rating and raised their target price from $101.00 to $126.00.

Earning Reports

Aetna (AET): Reported Q4 EPS of $0.63 beating estimates by +$0.01 on revenue of $8.51 billion, down -2.1%.

AmerisourceBergen (ABC): Reported FQ1 EPS of $0.57 beating estimates by +$0.03 on revenue of $19.89 billion, up +2.9%.

Constellation Energy Group (CEG): Reported Q4 EPS of $0.42 missing estimates by -$0.17 on revenue of $3.47 billion, up +2.1%.

Coinstar (CSTR): Reported Q4 EPS of $0.68 in-line on revenue of $391 million, up +31%. Shares -10.3% after hours.

JDS Uniphase (JDSU): Reported FQ2 EPS of $0.29 beating estimates by +$0.10 on revenue of $477 million, up +16%. Shares +11.2% after hours.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Reported Q4 EPS of $0.42 beating estimates by +$0.03 on revenue of $2 billion, up+57%. Shares -5.6% after hours.

·         Futures at 7:00: Dow +0.1%. S&P 0.0%. Nasdaq 0.0%. Crude +0.1% to $90.67. Gold -0.2% to $1349.90.

·         Europe: London +0.3%. Paris +0.4%. Frankfurt +0.3%.

·         Asia: Japan +1.1% to 10544. Hong Kong closed. China closed. India -2.4% to 18008.