MORNING COFFEE

Geithner To Remain As Treasury Sec. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said he will remain at his post for the "foreseeable future," after rumors circulated that he would be stepping down as soon as a new budget deal was reached.  Recent budget talks have broken down.  Any deal that raises the $14.3 trillion debt limit will have to be reached by July 22 to give enough time for legislators to draft a bill and get it through both houses before the Aug. 2 deadline.

Downgrades

General Mills (GIS): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 37.00 -0.22 (-0.59%)

The Advisory Board (ABCO): Deutsche Bank lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and placed a target price of $57.00 on the company. After Hours: 57.39 -0.49 (-0.85%)

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Apollo Group (APOL): FBR Capital reiterated their Market Perform rating and raised their target price from $45.00 to $47.00. Pre-market: 44.30 +0.62 (1.42%)

Earning Reports

Apollo Group (APOL): Reported FQ3 EPS of $1.51 beating estimates by +$0.18 on revenue of $1.23 billion, beating estimates by +$0.02 billion. Pre-market: 44.30 +0.62 (1.42%)

Darden Restaurants (DRI): Reported FQ4 EPS of $1.00 in-line on revenue of $1.99 billion, in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 49.44 -0.32 (-0.64%)

Smith & Wesson (SWHC): Reported EPS of -$0.02 missing estimates by -$0.06. After Hours: 3.10 +0.10 (3.33%)

·         Futures at 7:00: Dow +0.2%. S&P 0.0%. Nasdaq +0.2%. Crude -0.75% to $94.70. Gold -0.7% to $1492.

·         Europe: London +0.4%. Paris 0.0%. Frankfurt +0.1%.

·         Asia: Japan +0.5% to 9868. Hong Kong closed. China -0.1% to 2759. India -0.4% to 18763.