MORNING COFFEE

Brent Oil Prices Fall. Brent crude oil prices fell after Libyan rebels moved into Tripoli.  The fighting continues but forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi's control very little of the city.  There are reports of mass defections from the Army with soldiers leaving their uniforms in the street in an attempt to blend in with the rebels.  There are also reports that both of Gaddafi’s sons have been captured by the rebels but there is no word on Muammar Gaddafi’s whereabouts.  Brent crude was -1.8% at $106.71 midday in Europe, but Nymex recovered from earlier losses and was +1.3% at $83.36 due to a weaker dollar.

Upgrades

SunPower (SPWRA): Auriga raised their rating from Sell to Hold and placed a target price of $14.00 on the company.

Under Armor (UA): Capstone raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $67.00 on the company.

Alcoa (AA): Davenport raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $18.00 on the company. Pre-market: 11.65 +0.44 (3.93%)

Downgrades

News Corp (NWSA): Needham lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 15.50 -0.06 (-0.39%)

Microsoft (MSFT): Davenport lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 24.34 +0.29 (1.21%)

Eaton Co (ETN): Atlantic Equities lowered their rating from Neutral to Underweight. Pre-market: 38.56 +0.66 (1.74%)

Ingersoll-Rand (IR): Atlantic Equities lowered their rating from Neutral to Underweight.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Exxon Mobil (XOM): The Benchmark Company reiterated their Sell rating and lowered their target price from $74.00 to $64.00. Pre-market: 71.16 +1.36 (1.95%)

Markets

Futures at 7:58: Dow +1.38%. S&P +1.57%. Nasdaq +1.73%. Crude +1.3% to $83.36. Gold +1.6% to $1871.60.

 
Europe: London +1.88%. Paris +2.5%. Frankfurt +1.56%. 

Asia: Japan -1.04% to 8628. Hong Kong +0.45% to 19487. China -0.73% to 2516. India +1.24% to 16342.