MORNING COFFEE

Italians Bond Yields Fall. Italian bond yields have fallen to 6.16% after the government announced a €30B ($40.3B) austerity package.  The package contains a 

mix of tax hikes and spending cuts. The plan also contains steps to fight tax evasion, including a ban on cash transactions of above €1,000. Elsewhere in Europe, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel will meet for lunch in Paris today in an attempt to work out their differences on closer fiscal integration ahead of an EU summit on Friday. The German government wants increased power to police the budgets of the debtor states.

Upgrades

TE Connectivity (TEL): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $35.00 to $39.00.

Western Digital (WDC): Craig-Hallum raised their rating from Hold to Buy and raised their target price from $29.00 to $35.00. Pre-market: 32.15 +0.71 ( 2.26%)

Time Warner Cable (TWC): Stifel Nicolaus  raised their rating from raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $80.00 on the company. 

Pre-market: 64.63 +0.83 (1.30%)

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA): Stifel Nicolaus  raised their rating from raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $32.00 on the company. 

Pre-market: 23.92 +0.56 (2.40%)

Dole Foods (DOLE): Wells Fargo raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a price range of $11.00 to $12.00 on the company.

International Game Tech (IGT): Roth Capital raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $19.00 to $21.00.

Downgrades

Valero Energy (VLO): The Benchmark Company lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and placed a target price of $23.00 on the company. Pre-market: 22.95 +0.39 (1.73%)

Nike (NKE): McAdams Wright Ragen lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 97.00 +0.75 (0.78%)

Molex (MOLX): Goldman Sachs lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and lowered their target price from $25.00 to $24.00.

Earning Reports

Dollar General (DG): Reported EPS of $0.50 beating estimates by +$0.03. Pre-market: 40.45 +0.51 (1.28%)

Markets: 

Futures at 8:33: Dow +1.08%. S&P +1.32%. Nasdaq +1.23%. Crude +0.87% to $101.84. Gold -0.77% to $1737.80.

Europe: London +0.87%. Paris +1.52%. Frankfurt +1.11%. 

Asia: Japan +0.60% to 8696. Hong Kong +0.73% to 19180. China -1.16% to 2333. India -0.25% to 16805.