MORNING COFFEE

Federal Reserve Policy Criticized Internationally. Over the weekend Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had to defend the Federal Reserve’s policies against criticism that the policies were hurting economic growth in developing countries. Officials from some developing countries say that the policies, including quantitative easing are distorting currency markets and capital flows in emerging economies. China has voiced specific concern about the Feds policies creating asset bubbles, currency appreciation and inflation. Brazil’s finance minister Guido Mantega has called the policies a "monetary tsunami." Defending the Feds policy in a speech Ben Bernanke said "Monetary easing that supports the recovery in the advanced economies should stimulate trade and boost growth in emerging market economies as well."

Softbank to Buy Sprint Nextel. The Japanese telecom company Softbank (SFTBY) has agreed to pay $20.1 billion to acquire a 70% of Sprint Nextel (S).  The deal will create the world’s third-largest mobile phone operator. Additionally, the deal will be the largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Japanese company.  The deal comes just two weeks after T-Mobile which is owned by Deutsche Telekom announced plans to purchase MetroPCS. Pre-market: 6.20 +0.47 (8.20%)

Upgrades

Alliant Tech (ATK): FBR Capital raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $65.00 on the company.

Sprint Nextel (S): Jefferies raised their rating from Underperform to Hold and raised their target price from $3.00 to $7.00. Pre-market: 6.20 +0.47 (8.20%)

Credit Suisse (CS): BNP Paribas raised their rating from Underperform to Neutral.

Clearwire (CLWR): Macquarie raised their rating from Underperform to Neutral and placed a target price of $2.75 on the company. Pre-market: 2.49 +0.17 (7.33%)

Louisiana-Pacific (LPX): RBC Capital raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $13.00 to $16.00.

Weyerhaeuser (WY): RBC Capital raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $23.00 to $30.00. Pre-market: 26.28 +0.02 (0.08%)

Downgrades

Travelzoo (TZOO): Ascendiant Capital Markets lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and lowered their target price from $27.00 to $21.00.

Progressive (PGR): Citigroup lowered their rating from Neutral to Sell and lowered their target price from $22.00 to $19.00.

BMC Software (BMC): Raymond James lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform.

Hasbro (HAS): Goldman Sachs lowered their rating from Neutral to Sell and lowered their target price from $34.00 to $32.00.

Earning Reports

Companies to report today include:

Charles Schwab (SCHW): Analysts consensus is for the company to report EPS of $0.17 versus $0.18 a year-ago.

Citigroup (C): Analysts consensus is for the company to report EPS of $0.99 versus $0.84 a year-ago. Pre-market: 34.90 +0.15 (0.43%)

Gannett (GCI): Analysts consensus is for the company to report EPS of $0.53 versus $0.44 a year-ago.

Markets: 
Futures at 5:05: Dow +0.28%. S&P +0.41%. Nasdaq +0.57%. Crude -0.26% to $91.62. Gold -0.70% to $1747.70.

Europe: London +0.52%. Paris +1.27%. Frankfurt +0.86%. 

Asia: Japan +0.51%. Hong Kong +0.06%. China -0.30%. India +0.23%.