U.S. ANALYST RATINGS: Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations

UPGRADES:
  * Citigroup (C) to outperform: Keefe Bruyette
  * Cisco (CSCO) to buy: MKM Partners
  * Kinross Gold (KGC) to outperform: RBC Capital
  * Kilroy Realty (KRC) to hold: Cantor
  * Lennar (LEN) to neutral: Citigroup
  * Liberty Media (LMCA) to buy: Citigroup
  * Methanex (MEOH) to outperform: Raymond James
  * Mercer (MERC) to buy: TD Securities
  * Microchip Technology (MCHP) to buy: ThinkEquity
  * On Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy: ThinkEquity
  * PNC Financial (PNC) to buy: Deutsche Bank
  * Tornier (TRNX) to outperform: BMO Capital
  * Westport Innovations (WPRT) to sector outperformer: CIBC
  * Zoltek (ZOLT) to buy: Needham


DOWNGRADES:
  * Allegheny Technologies (ATI) to neutral: Cowen
  * Agrium (AGU) to hold: TD Securities
  * BB&T (BBT) to hold: Deutsche Bank
  * Brooks Automation (BRKS) to underweight:  Barclays
  * Baidu (BIDU) to outperform: Raymond James
  * Barclays (BCS) to neutral: UBS
  * Basic Energy (BAS) to accumulate: Tudor Pickering
  * Core Labs (CLB) to accumulate: Tudor Pickering
  * Formfactor (FORM) to underweight: Barclays
  * Fifth Third (FITB) to market perform: Wells Fargo
  * Goldcorp (GG) to hold: Deutsche Bank
  * Healthcare Services Group (HCSG) to hold: Benchmark Co.
  * Idex (IEX) to perform: Oppenheimer
  * KB Home (KBH) to sell: Citigroup
  * MK Instruments (MKSI) to underweight: Barclays
  * Old Dominion Freight (ODFL) to sector perform: RBC Capital
  * Parkway Properties (PKY) to hold: Cantor
  * RenaissanceRe (RNR) to neutral: Goldman Sachs
  * Radisys (RSYS) to neutral: D.A. Davidson
  * ServiceNow (NOW) to sell: UBS
  * Starwood Hotels (HOT) to outperform: Raymond James
  * Thor Industries (THO) to neutral: Robert Baird
  * Telefonica (TEF) to sell: Espirito Santo
  * Wells Fargo (WFC) to hold: Deutsche Bank
  * Winnebago (WGO) to neutral: Robert Baird
  * Whiting Petroleum (WLL) to neutral: SunTrust Robinson
  * WR Berkley (WRB) to sell: Goldman Sachs
  * XL Group (XL) to neutral: Goldman Sachs


INITIATIONS:
  * Aruba Networks (ARUN) outperform: Wells Fargo
  * API Technologies (ATNY) buy: C.K. Cooper
  * American Express (AXP) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * Bank of America (BAC) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * BB&T (BBT) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * Citigroup (C) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * Capital One Financial (COF) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * CIT Group (CIT) hold: Drexel Hamilton
  * Cepheid (CPHD) outperform: Cowen
  * Caesars Entertainment (CZR) sell: ISI Group
  * Dresser-Rand (DRC) buy: Natixis
  * Genomic Health (GHDX) neutral: Cowen
  * Hologic (HOLX) outperform: Cowen
  * HSN Inc. (HSNI) hold: Topeka Capital
  * Hillshire Brands (HSH) market perform: Wells Fargo
  * Humana (HUM) outperform: Raymond James
  * JPMorgan (JPM) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * Kraft Foods (KRFT) equalweight: Morgan Stanley
  * Kraft Foods (KRFT) buy: Jefferies
  * Kraft Foods (KRFT) buy: UBS
  * Kraft Foods (KRFT) buy: Stifel Nicolaus
  * Kraft Foods (KRFT) neutral: Citigroup
  * Kraft Foods (KRFT) outperform: RBC Capital
  * Kraft Foods (KRFT) outperform: Credit Suisse
  * Kraft Foods (KRFT) outperform: BMO Capital
  * Las Vegas Sands (LVS) hold: ISI Group
  * Liberty Interactive (LINTA) buy: Topeka Capital
  * Morgan Stanley (MS) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) outperform: COwen
  * Mead Johnson (MJN) outperform: Wells Fargo
  * Mondelez Intl (MDLZ) buy: BofA Merrill
  * Mondelez Intl (MDLZ) overweight: Barclays
  * Mondelez Intl (MDLZ) buy: Citigroup
  * Mondelez Intl (MDLZ) buy: Stifel Nicolaus
  * Mondelez Intl (MDLZ) outperform: RBC Capital
  * Mondelez Intl (MDLZ) market perform: BMO Capital
  * MYR Group (MYRG) buy: D.A. Davidson
  * MGM Resorts (MGM) hold: ISI Group
  * New York Community Bancorp (NYB) hold: Drexel Hamilton
  * Orasure (OSUR) neutral: Cowen
  * PerkinElmer (PKI) neutral: Cowen
  * Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) hold: ISI Group
  * Penn National (PENN) hold: ISI Group
  * PNC Financial (PNC) hold: Drexel Hamilton
  * Palo Alto Networks (PANW) market outperform: JMP Securities
  * Quidel (QDEL) neutral: Cowen
  * Regions Financial (RF) hold: Drexel Hamilton
  * Radware (RDWR) market perform: Wells Fargo
  * Sparks Networks (LOV) buy: Canaccord Genuity
  * Synovus Financial (SNV) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * SunTrust Banks (STI) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * Tyler Technologies (TYL) buy: ThinkEquity
  * U.S. Bancorp (USB) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * Wells Fargo (WFC) buy: Drexel Hamilton
  * Wynn Resorts (WYNN) buy: ISI Group
  * Yandkin Valley (YAVY) to hold: Stifel Nicolaus

U.S. ANALYST RATINGS: Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations

UPGRADES:
  * Atwood Oceanics (ATW) to buy: Guggenheim Partners
  * Research in Motion (RIMM) to sector perform: ScotiaBank
  * Syngenta (SYT) to overweight: HSBC


DOWNGRADES:
  * Axis Capital (AXS) to equalweight: Evercore Partners
  * ArcelorMittal (MT) to neutral: Macquarie
  * Box Ships (TEU) to equalweight: Morgan Stanley
  * Dresser-Rand (DRC) to accumulate: Tudor Pickering
  * FMC Corp. (FMC) to neutral: BofA Merrill
  * McDonald’s (MCD) to neutral: Janney Capital
  * PartnerRE (PRE) To equalweight: Evercore Partners
  * United Technologies (UTX) to perform: Oppenheimer


INITIATIONS:
  * AIG (AIG) neutral: Janney
  * American International Group (AIG) neutral: Janney Capital
  * ASM International (ASMI) neutral: Natixis
  * Atlas Pipeline (APL) overweight: Stephens
  * Ares Capital (ARCC) market perform: Raymond James
  * American Financial Group (AFG) buy: Janney Capital
  * American Capital mortgage (MTGE) market outperform: JMP Securities
  * Avago Technologies (AVGO) buy: Brean Murray
  * Broadcom (BRCM) buy: Brean Murray
  * BPZ Resources (BPZ) buy: Miller Tabak
  * Builders Firstsource (BLDR) buy: Williams Financial
  * Cameron Intl (CAM) buy: Lazard Capital
  * Copano Energy (CPNO) equalweight: Stephens
  * Dynegy (DYNIQ) equalweight: Barclays
  * Devon Energy (DVN) outperform: Credit Suisse
  * Denbury Resources (DNR) neutral: Credit Suisse
  * Embraer (ERJ) neutral: BB&T Capital
  * EZChip Semi (EZCH) hold: Brean Murray
  * FMC Technologies (FTI) buy: Lazard Capital
  * HCC Insurance (HCC) buy: Janney Capital
  * Halcon Resources (HK) buy: Canaccord Genuity
  * Marvell Technology (MRVL) hold: Brean Murray
  * Montpelier (MRH) neutral: Janney Capital
  * Markwest Energy (MWE) overweight: Stephens
  * Nvidia (NVDA) hold: Brean Murray
  * Omnicom (OMC) equalweight: Evercore Partners
  * PMC-Sierra (PMCS) hold: Brean Murray
  * Plains Exploration (PXP) neutral: Credit Suisse
  * Plains All American (PAA) equalweight: Stephens
  * Pfizer (PFE) outperform: BMO Capital
  * Qualcomm (QCOM) buy: Brean Murray
  * RF Micro Devives (RFMD) buy: Brean Murray
  * Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) buy: Brean Murray
  * Triquint (TQNT) hold: Brean Murray
  * Varian Medical (VAR) outperform: CLSA
  * Validus (VR) neutral: Janney Capital

U.S. ANALYST RATINGS: Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations

UPGRADES:
  * Amgen (AMGN) buy: Brean Murray
  * CBOE Holdings (CBOE) to outperform: Raymond James
  * Dean Foods (DF) to outperform: BMO Capital
  * Goodyear (GT) to buy: Goldman Sachs
  * Jazz Pharma (JAZZ) buy: Brean Murray
  * Merrimack Pharma (MACK) buy: Brean Murray
  * Monsanto (MON) to outperform: Wells Fargo
  * Maxim Integrated (MXIM) to buy: Jefferies


DOWNGRADES:
  * AU Optronics (AUO) to reduce: Fubon Securities
  * Acuity Brands (AYI) to neutral: Piper Jaffray
  * Alcoa (AA) to hold: Dahlman Rose
  * Altera (ALTR) to hold: Jefferies
  * ArcelorMittal (MT) to sell: Goldman Sachs
  * Carnival (CCL) to hold: Oriel
  * Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) to underperform: Jefferies
  * Northwestern (NWE) to hold: KeyBanc
  * Telefonica (TEF) to sell: Berenberg
  * TripAdvisor (TRIP) to sector perform: RBC Capital
  * 7 Days Group (SVN) to neutral: Roth Capital


INITIATIONS:
  * Actuate (BIRT) outperform: FBN Securities
  * Allstate (ALL) neutral: SunTrust Robinson
  * Akorn (AKRX) outperform: Leerink Swann
  * Astronics Corp. (ATRO) buy: Topeka Capital
  * CME Group (CME) sell: Berenberg
  * Cooper Tire (CTB) neutral: Goldman Sachs
  * Demandware (DWRE) neutral: Lazard Capital
  * Esterline Tech (ESL) buy: Topeka Capital
  * Freescale Semiconductor (FSL) buy: Needham
  * General Motors (GM) hold: Stifel Nicolaus
  * Halozyme (HALO) neutral: UBS
  * Informatica (INFA) outperform: FBN Securities
  * IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) buy: Berenberg
  * Immunogen (IMGN) sell: UBS
  * Jazz Pharma (JAZZ) buy: Brean Murray
  * Kaman Corp. (KAMN) hold: Topeka Capital
  * Merrimack Pharma (MACK) buy: Brean Murray
  * Nasdaq (NDAQ) buy: Berenberg
  * NYSE Euronext (NYX) hold: Berenberg
  * Pacific Drilling (PACD) buy: Dahlman Rose
  * Qlik Technologies (QLIK) sector perform: FBN Securities
  * Safeguard Scientifics (SFE) buy: Ascendiant Capital
  * Spirit Aerosystems (SPR) buy: Topeka Capital
  * Splunk (SPLK) outperform: FBN Securities
  * Teradata (TDC) outperform: FBN Securities
  * Tibco Software (TIBX) outperform: Topeka Capital
  * Transdigm (TDG) hold: Topeka Capital
  * Tyler Technologies (TYL) outperform: Northland
  * Validus (VR) outperform: Credit Suisse

Catalunya Wants to Exercise Right to Self-Determination

As if Spain didn't have enough problems, now Catalunya is putting to a vote their desire to remain under Spain's sovereignty.

Link

Artur Mas: "It's time to exercise the right to self-determination"

After almost half an hour of speech, the president of the Generalitat, Artur Mas , has called for early elections and has called on the Catalans to decide on the future of Catalonia them to decide between continuity or "the right to self-determination " , which has become the election date of November 25 in plebiscitary elections but more wanted to go beyond stating that the election will go to a desire to lead the process of self-determination.

But the president has brushed the epic when unveiled its intention not to stand again "once Catalunya has decided its national goal", which has sought to foreclose any allegation or suspicion of partisanship on the will to perpetuate power: "The elections are almost always a stage that feeds partisan confrontation, but our times demand a high sense of status and high levels of personal sacrifice." So, "I have reflected deeply on the meaning of a country that touches me so, once Catalunya has decided its national goal I will not submit and hope and wish that occur in a legislature, not better than two."

The composition of the second season have come long speech more emotional words and the clearest reasons for moving up the elections. In the last minute the podium, Mas pointed out that in the inaugural address spoke of " unlimited national transition "because his thesis" was and is "that," in the same way that Spain made ​​the transition to democracy, Catalunya should do to the right to self-determination, "he explained. 

According to the head of the Catalan, "a process of self-determination requires a special force that only the people can give, "he invited, after which he assured that the task force, which could well be a majority," do not ask convenience to me or my party, because these elections are held for a leader is to perpetuate, but to the people to decide what you want your future as a nation, "he explained.

Artur Mas said that "the Parliament that emerges from the elections, likely will face the most difficult task of the last 300 years", but "everyone knows that there will be a before and after the demonstration of National Day" . In any case, the president believes that the elections, the Catalans and Catalan leaders have the opportunity to know if those who did not attend the march Setembre 11 "are all against the national transition", as noted in the most reluctant to independence . 

For the president, "the road is full of obstacles" and evisado that "there will slurs, accusations and insults of all kinds", but as said a few days ago in another speech, "nothing will be easy but anything is possible."

But also recalled the process that has led to this process Catalunya, with recent onset in the judgment of the statute, where  the old demons born of anti-Catalanism " . has acknowledged that President Rajoy will lead the Congress proposed fiscal pact that presented on 20 September at the Moncloa, but the Catalan leader rejected the possibility of the impossibility of its success and to avoid further humiliation, such as trimming statute voted by the people of Catalunya. way, "now is not Congress who vote, but the people of Catalunya "has ruled.

The president has also warned of possible attacks that can receive Catalunya during the electoral process is now open. So has warned that it would be an aberration marginalize Catalan depending on their place of birth, or attack the Catalan language, because "the Castilian heritage of Catalonia is also, as is the Catalan to the rest of Spain "

U.S. ANALYST RATINGS: Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations

UPGRADES:
  * Pacific Premier Bancorp (PPBI) to strong buy: Raymond James
  * Randgold Resources (GOLD) to overweight: Morgan Stanley
  * Transocean (RG) to neutral: Goldman Sachs


DOWNGRADES:
  * Bristow (BRS) to sell: Goldman Sachs
  * China Telecom (CHA) to neutral: Credit Suisse
  * Carnival (CCL) to hold: Jefferies
  * Convergys (CVG) to neutral: Macquarie
  * Chesapeake Energy (CHK) to hold: Stifel Nicolaus
  * Cameco (CCJ) to hold: TD Securities
  * CACI Intl (CAI) to neutral: SunTrust
  * EPL Oil & Gas (EPL) to hold: Stifel Nicolaus
  * Electronic Arts (EA) to neutral: BofA Merrill
  * Gevo (GEVO) to sell: UBS
  * GT Advanced (GTAT) to hold: Canaccord
  * MarketAxess (MKTX) to underperform: Credit Suisse
  * Marvell Technology (MRVL) to hold: Canaccord
  * Oracle (ORCL) to neutral: Atlantic Equities
  * PACCAR (PCAR) to neutral: Robert Baird
  * Public Storage (PSA) to market perform: Raymond James
  * Royal Caribbean (RCL) to sell: Nordea
  * Synnex (SNX) to buy: Needham
  * Statoil (STO) to sell: Nordea
  * SanDisk (SNDK) to market perform: JMP Securities
  * Sigma-Aldrich (SIAL) to neutral: UBS
  * Spreadtrum Communications (SPRD) to underperform: Daiwa
  * Texas Instruments (TXN) to market perform: Oppenheimer


INITIATIONS:
  * Akorn (AKRX) buy: BofA Merrill
  * Cepheid (CPHD) overweight: JPMorgan
  * Community Health (CYH) buy: SunTrust
  * Cogent Communications (CCOI) buy: Pivotal
  * Capital Senior Living (CSU) strong buy: Raymond James
  * Potlach (PCH) market perform: Raymond James
  * Republic Services (RSG) hold: KeyBanc
  * Tenet Healthcare (THC) neutral: SunTrust
  * TW Telecom (TWTC) buy: Pivotal
  * Waste Connections (WCN) buy: KeyBanc
  * Waste Management (WM) buy: KeyBanc

U.S. ANALYST RATINGS: Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations

UPGRADES:
  * Approach Resources (AREX) to overweight: JPMorgan
  * Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) to outperform: RBC Capital
  * Safeway (SWY) to outperform: BMO Capital
  * Tivo (TIVO) to buy: Lazard Capital
  * WNS Holdings (WNS) to outperform: Wells Fargo


DOWNGRADES:
  * Automatic Data Processing (ADP) to neutral: UBS
  * Abaxis (ABAX) to market perform: Raymond James
  * Anixter (AXE) to underperform: Credit Suisse
  * Covnex (CGNX) to underweight: Piper Jaffray
  * Capstead Mortgage (CMO) to neutral: Macquarie
  * CSG Systems (CSGS) to neutral: Citigroup
  * Coventry Health (CVH) to neutral: Citigroup
  * Grifols (GRFS) to hold: Kepler
  * Gevo (GEVO) to hold: ThinkEquity
  * Genon Energy (GEN) to neutral: Citigroup
  * LG Display (LPL) to market perform: Bernstein
  * Marriott (MAR) to market perform
  * Nokia (NOK) to underperform: BMO Capital
  * Penn West Petroleum (PWE) to market perform: BMO Capital
  * Paychex (PAYX) to sell: Citigroup
  * Paychex (PAYX) to neutral: UBS
  * Telefonica (TEF) to underperform: Jefferies


INITIATIONS:
  * Bank of New York Mellon (BK) buy: Citigroup
  * Cray (CRAY) hold: Wunderlich Securities
  * Fusion-io (FIO) buy: Wunderlich Securities
  * Genomic Health (GHDX) outperform: Credit Suisse
  * Lufkin (LUFK) neutral: JPMorgan
  * LeapFrog (LF) buy: SunTrust Robinson
  * Life Technologies (LIFE) outperform: William Blair
  * Myriad Genetics (MYGN) neutral: Credit Suisse
  * Northern Trust (NTRS) neutral: Citigroup
  * Nvidia (NVDA) buy: Roth Capital
  * Pandora (P) reduce: Nomura
  * Super Micro (SMCI) buy: Wunderlich Securities
  * Sequenom (SQNM) underperform: Credit Suisse
  * STMicroelectronics (STM) neutral: HSBC
  * State Street (STT) buy: Citigroup
  * Teradata (TDC) market perform: BMO Capital
  * Synergy Pharma (SGYP) buy: Cantor
  * UIL Holdings (UIL) hold: ISI Group

The key would be to have the bad bank receive it's assets at discounts that would already be attractive to the private sector.  50% may not be low enough for private foreign capital to buy.  The ideal scenario would be for the bad bank of buy the assets at a 75% discount and sell the assets to private investors in chunks.  The profit made by the bad bank would be passed on to Spanish taxpayers.

From Reuters

Spain bad bank assets to get 45-50 pct avg discount-sources

MADRID, Sept 24 | Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:20pm BST

(Reuters) - Lenders will transfer property assets into Spain's new bad bank at an average discount of 45 percent to 50 percent of original book value, three banking sources said.

The figure is obtained by applying an additional discount of 5 percent to 10 percent over the average writedowns of around 40 percent that the government has already forced banks to take on real estate assets, the sources said.

"As an average we could see further writedowns of 10 percent," said one of the sources - a manager at a Spanish bank.

A second source said the additional discount would be equivalent to a capital buffer lenders were asked to set aside earlier this year but which has now been made irrelevant by new, higher capital requirements.

By assuring that the new writedowns would be compensated by the capital buffer, Spanish authorities would protect banks from booking new losses.

However, the discounts will likely not be steep enough to attract foreign investors to the bad bank. That could eventually force the state to use more taxpayers' money to take over the toxic assets to later sell them off.

The sources cautioned that the discount was still being discussed and could vary depending on the type of assets that will be transferred, a key question that has yet to be answered.

The Bank of Spain and the European Commission, which are leading the negotiations and will have the final say on the pricing of the assets, declined to comment on the matter.

U.S. ANALYST RATINGS: Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations

UPGRADES:
  * Allergan (AGN) to outperform: CLSA
  * Body Central (BODY) to outperform: Oppenheimer
  * Cooper Tire (CTB) to buy: Deutsche Bank
  * Canadian Railway (CNI) to buy: TD Securities
  * Green Dot (GDOT) to neutral: SunTrust Robinson
  * Kapstone Paper (KS) to overweight: Stephens
  * Lamar Advertising (LAMR) to overweight: Morgan Stanley
  * Lamar Advertising (LAMR) to outperform: Wells Fargo
  * LyondellBasell (LYB) to outperform: CLSA
  * NetSpend (NTSP) to buy: SunTrust Robinson
  * PVH Corp. (PVH) to overweight: Piper Jaffray
  * Packaging Corp. (PKG) to outperform: BMO Capital
  * Questar (STR) to buy: UBS
  * Rubicon Technology (RBCN) to neutral: Goldman Sachs
  * Rockwell Collins (COL) to buy: KeyBanc
  * Robert Half (RHI) to buy: BofA Merrill
  * SVB Financial (SIVB) to buy: Sterne Agee
  * Time Warner Cable (TWC) to overweight: Morgan Stanley
  * ViroPharma (VPHM) to outperform: Wells Fargo


DOWNGRADES:
  * AK Steel (AKS) to sell: Citigroup
  * Atmel (ATML) to neutral: UBS
  * Actuant (ATU) to hold: Jefferies
  * Baxter (BAX) to hold: Deutsche Bank
  * Carnival (CCL) to hold: Topeka Capital
  * Charter Comm (CHTR) to equalweight: Morgan Stanley
  * Crown Castle (CCI) to neutral: Macquarie
  * Citrix Systems (CTXS) to equalweight: Morgan Stanley
  * CARBO Ceramics (CRR) to equalweight: Stephens
  * Darden Restaurants (DRI) to neutral: JPMorgan
  * EQT Midstream (EQM) to neutral: Credit Suisse
  * Embraer (ERJ) to neutral: JPMorgan
  * Flowserve (FLS) to hold: Jefferies
  * Finisar (FNSR) to market perform: Raymond James
  * First Commonwealth (FCF) to market perform: Keefe Bruyette
  * Lufkin (LUFK) to accumulate: Global Hunter
  * Micron (MU) to sector perform: Pacific Crest
  * Nice Systems (NICE) to sector perform: RBC Capital
  * Peabody Energy (BTU) to underperform: BofA Merrill
  * Preferred Bank (PFBC) to market perform: Raymond James
  * Questcor (QCOR) to market perform: Leerink Swann
  * Regal-Beloit (RBC) to hold: Jefferies
  * Sequenom (SQNM) to neutral: Piper Jaffray
  * Stoneridge (SRI) to hold: BB&T Capital
  * Talisman Energy (TLM) to neutral: Credit Suisse
  * TrueBlue (TBI) to neutral: BofA Merrill
  * U.S. Steel (X) to neutral: Citigroup
  * Veeco (VECO) to sell: Goldman Sachs
  * Walter Energy (WLT) to neutral: BofA Merrill
  * Webster Financial (WBS) to underweight: Morgan Stanley


INITIATIONS:
  * Genworth (GNW) neutral: Macquarie
  * Halcon Resources (HK) overweight: Barclays
  * Incontact (SAAS) overweight: Piper Jaffray
  * On Assignment (ASGN) buy: BofA Merrill
  * On Assignment (ASGN) outperform: Wells Fargo