The Stocks Wall Street Is Watching

The following stocks may be
impacted due to significant news as noted:

French telecom company
Alcatel

(
ALA |
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has its sector nicely in the green this morning as the
company said it expects fourth-quarter numbers  to come in ahead of
expectations.

Drug maker Abbott Labs
(
ABT |
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has been downgraded by JP Morgan to "neutral" from "overweight". Also in the
sector, Shire Pharmaceuticals
(
SHPGY |
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has been upgraded by UBS
Warburg to "buy" from "hold".

In the semiconductor sector,
Varian Semiconductor

(
VSEA |
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PowerRating)
has raised its first-quarter guidance to
$0.06-0.09 earnings per share vs. previous guidance of a break-even performance.
Rambus
(
RMBS |
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PowerRating)
beat its first-quarter earnings expectations by $0.01.
And, National Semiconductor
(
NSM |
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has been added to Solomon Smith
Barney’s "recommended list".

Education company Corinthian
Colleges

(
COCO |
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PowerRating)
has been upgraded to "overweight" from "neutral".

Energy company Duke Energy
(
DUK |
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PowerRating)
has been downgraded by Deutsche Bank to "sell" from "hold".

Food processing company Sara
Lee

(
SLE |
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PowerRating)
has been downgraded by Solomon Smith Barney to "underperform"
from "in-line".