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Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Nike (NYSE: NKE) to Outperform from Neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the drop in the U.S. dollar and continued solid trends in athletic footwear. The firm raised its target on shares to $69 from $61.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company is well positioned for cyclical turnaround in the Paper/Building Products space. The firm raised its target on shares to $19 from $11.
  
• Goldman upgraded Diageo (NYSE: DEO) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the current valuation and the company's exposure to emerging markets.
• Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at ING Group.
  
• Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  
• Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX) was upgraded at Oppenheimer to Outperform from Perform.

Dow component DuPont (NYSE: DD) said today that it will eliminate another 2,000 jobs as part of its ongoing plan to cut costs. Previously, the blue chip slashed 2,500 employees and 4,000 contractor positions from its payroll back in December.

The company will take a second-quarter pre-tax restructuring charge of $340 million to $390 million as a result of the job cuts, though DuPont said it will save $225 million by the end of 2010.

The news pressured DD to a loss of 3% within the first hour of today's trading. The stock's pullback could potentially find a floor near its 20-day moving average; in collaboration with its 10-day counterpart, this trendline has guided the shares higher since early March.

3M (NYSE: MMM) had a not-that-great first quarter. The declines were significant and ugly. First, net sales plunged over 20%. Second, net income on an adjusted basis likewise spiraled out of control, declining over 40% to $0.81 per share. And no, that didn't meet expectations. Wall Street was looking for $0.86 per share. Sorry, gang.

You've got the dollar and the global recession to blame. Currency translations affected sales, and declines in economic activity didn't help much, either. Many people look to 3M as a staunch dividend play. As such, cash flow is important. Unfortunately, the statement of cash flows this quarter was hard to read. Net cash from operations decreased 30%, and free cash flow lost 35% of its value when compared to the year-ago period. Thankfully, there was enough free cash to cover the dividend.

Have institutional investors been overly harsh on Du Pont's (NYSE: DD) shares? Indeed they have. Here's why:

Look for DD's agriculture business to advance nicely, at double digit rates, in 2009, after a 22% gain in 2008. Pharmaceutical earnings are expected to be roughly flat. Look for raw material and energy costs to dip slightly in 2009.

U.S. stock futures fell Tuesday morning following Monday's sharp sell-off. Investors are reacting to Monday evening's earnings and bracing for another wave of corporate earnings today, including five Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks. Monday's sell-off highlighted Wall Street's worries over earnings generally and the financial sector in particular.

Five Dow components are set to report earnings before the bell: Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Merck (NYSE: MRK) and United Technologies (NYSE: UTX).

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says if we let some banks give it back, others may rush to do so unnecessarily.

Breather day? Or does this monster ever breathe?

We are seeing stress levels coming down: the magic VIX going under 40?, money coming in, industrials bouncing -- I watch International Paper (NYSE: IP) (Cramer's Take), Du Pont (NYSE: DD) (Cramer's Take), Packaging Corp. (NYSE: PKG) (Cramer's Take) and Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR) (Cramer's Take) for true industrial bounces. We are seeing the rails and the fertilizers -- two 2008 sectors -- regaining life and lifetime moves in a session.

But it was and is and always will be about the banks, and no matter what we do it will come back to them. They are the reason we got in trouble, and they are the reason we got out of trouble.

Today was an odd day as the market rose, but not for many of the reasons we might have thought about yesterday. The FOMC meeting hardly got any notice. Housing starts came in at a gain rather than at a drop, as was expected, and Producer Prices show almost no real signs of wholesale inflation. The other issue in today's rally is that it was not led by financial leaders. Technology enjoyed an up-day after getting a St. Patrick's Day memo and decided to show up in green. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 7,395.78 +178.81 (2.48%)
S&P 500 778.09 +24.20 (3.21%)
Nasdaq 1,462.11 +58.09 (4.14%)

Top Analyst Calls

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q4 profit rose on higher prices, and its forecast matched expectations.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Q4 earnings grew on cost cutting but revenue remained flat.
• Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE: BDK) shares tanked after the dismal Q4 report, and it announced job cuts.
• Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE: CRS) Q2 numbers resulted in a downgrade from one analyst.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) reported a Q4 loss due to writedowns from recent acquisitions.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) swung to a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss and its revenue fell as well.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) swung to a Q4 loss on acquisition costs but reaffirmed its guidance.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says of course the numbers for the industrials are too high.

What's with these analysts? Just like the fiasco of bank earnings last year, where the analysts kept their numbers high in the face of obvious losses and dislocations, the analysts are once again wild high in their pitching.

Did anyone really think that Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take) could earn $4 or $5 in this environment? Did anyone think that Du Pont (NYSE: DD) (Cramer's Take) wasn't banking on a much better quarter than was possible? Why can't these analysts extrapolate the horrors of a worldwide recession and take numbers for these industrials down to reasonable and doable benchmarks?

In the News:
Here Come the Tax Cuts
The new Congress will hit the ground running on tax cuts. House taxwriters have already approved a big package to help jump-start the economy and get extra money into taxpayers' wallets, and the Senate will follow soon, with the goal of getting a bill to President Obama's desk by mid-February. Here are the tax breaks individuals can expect if the bill passes.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/26/news/economy/stimulus_101/index.htm?postversion=2009012617

DuPont (NYSE: DD) reported Tuesday morning, saying it swung to a fourth-quarter loss. DuPont reported a loss of $629 million, or 70 cents per share, but excluding a restructuring charge the loss is 28 cents per share. Revenue fell 16% to $6.07 billion. Results were below analyst estimates of a loss of 24 cents per share on revenue of $6.17 billion.

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) also reported Tuesday morning, saying it earned $1.24 billion, or 43 cents a share, in the fourth quarter. On an adjusted basis, Verizon earned 61 cents a share compared to 62 cents a share a year ago. Sales were $24.6 billion. Verizon missed estimates only slightly and shares gained 1.6% in premarket trading.

Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) is reporting after the close today and analysts expect earnings of 13 cents a share for the period, on $1.4 billion in net revenue, according to FactSet Research. Shares indicated higher in premarket trading.

This week, the short-term rally of the last few days of the holiday season was over. While many hope the economy would start rebounding toward the end of the year, more voices are now heard saying the recession will be longer and deeper than estimates. The only thing that could help is a proper stimulus plan.

Indeed, President-elect Obama's transition team and his chosen staff have already been working on a plan, trying to push legislators to act swiftly. As investors received news of one dismal economic report after another -- from retail sales, auto sales, housing, manufacturing and employment -- the corporate side also continued to show considerable weakness with earnings warnings coming nearly daily.

The real question is whether the stimulus plan and the Federal Reserve actions, alongside similar moves taken around the world, could give the boost the economy so desperately needs. It seems several BloggingStocks contributors believe this might be the case as they looked at long-term investment ideas. Here are some of their picks from the past week:

Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) actually saw an increase in value of 62.3% during the quarter. It has a strong capital position and is nearly debt free. It has actually seen a third-quarter same-store sales growth of 8.3%. There has been some pressure on the stock following an earnings miss due to growth, creating an opportunity for astute investors, says Jamie Dlugosch.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer takes a look at the next six Dow stocks: Caterpillar, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Disney, Du Pont and General Electric.

Editor's note: This is the second part of Jim Cramer's series of predictions for the Dow components in 2009. If you missed the first part, you can go to Cramer bullish on the Dow for '09 -- Part I

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take): Here's a direct play on a turn in China and a huge stimulus plan by President-elect Obama. I believe the dividend is safe, and I trust management when it says that 2009's second half can be much better than the first half, even though I am in a lonely minority on that front. The decision to freeze wages and fire a bunch of people made sense and made me believe the company cares more about maintaining the dividend through hard times than I thought it did.

I believe the stock will get gigantic orders from the U.S. government after the passing of a stimulus plan. You can't build any infrastructure without Caterpillar's equipment, and the government ain't buying tractors from Komatsu. Helped by its 4% yield, the stock will go back to $55, a fantastic move, even though first-quarter earnings will be horrible. Don't forget, China's coming back, and that's a second big customer.

In the News:
Family Dollar Stores is King
Stock losses this year were broad based and dramatic. But there were a few that escaped the carnage. 25 stocks in the S&P 500 actually finished higher in the worst stock market in 77 years. Topping the list is Family Dollar which rose 38.5%. Other top stocks included Amgen, H&R Block, Wal-Mart, Hasbro, General Mills, McDonald's and Darden Restaurants.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/31/markets/SP500_year_end/index.htm?postversion=2008123117

2009 Dogs of the Dow
This popular investment strategy defines a portfolio by equal dollar value investments into the 10 highest yielding Dow stocks at the end of a year. This year's list includes Bank of America, GE, Pfizer, duPont, Alcoa, AT&T, Verizon, Merck, JP Morgan Chase and Kraft Foods.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/28448355

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) to Buy from Hold. Citigroup upgraded shares on their belief the company has one of the best three year growth rates among peers.
  
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Merrill Lynch. Merrill upgraded Rio Tinto following the company's debt repayment plan announcement.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Societe Generale (OTC: SCGLY) to Outperform from Neutral. Credit Suisse upgraded shares on valuation.
  
• Alberto-Culver (NYSE: ACV) was added to Conviction Buy List; maintain Buy at Goldman.
  
• American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jesup & Lamont.
  
• Hawaiian Electric (NYSE: HE) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird.

Analyst downgrades: