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With listed stocks getting knocked around, the New York Stock Exchange is considering extending temporary relief from listing requirements. Once a company is dropped from the exchange, it runs risks ranging from market cap loss to limited liquidity. But NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) CEO Duncan Niederauer was clear that the moves are not permanent. For now, the goal remains to protect companies that are at risk of being delisted. This comes after the S&P 500 fell 38% last year -- its worst performance since 1937.

The two rules that have been relaxed are the maintenance of a share price of at least $1 and a market cap of at least $15 million. The return of both measures was delayed back in April. Currently, 31 companies on the NYSE are at risk, including Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) and Lear Corp (NYSE: LEA).

Let's go back in time and imagine ourselves standing near a buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street on May 17, 1792. We watch as 24 stock brokers sign the Buttonwood Agreement under that tree and the New York Stock Exchange is born. The brokers call their group the New York Stock Exchange. Their first president is Anthony Stockholm.

Flash forward a few years to 1817, when the exchange rented a room at 40 Wall Street. When that building was destroyed by fire, the exchange moved into temporary headquarters and then moved to a permanent location at 10-12 Broad Street.

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX - option chain) stock is falling today after posting a fourth-quarter loss of $1.34 billion, or $5.06 per share, this morning. Excluding one-time items, NYX earned $137 million, or 52 cents per share, during the quarter, missing analysts' estimates of 56 cents per share. NYX was hurt by lower list fees and derivative revenue during the quarter. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on NYX.

This morning, NYX opened at $21.30. So far today the stock has hit a low of $20.16 and a high of $22.03. As of 12:45, NYX is trading at $21.40, down $1.50 (-6.5%). The chart for NYX looks bullish and S&P gives NYX a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Nissan Motor Co. (NASDAQ: NSANY) reported a $904 million quarterly loss and said it expects this year to be its first annual loss in nine years. Nissan is cutting 20,000 jobs, or 8.5% of its workforce. NSANY shares declined over 6.5% in premarket trade.

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) reported Monday that its net profit for 2008 fell just 1% after several major one-off gains helped compensate for over 8 billion pounds ($11.8 billion) of write-downs. The bank's balance sheet, meanwhile, ballooned 67% to 2.05 trillion pounds. Pretax profit for the year dropped 14% to 6.08 billion pounds, well ahead of analyst estimates. Barclays said it will resume dividend payments in the second half of the year. Shares in Barclays soared over 12% in premarket trade.

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

• Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) reported that its Q4 profit tripled but it fell short of estimates.
• Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) met earnings estimates but it is getting more pressure from Carl Icahn.
• BP (NYSE: BP) surprised Wall Street with a multibillion dollar Q4 loss due to lower oil prices.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) beat Q2 estimates but warned that incoming orders have declined.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) reaffirmed its previous Q4 guidance, which pleased investors.
• Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) topped Q2 earings estimates and it announced job cuts.
• Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Q4 earnings fell on higher claim expenses and lower investment income.
• JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) adjusted earnings were in line with estimates but revenue fell.

Today was a bit of a mixed day with bulls and bears fighting over whether or not the DJIA should be above or below 8,000. Consumer spending and income were both weak; manufacturing data from the ISM was weak, and construction spending was weak. The weak numbers are becoming routine and traders were in charge today.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 7,936.75 -64.11 -0.80%
NASDAQ: +18.01 +1.22%
S&P 500: 825.43 -0.45 -0.05%
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMEX) was the winner today. This cult stock, a deepwater treasure shipwreck and treasure hunter, announced that it found the HMS Victory (sunk in 1744). Shares were up a 7% to $4.21.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merriman upgraded shares of Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) to Buy from Neutral as they believe consensus expectations are now realistic and already reflect macro headwinds. Merriman also thinks the company's cost reductions could generate upside to EPS estimates.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company's diabetes drug will gain U.S. approval.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $20 from $19 citing the merits of the Wyeth (WYE) deal and valuation.
• Quality Systems (NASDAQ:QSII) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Parexel (NASDAQ:PRXL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• Ferro (NYSE:FOE) was upgraded at KeyBanc to Hold from Underweight.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $22 from $17 on valuation and the company's "diversified" business.
  
• Barclays expects Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to outperform in Q1 as investors become more comfortable with the company's balance sheet. Shares were upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Asset Acceptance (NASDAQ: AACC) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation but lowered their target to $6 from $8.
• Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) and Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) were added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Lattice (NASDAQ: LSCC) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst downgrades:

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) announced yesterday that it will be transferring the listings for both classes of its stock to the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Currently the company's shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, which is the more common place for large, established media companies.

In the press release announcing the move, News Corp.'s investor relations head Reed Nolte said that "Our move to NASDAQ will ensure that our stockholders have access to the most current trading technology possible. We are confident that NASDAQ's broad offerings and exceptional service, coupled with a cost-effective structure, will provide more value for our stockholders."

That sounds like quite a slap in the face to the NYSE, which is generally seen as the gold standard of trading. But a piece in the Wall Street Journal suggests (subscription required) that News Corp.'s motives may have been more complex: Sources told the Journal that Nasdaq agreed to spend more money advertising on News Corp.'s media outlets as part of the move. An NYSE spokesperson also told the paper that "Nasdaq made News Corporation an offer it couldn't refuse: quite a lot of money to switch its listing to Nasdaq. We would encourage other Nasdaq-listed companies to seek similar arrangements."

What does this mean for long-term shareholders? Absolutely nothing.

There is a lot of money sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time to get back into the stock market. Maybe that time will be after the Dow Jones Industrial Average tests 7000, or even 6000. Maybe it will be after quarterly reports start turning positive. I'm sure many people will not do anything until the housing market turns around. Then there are those that have sworn off the stock market or at least individual stocks entirely.

These and a multitude of other issues may be keeping you from investing for now and no one could blame you, but if it is your intention to get back in when the coast is clear then you should be making some preparations by putting together your watch list.

Here are some of the stocks on my watch list. I usually have about 20 stocks that I am interested in. Some of them I own already and I am interested in acquiring more. Some have appeared in my Chasing Value column, and some or all might appear there again.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) is one of the stocks mentioned in Fortune Magazines "Ten Promising Stocks for 2009" and is currently paying almost a 15% yield at Fridays closing price of $14.92. The company borrows money at short term rates and only invests in long-term Federally backed mortgages. They have avoided subprime loans and derivatives entirely.

Boardwalk Partners (NYSE: BWP) is expanding and was highlighted today as another high yield value stock Chasing Value: High yield thru Boardwalk's pipes that you can acquire for less than the price the general partners paid in October.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) can claim Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) as it's largest shareholder and you can buy shares for less than 'my pal Warren' did.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) is one of my top holdings and favorite companies. I have owned it for years and only selling some shares at $192. I recently started building a new position in a new portfolio in the past few months and I am interested in buying more. It closed at 134.38 on Friday.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) closed at $23.80. Bernard Madoff of Bernard Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was arrested by Federal agents because his investment advisory business was a "giant Poinzi scheme" reports the Wall Street Journal. NDAQ January option implied volatility of 85 is above its 26-week average of 70 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) closed at $25.98. NYX January option implied volatility of 97 is above its 26-week average of 72 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) closed at $16.98. SCHW January option implied volatility of 99 is above its 26-week average of 61 according to Track Data, suggesting larger movement.

TD AmeriTrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) closed at $12.92. AMTD January option implied volatility of 82 is above its 26-week average of 60 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the near term is muddy, but this mining-equipment maker is a long-term win.

Bucyrus International (NASDAQ: BUCY) (Cramer's Take) really captures this moment. When I was speaking last night to its terrific CEO, Tim Sullivan, I was conscious that his company's stock is at the fulcrum of everything that is going wrong and everything that is going right in this market.

Bucyrus, if you recall, makes mining equipment. It's really the only game in town other than Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG) (Cramer's Take), as the mining machinery business was annihilated by years of underinvestment.

The company became the quintessential play on mining as orders, particularly from China, for new coal mining equipment soared each year. China's opening a new coal-fired energy plant every week, so you know that there's demand.

The hedge funds glommed on to this one big-time. Like in so many that we are familiar with -- MasterCard (NYSE: MA) (Cramer's Take), Trinity (NYSE: TRN) (Cramer's Take), Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT) (Cramer's Take), NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) (Cramer's Take) and Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) (Cramer's Take) -- they took concentrated positions in this and Joy Global and intended to ride the commodity boom for years.

The Fed's putting pressure on various exchanges to set up a clearinghouse for credit default swaps. That's the "news" this morning. News is in quotes because, first, the exchanges all want to do this, and they have wanted it for months. They need the revenue. Second, we want more than one exchange so there is competition in pricing and we don't want a sweetheart deal by a government so prone to sweetheart deals that I want to vomit every day I come to work.

Third, this is a regulatory issue and it should be done by some superbody - but please not the easily lobbied-Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which will make you put no margin down because then the fees will be huge from trading. And please not the Securities and Exchange Commission, which doesn't understand markets and has blessed a world where these are under deep cover.

Frankly, as much as I want a clearinghouse on this stuff, I don't think it is possible with these sets of regulators to get a fair one. They are just too easily lobbied by the bad guys to do the wrong thing.

And who would be the worst at this? Tim Geithner and his merry band of "everything we do is right" Federal Reserve folks. I was listening to the TV Thursday and some host was asking some guest how she thought Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was doing. She said "he's done a great job." And I found myself thinking, you have to be kidding, you can't possibly believe that, how could anyone think this guy has done a great job?

Anyway, he and Tim "Mr. Let-Me- Call-the-Media-and-Get-a-Good-Story- About-us-Because-I am-Savvy-and-I- Know-How-They-Care-About-the-Call- Back-and-Will-Praise-US" Geithner" (long and deserving hyphenated nickname) would be without a doubt the worst two to be involved in this credit default swap market because they don't play dirty and don't know how the game works. One of the reasons we are in such a jam is that SEC Chairman Christopher Cox has huge faith in the market and Bernanke has huge faith in the power of debate with people like Dick Fisher, the totally discredited Texas Fed man who was saying that inflation is the issue and it is out of control as the greatest wave of deflation overwhelms us since 1932. Fisher's an arrogant and erudite one-man wrecking crew of this economy.

If the Fed is pressuring for these exchanges then we are really in trouble.

I wonder if they even realize that Oct, 21, the day of the Lehman reckoning when we give the Wall Street gangsters their pay off on their hit jobs on Lehman, will cause the federally owned AIG (NYSE:AIG) write gigantic checks and will also reveal who guaranteed this stuff. It will most likely be lots of institutions the Fed doesn't understand or doesn't know.

Today was easy to focus on. And it was highly unpleasant. It was all about financial stocks and the meltdowns and the merger and the bailouts. The huge drop in oil after Hurricane Ike didn't kill off the oil infrastructure didn't amount to anything at all. The beatings will continue, regardless of morale. The VIX hit 30 and that only helped for a brief bit.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 10,954.07 (-504.48; -4.42%)
Nasdaq 2,186.66 (-81.36; -3.60%)
S&P500 1,198.32 (-59.01; -4.71%)
10YR T-Note 3.483% (-0.247%)
52-Week Lows

Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) led the carnage today. Richard Fuld held out for solid merger terms too hard and it now looks like he made the entire firm pay the ultimate price. It is filing for Chapter 11 and for all practical purposes is going bye-bye. Shares were down 94% at $0.20 right before the close.

American International Group (NYSE: AIG) is also on the ropes. Its shares were down 60% at $$4.78 immediately before the close. The leading insurance company in the world, or the former one anyway, is on the verge of collapse.

This morning was starting to feel pretty good despite the 5.7% unemployment rate being the highest in over four years. But then there were comments out of Israel about Iran being suddenly closer to a major break-thru in its nuclear program. You can guess what that did for oil prices, although they didn't go much over $125.00 on the news. Today's action and this week's high volatility show the markets are still fighting over for the pole position.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA 11,328.27 -49.75 -.44%
S&P500 1,260.80 -6.58 -.52%
NASDAQ 2,310.96 -14.59 -.63%
10YR T-NOTE 3.95%
52-WEEK LOWS
TOP ANALYST UPGRADES
TOP ANALYST DOWNGRADES

Here is a preview for next week's top earnings (CSCO, PG, FRE, S, TWC, SIRI)