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Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Buy from Hold based on valuation. The firm, which has a $50 target on the stock, believes Tysabri PML cases are reflected in shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) to Buy from Hold as it finds the valuation attractive and believes the company's sales are benefiting from stabilization in California and share gains. Deutsche raised its target on shares to $45 from $36.
• RBC Capital upgraded Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) to Outperform from Sector Perform and raised its target to $39 from $36 citing valuation and views it as a low risk option on a global economic recovery.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at RBS.

An article in Barron's suggests that Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is on the verge of regaining some of its former mojo. The company recently offered a solid outlook for the remainder of the year, and it could garner new business after debuting two smartphones featuring Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android operating system -- namely, the Droid and the Cliq.

The author cites analyst Ed Snyder of Charter Equity Research, who believes Motorola is on the cusp of "an extended upswing in handsets ... over the next several quarters." Snyder believes that the firm's ailing handset division could achieve break-even results as soon as the second quarter of 2010.

Where do you tweet? When? More important, what's normal? Are you some kind of freak?

A recent Gadgetology study by Retrovo.com, a consumer electronics shopping site, seeks to ascertain where the line in the sand is in regards to social media use (and overuse). If you're 35 or younger, regular use of sites such as Twitter and Facebook is common (big shock, right?). It looks to Retrovo like a new addiction may be taking root.

In the online music world, there is a trail of dead companies. But, some have somehow found ways to not only survive -- but thrive. One is Shazam, which builds applications for mobile phones.

This week, the firm hit 50 million users. And, it was also able to secure venture funding from the premier VC firm, Kleiner Perkins (the other investors include Acacia Venture Partners and DN Capital). The amount was not disclosed.

What explains the success of Shazam? First of all, the company has cool technology that lets your phone hear a song and then it will figure out its name as well as the artist.

Analyst upgrades:

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Viacom (NYSE:VIA) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect the improving ad market and better ratings at key cable networks. The firm raised its target on shares to $35 from $29.
  
• Baird upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) to Outperform from Neutral on valuation as it views the recent weakness as a buying opportunity. The firm keeps an $84 price target on shares.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Usana (NASDAQ:USNA) to Buy from Hold as it believes direct selling companies have been gaining momentum. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $37.
• AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  
• First Merit (NASDAQ:FMER) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  
• Spectra Energy (NYSE:SE) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

"Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) remains one of best long-term investment plays on the smart phone tidal wave," says growth expert Toby Smith in his ChangeWave Investing advisory.

"The stock recently fell sharply after issuing a solid, but not blowout, earnings report last night. In my view, the selloff created a buying opportunity.

"The Street's dismay was due to the pre-announcement build-up by many analysts who anticipated a blow-out quarter. When the numbers and outlook failed to live up to their billing, the stock got whacked.

"In our view, this looks like a good buying opportunity for one of the dominant players in the smartphone sector -- and one of the hottest we've identified over the long-term.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Corning (NYSE: GLW) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $19 from $18.50, citing the improved LCD supply-demand outlook and improved sell-through ahead of the holiday season in China.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $48 from $44 citing valuation and improved asset quality.
• Stifel upgraded Newfield Exploration and Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL) shares to Buy from Hold based on strong fundamentals and a long-term positive view for the E&P sector. The firm has a $50 target on Newfield and a $58 target on Ultra Petroleum.
• TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• General Mills (NYSE: GIS) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer is not convinced that what was bad a week ago has suddenly turned good.

Feels almost too good to be true. Once again, did we dodge the more than 3% to 5% decline? Once again have we put the trouble behind us? Did we have just enough October scare to inoculate?

I remember a week ago thinking there weren't enough "October's the roughest month" articles perhaps because those who wrote the "sell in May" and "sell in September" pieces felt chastised. I thought that the word had come from editors on high-stop being so bearish already.

But then by Thursday we were all well aware of the power of Rocktober and next thing you know people were whispering crash by Friday.

Out of the chute this morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller index rose 1.2% in July and gave the market a nice uptick for a while. Then came the report from the Conference Board that its consumer confidence index for September fell to 53.1 from 54.5 in August. What was worse is that economists had estimated a rise to 57 for the month. The soft confidence number is almost certainly due to people worried about losing their jobs. Right now, it could be that traders are waiting for Friday's unemployment report before jumping one way or the other. The negative news won out and the indexes traded down most of the day.

The numbers:

Dow

S&P 500

Nasdaq

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says a good shakeout on Monday would prepare us for a "fulcrum day" on Tuesday.

Could have been worse. With Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) (Cramer's Take) never lifting -- which was, by the way, wrong after a certain point -- and oil not rallying, you had no place to go. Last week we lost tech, banks, and oil. You can't even go up with just two of them, so to lose all three was dreadful.

I said last week that the calendar just didn't favor the bulls. The propensity to want to lock in gains ahead of the last weekend in September -- the one that is ended by the Yom Kippur holiday, which will always have thin trading -- is just too great.

Plus, don't forget that every month that is supposed to be bad gets tons of play for being bad: October! Ooooooo, scary! You know that's going to happen again.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares rose after it reaffirmed its full-year earnings and sales outlook.
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) will have low double-digit EPS growth, predicts one analyst.
• AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) posted a decline in earnings but a small rise in sales, sending shares lower.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings and higher revenue.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) rallied to a new 52-week high after topping analysts' Q2 earnings expectations.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its full-year guidance.

Bad housing numbers did not do much to hurt the market yesterday and good consumer sentiment figures did not help today. The Reuters/University of Michigan poll for late September yielded a figure of 73.5. That is the highest number since early in 2008. The data may mean that consumers believe the recession is over. Traders did not appear to be heartened, and a poor report on durable goods had the prevailing effect on trading all day. The Commerce Department said orders for goods expected to last at least three years fell 2.4%.

Here are the unofficial numbers:

DJIA: 9666.48 -40.96 (-0.42%)

NASDAQ: 2090.92 -16.69 (-0.79%)

S&P 500: 1044.44 -6.34 (-0.6%)

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded McAfee (NYSE: MFE) to Outperform from Market Perform after channel checks indicated the company's September quarter deal flow has been stronger than expected. FBR raised its target on shares to $50 from $41.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Overweight from Market Weight, citing increased wireless backhaul capex spending by Tier-1 carriers. The firm raised its target to $32 from $21.
• RBC Capital upgraded Brunswick (NYSE: BC) to Outperform from Sector Perform as the firm thinks the company no longer has liquidity risk and can generate significant profits by 2012. The firm set a $17 target on the stock.
• Bronco Drilling (NASDAQ: BRNC) was upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.
• LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• UBS upgraded U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC) and UAL Corp. (NASDAQ: UAUA) to Buy from Neutral.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says Research In Motion's troubles are an exception to the greatness of the mobile Internet theme.

No, this isn't meant to be a bullish article. I am just trying to put Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) (Cramer's Take) in perspective because I think that people will confuse the greatness of the mobile Internet theme with the hazards of investing in the BlackBerry maker.

First, you have to ask yourself, what really went wrong with RIMM? Was it demand? No, demand was strong. They actually guided to the upper end of units. The issue was average selling price because it has gotten more competitive out there.

U.S. stock futures inched higher Friday morning, perhaps trying to break the two-day losing streak. After Thursday stocks fell on an unexpected drop in sales of existing homes, this morning's new home sales will no doubt be in focus, as will durable goods orders data.

Also in focus this morning are Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM)'s disappointing earnings reported late Thursday and Unilever's (NYSE: UL) $1.88 billion offer for the global body care unit of Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE).

[Update: durable goods orders data actually fell in August, catching the Street by surprise. Futures now indicate a lower start.]