Apple misses on earnings and revenues....

Apple reported third-quarter earnings of $7.05 a share, on revenue of $28.3 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected Apple to earn $7.22 a share on revenue of $29.5 billion.

Apple has not missed earnings forecasts since the second quarter of 2002, according to FactSet data.

The stock is down to 402 after hours, after closing at 422.24.

iPhone sales came in at 17.07 million, compared with forecasts of 20 million — maybe the most disappointing number.

More to come tomorrow…

Stocks nervous in last five minutes...

Looks like a little nervousness in the last five minutes as stocks settle off their highs.

Dow +179
Nas +42
S&P +24 to 1225

Pretty solid day ahead of Apple earnings which should affect the market overnight.

Stocks explode to the upside...

Stocks jumped in late afternoon trading on reports that France and Germany have agreed to boost a rescue fund as part of an effort to stem the European debt crisis. 

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 234 points, or 2 percent, to 11,631 at 3:50 p.m. Eastern. The Dow added more than 100 points within minutes after the report.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 28 points, or 2.4 percent, to 1,229. The Nasdaq composite is up 48 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,663.

Dow moves higher despite selloff in IBM...

IBM is currently down 8.37 to 178.30

IBM's is the highest weighted stock in the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average.  It carries 12.39% of the weight, since it is the highest priced of the 30 stocks.

In spite of this the Dow is up 119 points right now...without IBM we would be up nearly 200 points.

Starbucks going Blonde...

Starbucks Corp (SBUX) is going "Blonde," expanding its coffee lineup with its lightest roast to date in a move aimed at wooing more customers and capturing a bigger share of the U.S. coffee market.

The world's biggest coffee company is known for its dark roasts, which have prompted some critics to say the chain's coffee tastes burned. The new, lighter roast unveiled on Tuesday is milder in body and acidity than Starbucks' traditional coffees and the company expects it to appeal to a broad audience.

Mass-market competitors McDonald's Corp (MCD) and Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN) offer milder brewed coffees and in recent years have added lattes, mochas and other sorts of "fancy" espresso drinks popularized by Starbucks.

"We think this is a big opportunity," Jeff Hansberry, president of channel development for Starbucks, told Reuters. 

According to Starbucks research, more than 40 percent of U.S. coffee drinkers -- or about 54 million consumers -- prefer a lighter roast coffee.

Additionally, nearly 71 percent of all packaged coffee sales in the grocery aisle are either light or medium roasted coffee.

Check out the Banks...

Here are some of the banks that are leading the market today:

Bank of America (BAC) +0.41 to 6.43
Morgan Stanley (MS) +0.61 to 15.85
JP Morgan (JPM) +1.34 to 32.37
Goldman Sachs (GS) +1.93 to 98.87
State Street Bank (STT) +2.20 to 36.07
Citigroup (C) +1.39 to 29.32

Stocks having a nice day...

After an early selloff, stocks have staged a nice comeback.  Banks are leading the way on the heels of the Bank of America eanings before the bell.

Dow +79
Nas +15
S&P +12 to 1213

Earnings due tomorrow morning...

Notables reporting before the bell tomorrow:

Morgan Stanley (MS) +0.63 to 15.88
American Airlines (AMR) +0.05 to 2.81
United Technologies (UTX) +1.78 to 73.91
Blackrock (BLK) +2.58 to 153.51
Abbott Labs (ABT) -0.06 to 51.97

Earnings after the bell today...

Companies reporting today and how they are trading ahead of those earnings:

Apple Inc. (AAPL) -2.14 to 417.88
Sonic Restaurants (SONC) +0.05 to 7.17
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -5.15 to 382.85
Cree Inc. (CREE) +0.33 to 26.94
Juniper Networks (JNPR) +0.62 to 21.02
CSX Corp. (CSX) +0.60 to 20.99

Are you ready for McTV???

Coming soon to a McDonald's (MCD +0.4%) near you: McTV replete with HD in-house programming from the McDonald's channel. The company aims to grab its captive audience waiting in line for their burger and fries with niche shows, news, features, and 8 minutes of advertising per hour. McTV will launch in California initially.

What's going on with Pizza???

Domino's Pizza (DPZ) tacks on a 2.3% gain after beating estimates with its Q3 report. Net income rose 33% year over year for the quarter, led by strong international sales. Revenue for stores open at least a year climbed 3% Y/Y in the U.S. and 8.1% globally.  Dominoes is hitting new highs.

Pizza Inn (PZZI) is hitting new highs as well.

S&P downgrades Italian banks...

S&P downgrades 24 out of 43 Italian banks it covers as conditions "continue to deteriorate. We do not believe that this difficult operating environment is transitory or that it will be easily reversed."

eBay ups Pay Pal expectations...

eBay Inc. (EBAY). CEO of the company, John Donahoe, increased a key forecast for the company's PayPal payments business during an Internet industry conference on Monday. Donahoe said total payment volume, or TPV, transmitted by mobile devices through PayPal's system will be more than $3.5 billion in 2011, during a discussion on stage at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.


We talked about this last week...PayPal is the money maker here...

Chesapeake downgraded at JP Morgan...

Chesapeake Energy (CHK -4.8%) is downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, skeptical about CHK meeting its projected price of $12K-$16K/acre for a joint venture sale of about 30% of its Utica shale in Ohio. Over the longer term, caution comes from uncertainty about CHK’s ability to fund its spending.

11 am update....

Stocks are mixed but looking much better as the morning moves along. 

Dow +5
Nas +1
S&P +3 to 1204


Banks are currently the strongest group as it looks like traders were surprised by Bank of America's earnings.  Not sure those earnings were as strong as they made it look...so we could see some profit taking later today in the group.


Right now BAC is up 0.34 to 6.37

Crocs gets pounded...

Crocs Inc (CROX). The shoemaker lowered its outlook for the first time in three years as it faces softening sales at its stores, amid a weak economy in Europe and shaky consumer confidence in the United States. The company expects July-September earnings of 31-33 cents a share, down from its previous forecast of 40 cents a share. It also projected revenue of $273.0-$275.0 million, compared with its prior outlook of $280 million.


CROX is down 10.19 to 16.46

Today's Upgrades and Downgrades...

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning.


Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Buy at Societe Generale.

CareFusion Corporation (NYSE: CFN) Started as Market Perform at BMO.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) Started as Outperform with $60 target at Credit Suisse.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) cut estimates and cut target to $45 from $50 at Credit Suisse’ Maintained Sell at Argus.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Monday call).

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) Started as Buy at Stern Agee; Reiterated Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

Lulelemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Started as Neutral at Macquarie.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.

Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) Cut to Hold at Argus.

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) Started as Hold at Societe Generale.

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Started as Underperform at Macquarie; Started as Outperform at FBR.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

VMware gets mixed reaction...

VMware Inc (VMW). The business software maker on Monday posted quarterly profit ahead of market estimates, helped by growth in the Asia Pacific market, and it forecast fourth-quarter revenue above analysts' expectations. VMware forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $1.03 billion to $1.06 billion. Net income for the third quarter more than doubled to $177.5 million, or 41 cents a share, from $84.6 million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago.

VMW is currently up 0.05 to 89.55

Last night, the stock was down 10 at one point.

IBM sells off on earnings...

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM). The company's quarterly results failed to impress investors used to a stellar showing from Big Blue, adding to concerns about lackluster corporate IT spending. On Monday, it raised its full-year diluted earnings forecast to at least $13.35 per share, from its prior estimate of at least $13.25. IBM reported a third-quarter profit, excluding items, of $3.28 per share, up 15 percent year over year and above expectations of $3.22.


IBM is currently down 8.65 to 177.95

EMC earnings well received...so far...

EMC Corp (EMC). The corporate storage equipment maker reported a 28 percent jump in third- quarter profit as corporations invested in new equipment and hardware to expand their data centers. Net income rose to $606 million, or 27 cents per share, from $473 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier.


EMC is currently up 0.73 to 23.41

Bank of America reports earnings...

Bank of America Corp. (BAC). The bank reported higher third-quarter profits due to an accounting gain and a pretax gain on asset sales. Net income applicable to common shareholders was $5.9 billion, or 56 cents a share, compared with a loss of $7.6 billion, or 77 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier, when the bank took a $10.4 billion accounting charge.


BAC is currently up 0.30 to 6.33

Earnings today...

Earnings season hits the accelerator pedal this morning, with financials particularly in focus.


Goldman Sachs (GS) and Bank of America (BAC) will both be out with quarterly numbers, and investors will also get a look at the latest results from Dow components Coca-Cola (KO) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) as well as Harley-Davidson (HOG), State Street (STT), and UnitedHealth (UNH).

The after-the-bell calendar is similarly crowded, with Apple (AAPL), Intel (INTC), and Yahoo(YHOO) the highest profile names on the schedule.

Good Morning....

Stocks are opening under a little pressure this morning.  Overnight, France's AAA credit rating is still intact, but Moody's has warned the country of a possible negative outlook.


The agency says France needs to show commitment to financial reforms, and if not, it's possible the rating could be downgraded within two years.

This is causing the Euro to drop and is setting off a chain reaction of selling in Gold and Silver.