NOTE TO EDITORS: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by Benchmark Journal.

Five reasons why the naysayers may be right on the U.S. economy.

This bit of genius is pretty down-to-earth.

Wanna buy a used iPhone? Best Buy has ‘em. Best Buy (BBY) believes the refurbished Apple (AAPL) iPhone will appeal to cost-conscious users during the economic downturn. The retailer now sells used versions of the iPhone 3G for about $50 less than new devices Reuters reports. This raises a basic question: Is the gizmo a status symbol or nerely a communication device? Those who see the iPhone as a status symbol probably would recoil from a used model; those who see it as just a tool (and are pinched financially) would almost certainly welcome a refurbished device. But it’s hard ...

Visit StreetInsider.com at http://www.streetinsider.com/news.php?st=p&id=4278905 for the full story.

Retail stocks open higher with Best Buy Co. among the gainers.

Filed under: Competitive strategy, Best Buy (BBY)

Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) warned of a disastrous holiday retail season before it occurred, even with bankrupt competitor Circuit City Stores, Inc closing stores and having survival issues. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) by far was Best Buy's worst nightmare over the holidays, gaining same-store sales growth and being about the only retailer that was growing while all the others were shrinking.

With Best Buy set to report December earnings this Friday, many eyes will be on the retailer to see just how bad or good it performed over the holiday selling season. Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Schick believes that a 6.5% drop in same-store sales is on tap for the December quarter for Best Buy, which would be in line with the retailer's own doom and gloom predictions. However, Schick also thinks that there will be an uptick in December's numbers based on Best Buy's grasp of market share from the faltering Circuit City.

Schick notes that the rapidly falling prices in flat-screen televisions has hurt Best Buy, along with "the largest drop in durable goods spending since 1942." Best Buy still, though, has most of the market for consumer electronics outside from the mass discount retailer scene. There is generally not much national competition for the retailer outside the warehouse clubs that sell specific product categories of electronics, and of course Wal-Mart. Still, when consumers start spending money again, Best Buy will probably rise mightily from the ashes.

Best Buy gains market share while seeing declining sales in December originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alcoa Cuts 13% of Workforce; Best Buy to Sell Used iPhones; Jobs’ Statement Earns Apple Upgrade; India Exports Slowing Dramatically; Europe Inflation at 2-Year Low; U.S. Still Innovation Leader; Belarus to Secure IMF Aid

• Alcoa Inc. (AA) said late yesterday (Tuesday) that it…

Best Buy (BBY), an electronics chain, said it will offer refurbished iPhone 3Gs, starting at $149 for the 8GB version and $249 for 16GB, compared...

Alcoa Cuts 13% of Workforce; Best Buy to Sell Used iPhones; Jobs’ Statement Earns Apple Upgrade; India Exports Slowing Dramatically; Europe Inflation at 2-Year Low; U.S. Still Innovation Leader; Belarus to Secure IMF Aid Alcoa Inc. (AA) said late yesterday (Tuesday) that it will cut 13% of its global workforce. The ...

Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Amazon.com (AMZN), Best Buy (BBY), Analyst initiations, JetBlue Airways (JBLU)

Analyst upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to Overweight from Neutral as they believe the company's market share gains in the e-commerce sector will continue and that new product lines are adding diversification of revenue streams.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Leap Wireless (NASDAQ:LEAP) to Outperform from Market Perform citing new market launches that should drive subscriber growth and reduced ARPU deterioration.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Pride International (NYSE:PDE) to Buy from Hold as they believe investors will view the stock as a pure deepwater play beginning in Q2.
• PDL BioPharma (NASDAQ:PDLI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Altera (NYSE:ALTR) was upgraded at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst downgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette downgraded Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI), Prosperity Bancshares (NASDAQ:PRSP), Cullen/Frost (NYSE:CFR) and BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) to Underperform from Market Perform on valuation and the weakening economic outlook in the Southwest.
  
• Oppenheimer cut Varian Medial (NYSE:VAR) to Perform from Outperform as they believe U.S. hospitals could reduce capital spending budgets by 15%-25% in 2009.
  
• Dress Barn (NASDAQ:DBRN) was lowered to Neutral from Buy at SunTrust based on valuation and lack of near-term catalysts.
• JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) was downgraded at Jesup & Lamont to Hold from Buy.
  
• Credit Suisse cut Novellus (NASDAQ:NVLS) to Underperform from Neutral.
  
• Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst initiations:

• Merriman initiated Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ:CPST) with a Neutral rating and finds the stock fairly valued at current levels.
  
• Leerink sees a high likelihood that Momenta's (NASDAQ:MNTA) lead product candidates M-Enoxaparin and M-356 clear regulatory and legal hurdles. The firm has an Outperform rating and $16 fair value estimate on shares.
  
• NCI (NASDAQ:NCIT) was initiated with a Market Perform rating at Wachovia based on valuation.
• Teradyne (NYSE:TER) was assumed at Barclays with an Overweight rating and $6 target.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMZN, LEAP, BBY, BANF, JBLU originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Companies featured in this segment: Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM), Acciona SA (MCE:ANA), Constellation Energy Group Incorporated (NYSE:CEG), MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, EDF Development Incorporated, Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF), Siemens AG (NYSE:SI), Ansaldo STS SpA (BIT:STS), Alstom SA (EPA:ALO), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Balfour-Beatty plc (LSE:BBY), Suzlon Energy Limited (BSE:532667), The Emerald People's Utility District, and Symbiotics LLC.

Schaeffer's Equities Analyst Colleen S. King a look at news on the Street before the market open.

Companies featured in this segment: Petroplus Holdings AG (VTX:PPHN), ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), Honeywell International Incorporated (NYSE:HON), Rolls-Royce Group plc (OTC:RYCEY), Balfour Beatty plc (LSE:BBY), Areva (EPA:CEI), Church & Dwight Company Incorporated (NYSE:CHD), and Sharp Corporation (OTC:SHCAY).

Schaeffer's Andrea Kramer takes a look at unusual option activity on the Street

Schaeffer's analyst Colleen S. King takes a look at the major news of the day on Wall Street.