• Meredith Whitney raised Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) shares to “buy” from “neutral” with a $186 price target
• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) added Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) to its Conviction Buy List, taking off shares of Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK)
• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) posted positive comments ahead of Friday’s forthcoming General Electric (NYSE:GE) numbers, saying it sees it earnings to beat Street estimates of 23 cents a share
• CIT Group (NYSE:CIT) warned of a possible “crisis” for 30,000 retailers should its failure to raise funds drive the firm into bankruptcy as it attempts to improve its near-term liquidity position
• Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) annual partner conference in New Orleans begins today, with reports expected on online software versions as well as plans for its “cloud” operating system, its next Office Suite software version, and pricing and plans for its Azure operating system
• Philips (NYSE:PHG), Europe’s largest consumer electronics firm, surprised with second quarter earnings of $62 million, down 94% from a year ago, but ahead of Street estimates for a loss of $175 million, as well as offering optimistic comments of an improved second half helped by cost-cutting measures
• Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was upgraded by JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM), with a price target of $35, up from $29
