Dividend.com: Morning Playbook

The markets opened down this morning, as a lack of much news-flow and a little less proliferation in Wall Street upgrades is forcing traders to take a breather as we enter a new week. Let's take a look at what should be under the microscope this morning:

Themes:

Gold(GLD Quote): Looking lower in the early going.

Oil(USO Quote): Also pulling back at the start.

Treasuries(TLT Quote): Bucking the trend and looking positive in the early going.

Upgrades to Watch:

Kimberly Clark(KMB Quote): Credit Suisse(CS Quote) raises estimates and price target.

Metlife(MET Quote): Morgan Stanley(MS Quote) raises target to $43.

Merck(MRK Quote): Credit Suisse raises target to $32 in anticipation of synergies from Schering-Plough(SGP Quote) deal.

O'Reilly Automotive(ORLY Quote): Merrill Lynch/Bank of America(BAC Quote) puts a buy on the stock along with a $45 price target.

Oracle(ORCL Quote): Citigroup(C Quote) raises target price to $24.

Blackstone(BX Quote): Goldman Sachs(GS Quote) raises the stock to a buy and gives it a $13 price target.