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Harman International (HAR) shares have spiked this morning on a strong earnings report - and a big new piece of business from Toyota.

Harman, which makes audio products, posted revenue for its fiscal first quarter ended September of $757.4 million, well ahead of the Street consensus at $693 million, and a loss of 14 cents a share, not as bad as the Street consensus estimate of a loss of 23 cents. The company noted that it had positive operating income of $5 million, down from $43 million a year ago, but up from a $34 million a loss in the June quarter.

October is recruiting month here at Northwestern University. Hundreds of students outfitted in sharp black suits huddle into crammed, overheated rooms trying to convince companies to hire them. Seniors and juniors prepare for these campus visits months in advance because it gives them an opportunity to show companies why they are the perfect candidates.

In his latest quarterly letter, David Einhorn has revealed some of his hedge fund's latest activity. Greenlight Capital, which manages around $5 billion these days, recently picked up some Ford (F) high-yield bank loans, as well as their revolving bank line. Additionally, Greenlight added substantial stakes in EMC (EMC), Harman International (HAR), and Pfizer (PFE). (We originally covered Einhorn's purchase of Harman here).

Ford Debt

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Genentech Inc (DNA)

Goldman Sachs downgraded Daimler (NYSE:DAI) to Neutral from Buy, according to MarketWatch.

Citigroup downgraded Genentech (NYSE:DNA) to Hold from Buy, according to Briefing.com. The news service also writes that UBS downgraded Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to Hold from Buy.

Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN) was raised to Buy at Citigroup, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial site also reports that Harman (NYSE:HAR) was cut to Neutral at Baird.

Douglas A. McIntyre