By Stockpickr Staff
Updated at 6:06 p.m. EDT on June 30, 2009

Abbott Labs (ABT) will pay Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) about $1.7 billion according to a the ruling in a patent infringement suit regarding Abbott's Humira and J&J's Centocor, which both treat rheumatoid arthritis.

On Tuesday, Abbott closed down 78 cents, or 1.6%, at $47.04.

RHJ International, a Belgium industrial company, is close to purchasing a stake in General Motors' (GMGMQ) Opel division after revising a previous offer. The Financial Times reports that the deal could be settled in a matter of days.

Apollo Group (APOL) reported third-quarter earnings of $201.1 million, or $1.26 a share, up 45% from the same quarter last year, after an increase in enrollment at its education programs. Revenue also increased, by 26% to $1.05 billion.

On Tuesday, Apollo gained $5.13, or 7.8%, to close at $71.12.

In analyst upgrade-downgrade news, Barclays upgraded FedEx (FDX) to overweight from equalweight with a $71 price target, while Merrill Lynch/Bank of America upgraded Electronic Arts (ERTS) to buy from neutral with a $26 price target.

FedEx closed down a penny at $55.62 on Tuesday, while Electronic Arts added 91 cents to $21.72.

With this in mind, we thought we'd take a look at some of the stocks in the news and see what Jim Cramer's had to say about them lately.

These stocks could be in the news for a number of reasons. Some require immediate attention; others may not. Regardless, it never hurts to hear what Cramer (or any professional investors) has to say about them. The key is to gather as much information as you can in order to make the most informed investment decisions you can.

In a June 24 post to his RealMoney blog, Cramer had this to say about FedEx:

"Federal Express (FDX) is now up nicely from when it reported that allegedly bad quarter with the allegedly bad guidedown (there was no real guidedown because there had been no outlook given to cut!). 'Nicely' is actually too soft. This transport is roaring, and I know that very few people expected it to be ramping like this.
"I point out this FedEx move because it is such a leading indicator that to ignore it is to ignore why the industrials started taking off. It is like ignoring Apple (AAPL) for tech and ignoring Freeport (FCX) for minerals and ignoring Transocean (RIG) for oil.

"You know I believe things are slowly getting better in the way that Nucor (NUE) pointed out this morning and in the way that Home Depot (HD) predicted. (By the way, the "bad" new-home sales is good news because overall home sales are up, meaning the banks are getting rid of inventory, which is what we want to see.)

"When I see FedEx run, I want to take the rails (you should go read the Breakout Stocks comments on the rails -- really good) and I want to take some Amazon (AMZN) (always a great correlation) and obviously I want UPS (UPS). I can make a lot of judgments about what gets shipped by FedEx, and it's all positive for a lot of retail and a lot of small-business industrial and a lot of international shipping -- oh, and not all of it China, by the way.

"The most important thing I want, though, is a recognition that the selloff was not validated and that the economy is fighting between the "less bad" and the "almost OK," and the FDX action signifies to me the latter, not the former. It cannot be overlooked, especially if the market takes a sudden spill after the Fed news, something I am not expecting, but you never know when the bears are going to come in and knock things down with ETFs ... not, Tim Collins, that there's anything wrong with that! While I love Tim's postings, he must realize that these tools are excellent for knocking things down, which is totally and completely legal."

(Editor's note: At the time of publication and/or original publication of his posts and shows, Cramer owned Home Depot and Abbott for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)