Now that there's credible evidence that the U.S. economy is recovering, U.S. gasoline demand may stabilize, helping refiners like Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), hence I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended on February 15, 2009 at a price of $66.18.

Look for Chevron's oil/natural gas production to increase more than 5% in FY2009, and then at about a 4-4.5% annual rate 2010-2012.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you can be bearish, but you have to admit when you're wrong.

Oh boy, I hit a nerve. My last two days of donning the bear suit and imitating the bears has brought on a cacophony of critics, all of whom think that I am attacking them personally! That's right, they think I have read them, seen them and heard them and that I am spoofing them or making fun of them.

Moreover, they think that I am wildly bullish and that I am mocking them for not wanting to buy things here.

U.S. stock futures drifted lower Friday morning, indicating a weaker start on Wall Street, a day after a market rally that was fueled by strong economic reports. But as investors catch their breath, they also await cautiously for data on consumer spending and sentiment, as earlier data this week surprised to the down side.

On Thursday, the government reported the economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter. While the growth was mostly due to government stimuli, it was enough to lift stocks some 2% for the day. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday the U.S. economy's return to growth shows some stability but recovery is fragile and needs nurturing.

Oil giant Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) will get its chance to impress Wall Street before the market opens Friday when it reports its third quarter results.

The last time the company reported earnings was back in July when it was unable to meet analyst estimates by posting 87 cents per share verse estimates for 95 cents. Traders seem optimistic that the company will meet expectations this time around and are driving the stock up 2.5% in today's trading.

The "Tiber" field discovered by BP in deep water about 250 miles off the coast of Houston is probably the deepest drill on record, more than 6.5 miles. deep. Analysts estimate that the field holds about 3 billion barrels of oil, of which 1 billion barrels are recoverable with today's technology.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) also owns another big oil field called "Kaskida" in the Gulf of Mexico. Together these two fields could boost BP's oil production from 400,000 barrels per day to 650,000 bpd.

They say you should buy low and sell high, which is easy to say but hard to do. How low is low and how high is high?

Sometimes technical support and resistance levels can be helpful in finding those highs and lows. Right now oil stocks like Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), PetroChina Company Ltd. (NYSE: PTR) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) are just bouncing off support that may be the "low" many traders are looking for.

In his Validea newsletter, editor John Reese picks stocks based on the long-standing strategies of "legendary" investors, including investment stars as Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, and others known for long-term records of success.

Here, the advisor takes a look at Chevron (NYSE: CVX), based on the investment strategy of leading growth and value investor James O'Shaughnessy.

"O'Shaughnessy's approach, know as the Cornerstone Value Strategy, looks for large, well known companies whose market cap is greater than $1 billion. These companies exhibit solid and stable earnings. CVX's market cap passes this test.

Today was one of those Monday trading session that had no real direction and no real data to digest on a macro basis. So traders decided to lighten up after the big runs we have seen, particularly after four weeks of the markets rallying. There is also probably a sense of locking in some gains in case the two day FOMC meeting this week starts to take on a less free-money tone. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 9337.18(-0.34%)
S&P500: 1005.89 (-0.46%)
NASDAQ:1992.24(-0.40%)

Top Analyst Calls:

LogMeIn Inc. (NASDAQ: LOGM) saw its quiet period end after its July 1 IPO date. Most analysts gave it a positive outlook and favorable rating, yet shares were down over 6% at $16.80 very late in the trading session.

AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) was weak all day. The parent of American Airlines may have more regulatory reviews as it and British Air will have to face a review over the Oneworld Alliance in antitrust matters at a joint hearing next month. Shares were down 4% at $5.71 in the final minutes of the day.

Where on earth can you buy things on sale for less than bargain prices?

Imagine that you were shopping for a nice shirt, or watch, or bicycle and you have been tracking the prices all year (or ten) and the thing finally goes on sale. You drive to the store and while you are in transit, unknown to you, the store manager puts a half price sticker on the item. You would be overjoyed with glee! To buy something at half the price you already thought was a bargain -- that would be amazing!

The fact is that this year the stock market has provided that opportunity. This year for the first time in most of our lives, you were able to do that to a degree that we have not witnessed before and have only read about.

U.S. stock futures advanced Friday morning to finish yet another week full of earnings just to be hit with a wave of economic data Friday morning. Ahead of the bell, investors will focus on the release of second-quarter gross domestic product data, with many hoping it would indicate a slower pace of decline and a recovery ahead to the U.S. economy.

On average, economists expect the recession likely eased in the second quarter and shrank at a 1.5% pace -- an improvement over the 5.9% decline in economic growth the previous six months -- as the stimulus programs helped the economy to revive somewhat. Now, analysts are hoping the economy no longer in free-fall. They expect to see less drastic spending cuts by businesses and an improved trade picture factor, although consumer spending has likely continued to shrink on the back on the increasing unemployment.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the stocks seem to move in lock step despite varying degrees of success.

Oils are not equal, even though they trade together. This morning Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) (Cramer's Take) reported profits down 67%, which is 15 points more than BP (NYSE: BP) (Cramer's Take), and this matters. Conoco (NYSE: COP) (Cramer's Take) was just disastrous, down 76%, with the worse combination of bad refining and horrid natural gas numbers. Yet they are all pretty much treated equally. Meanwhile, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) (Cramer's Take) gave you a 4.6% increase in the dividend, something they hinted they could do because of the great growth of output that is hitting now. Reserves are growing.

I am hoping that these become de-ETF'd, meaning that they can trade on their own so stock-picking matters again. That's what's happening, for example, with the banks, where a different kind of reserves is distinguishing the players.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says even without top-line growth, next quarter should amaze as we see the full benefits of big layoffs.

People are way too worried that we won't see top-line growth. The great earnings numbers that we have seen are being dismissed repeatedly because -- with the exception of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) (Cramer's Take) -- they aren't being driven by sales, just margins. I say if you are waiting for top line, forget it. Not in this rally. Not going to happen. Doesn't mean a thing.

Here's the deal. Companies have fired and fired and fired people again and again and we have only seen a few months -- the last two of this quarter -- of impact in the cuts while we have seen myriad charges. Next quarter, even if there is no top-line growth, should be amazing as we see the full benefits of the firings. We could be looking at gigantic earnings per share without any growth because no one is hiring. In fact, they are still laying off.

I'm reiterating my Buy rating for Chevron (NYSE: CVX), first recommended on February 13, 2009 at a price of $66.18.

Oil, after doubling to $70 following its plunge to $35 from $147 last summer, is currently down, and will likely remain under pressure until there's tangible evidence of a U.S. economic recovery.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded VMware (NYSE: VMW) to Hold from Underperform on expectations June quarter revenue will be inline-to-slightly-better and negative revisions to September quarter revenue will not be as great as in the most recent two quarters. The firm raised its target on shares to $25 from $20.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent pullback and believes expectations for Q2 are reasonable. The firm has a $50 price target on the stock.
  
• FBR Capital upgraded Bronco Drilling (NASDAQ: BRNC) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation as it believes negative sentiment will ease. The firm raised its target on shares to $4 from $3.
• Unilever (NYSE: UL) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Posco (NYSE: PKX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Gol Linhas Aereas (NYSE: GOL) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.

In a race, when the yellow caution flag is out drivers are prohibited from advancing their position, and are subject to penalty.

In the stock market no such rule applies. When the caution flag goes up it is a sign you may be nearing an opportunity to advance your position, and it would be foolish not to do so. I think the market has definitely had the caution flag up the last two weeks as we enter earnings season.

I have written several articles regarding watch-lists encouraging our readers to be prepared for buying opportunities, and as I look at my watch-list it appears that many stocks are nearing prices that would make it attractive to add to my position.