The jet age is starting to re-assert itself, which is why I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), first recommended on February 13, 2009 at a price of $47.09. If you bought UTX in February, you're up about 35%.

The projected 3-4% FY2010 revenue growth for UTX is looking a tad low, due to large order backlogs for both Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Airbus. Wall Street had factored-in some order deferments/cancellations, and that did weigh on United Technologies shares this summer, but now it appears the D/Cs will not be as large, which removes a potential revenue cloud.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares rose after it reaffirmed its full-year earnings and sales outlook.
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) will have low double-digit EPS growth, predicts one analyst.
• AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) posted a decline in earnings but a small rise in sales, sending shares lower.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings and higher revenue.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) rallied to a new 52-week high after topping analysts' Q2 earnings expectations.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its full-year guidance.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the weak dollar is benefiting U.S. corporations and no longer going against them.

Why have the industrials been so red-hot? Why do they seem to levitate? One reason, of course, is that people think the economy's getting better. A second reason is that even if the economy stands still vs. last year the comparisons will be amazing and nothing gets the juices going more rapidly than easy comparisons.

Why will they be so glaring? First, the layoffs have been brutal, the cost-cutting immense and it hasn't hurt at all ... yet. It is totally and unequivocally positive.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the action that is linked to the futures markets, such as oil, is distorting rational analysis.

Maybe one day we can escape the commodity linkage and begin to trade on the fundamentals again, something that seems more distant now than any time I can recall. We are totally marching to gold, to oil, to copper, and not the fundamentals.

Throughout the era in which China has become a superpower and hedge funds have become the super arbiters or what goes up or down, we have been stuck with this fairly bogus linkage that corrupts trading and makes a mockery out of some of the most important financial analysis out there, the actual attempts to discover what's really happening at companies.

United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) provides technology products and services to the building systems and aerospace industries.

Its stock has built a strong base that began in October 2008. In early July, UTX flashed a bullish gold cross. Then, in mid-August, it broke out from a quadruple-top.

If you're looking for the most accurate way to predict the direction a stock or the market is headed, technical analysis is it.

Of course, no chart pattern is accurate all of the time (which is why technical analysis is more of an art than a science), but it's the closest you're going to get to a sure thing in the stock market.

So I'm offering up six technical trades today. Each of these stocks' charts are giving off extremely bullish signals and look ready to run higher.

Another Dow component, United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), beat its bottom-line forecasts, but like most of the companies we've seen, they did so as a result of cost-cutting.

Revenues of $13.2 billion were below the consensus forecast for revenue of $13.92 billion. The diversified manufacturer also cut its revenue guidance for the year, and lowered the high-end of its profit forecast range.

Although the headlines are screaming about how companies are beating their earnings estimates, little newsprint is being devoted to this quarter's real story.

That story is that revenues for many corporations are way down year over year, and more importantly, their top-line revenues are often coming in below Street estimates.

To be certain, there have been some real success stories so far in Q2, and we'll be talking about some of those in a moment. Moreover, it is always a good sign when companies beat their earnings estimates.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss as steel prices rise.
• Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) posted a better-than-expected Q2 profit on strong overseas sales.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares jumped after it beat earnings, missed revenues, and offered guidance.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) shares declined after it posted a higher-than-expected profit but lower revenue.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) disappointing results were a sign that the bulls are in charge, said Jim Cramer.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Q2 earnings and sales declined, dragged down by finance and NBC units.

Amid a budget process in which every dollar counts, and while Congress determines the most suitable revenue options for universal health care, legislators have weeded-out one wasteful government program: the F-22 fighter jet program.

The Senate voted 58-40 Tuesday to block expansion of the expensive and controversial new jet, CNN reported, and in the process $1.75 billion will be saved.

Today's news boiled down to two issues. First was that five DJIA components reporting earnings this morning, with details on three components. The second issue was Ben Bernanke testifying that inflation was not a huge concern because the economy is likely to stay frail for some time. The markets were mixed to down most of the day until a late day rally saved shares.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 8,911.71 +63.56 (0.72%)
S&P 500 954.10 +2.97 (0.31%)
Nasdaq 1,914.13 +4.84 (0.25%)

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

U.S. stock futures advanced slightly Tuesday morning after edging lower earlier, indicating investors await a clearer direction following some recent gains, early morning earnings report and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Bernanke is also scheduled to give his semiannual monetary-policy testimony to Congress at 10:00 a.m.

[Update: stocks got a boost from Caterpillar's earnings.]

Bernanke said in his opinion piece that after a long period of central bank policies aimed at thawing out the credit market, the central bank will move to stem inflation, but only when the economy is moving quickly enough to warrant tighter policy. He is "confident" in the Fed's ability to curtail inflation.

Don't be deceived by the short-term performance of United Technologies (NYSE: UTX). The weakness of the dollar in the second quarter helped push shares of this multinational manufacturer higher. But these gains merely allowed the company to recover big losses sustained during the first quarter of the year.

The double whammy here for investors is exposure to the aerospace industry. As described previously, the weakness in the airline industry will negatively impact revenue for those companies providing equipment to the space. In addition, reductions in defense spending will also negatively impact UTX.

We are in the early stages of seeing change in how this company operates in the current environment. There is no catalyst for this stock to go higher, and shares are vulnerable to the extent the dollar strengthens. I would sell UTX.

Next: Stock to Avoid #9

With such uncertainty, following an absolute return strategy continues to offer investors the biggest bang for their buck. There is no sense in guessing where the market will be down the road.

Instead, buy cheap stocks and sell stocks that are expensive. Then blend the two approaches together in one portfolio and chances are you'll make money.

Even with a huge rally in stocks, the S&P 500 ended the second quarter with a year-to-date gain of 1.78%. That is a vast improvement compared to the 11% loss at the end of the first quarter, but it's a minimal return for taking risk in the stock market.

Investors need to do better -- and they can.

I'm reiterating my Buy rating for United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), first recommended on February 13, 2009 at a price of $47.09.

True, the recession has caused air travel - leisure and business - to sag, but nothing in this era suggests the United States' two most prominent expressions of modernism - the skyscraper and airplane - are likely to be in less demand, as the U.S./global economic recoveries begin. The First Call FY2009/FY2010 EPS estimates for UTX are $4.09 to $4.44.