BP's (BP) headache continues over its planned share swap with Russian-owned Rosneft. According to a report from Sky News, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) announced its concerns over the impact of the swap. ABI reportedly controls 10% to 15% of the U.K. stock market.

ABI's reservations also include a Swedish court's decision to block BP's planned venture with Rosneft in the Arctic. Perhaps most concerning of all -- and not just to ABI -- is Wednesday's report announcing that U.S. prosecutors are considering manslaughter charges against BP for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Eleven oil workers were killed as a result of the spill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Exxon Mobil (XOM), Netflix (NFLX), Noble Corp. (NE), Pioneer Natural (PXD) and Noble Energy (NBL) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Cenovus Energy (CVE) to conviction buy from neutral and Atwood Oceanics (ATW) to neutral from sell at Goldman as well.
• Southern Company (SO) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Chevron (CVX) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Ryder (R), Entergy (ETR) and Seaspan (SSW) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Gerdau (GGB), Crown Castle (CCI) and American Tower (AMT) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Aon (AON) and Willis Group (WSH) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Ryland Group (RYL) to buy from neutral at Ticonderoga.

The Chinese government released trade data that portrays a $7.3 billion deficit. Is that believable or just convenient amid the international pressure to raise the value of their currency? We can hardly believe what comes out of Washington, so data coming out of China has to be quite suspect.

I'm sure they retained qualified independent auditors to ascertain the validity of the figures -- yeah right ...

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world and competes with other major oil companies like BP (BP), Chesapeake (CHK), Anadarko (APC) and Chevron (CVX). We have a near $79 price estimate for the company. In its earnings announcement, the company highlighted its replacement rate for its oil and gas reserves.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) is the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world and competes with other major oil companies like BP, Chesapeake, Anadarko and Chevron. In our recent article titled Sizing Up Egypt's Impact on Exxon, we tried to give an idea of Egypt's importance for Exxon Mobil and how the unrest in the country could affect its stock price. We also discussed how the situation in Libya forced BP to start evacuating its staff from the country in our article Unrest in Libya Could Jeopardize BP Exploration Deal. With the political unrest spreading to more countries over the past few weeks, this may be a bigger concern for Exxon Mobil and other oil & gas majors worldwide. We have a current price estimate of $78.97, which is about 10% below the market price.

Coca-Cola (KO) has more than $13 billion in cash.

The top five companies (according to market cap) are:

• Exxon Mobil (XOM): $398.3 billion
• Apple (AAPL): $309.0 billion
• Microsoft (MSFT): $237.5 billion
• General Electric (GE): $215.0 billion
• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): $202.5 billion

A little over a week ago the chart players took short positions in the oil sector. Since then the world has changed dramatically.

Egypt is engulfed in a civil uprising and protesters are clamoring for President Hosni Mubarak to step down. Uncertainty is the new state of affairs. Uncertainty breeds fear and fear has taken over the energy sector.

The chart guys quickly covered their shorts and now the bulls have the market. This is fundamental. Three million barrels of oil a day pass through the Suez Canal and the Sumed pipeline. You can throw the charts out the window.

Oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM) is trading up nicely today after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings this morning.

Before the market opened this morning, Exxon reported that it earned $1.85 for its fourth quarter, shattering analyst estimates for $1.63 per share.

"Nowhere is the supply and demand balance as tight as it is with oil; with the somewhat stronger economy here and abroad, the oil gap is closing again," says Jim Powell.

The editor of Global Changes & Opportunities explains, "I think the best way to benefit from rising oil prices is to buy Exxon Mobil (XOM), the world's largest, and one of its most reliable, energy investments.

"I think the price will reach the psychologically important $100 mark by this summer, and maybe a lot sooner.