Lorillard (LO - option chain) shares are rising today after an FDA panel wrote in a draft report that it will not recommend an outright ban on menthol cigarettes. Most of LO's sales come from menthol products, unlike its main competitors Altria (MO) and Reynolds American (RAI). Investors had feared the FDA would move to ban menthol cigarettes, but that is looking less likely now, even though the panel did say removing menthol from the shelves would benefit public health. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on LO.

LO opened this morning at $80.01. So far today the stock has hit a low of $79.30 and a high of $88.17. As of 12:15, LO is trading at $85.67 up 6.89 (8.8%). The chart for LO looks bullish and S&P gives LO a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Altria (MO) -- our top investment idea for the coming year -- is an extremely simple business; the company provides a specific product, tobacco, to a specific consumer niche, tobacco users," says dividend expert Kelley Wright.

The editor Investment Quality Trends explains, "While distasteful, if not outright abhorrent to much of the population, tobacco is the poster-child of 'sinful' indulgences, which makes Altria Group the poster-child of 'sin' stocks.

Looking for a shopping list of new stock ideas for 2011?

Each year for 28 years, TheStockAdvisors.com has turned to the nation's most respected and well-known newsletter advisors and asked them for their favorite investment ideas for the coming 12 months.

With 65 advisors participating in this year's survey, there's something for every type of investor, from high-quality blue chips to speculative home runs.

"We will leave the debate over the relative morality of the cigarette business to others," says Geoffrey Seiler, adding "Our view is simple: it is a legal product and Philip Morris International (PM) is one of the best operators in the segment."

The editor of BullMarket.com explains, "The Philip Morris value creation model is easy to understand. While organic volumes are still slipping, the tobacco industry continues to have great pricing power.

"Thus the simple formula for the company is to raise prices, use its prolific cash flow to buy back shares, make some accretive acquisitions, increase the dividend, and repeat.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Eaton (ETN) to conviction buy from neutral.
• AECOM Technology (ACM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Hologic (HOLX), Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Qiagen (QGEN) to overweight from neutral.
• GeoMet (GMET) was upgraded to accumulate from neutral at Global Hunter.
• Accretive Health (AH) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Reinsurance Group (RGA) to overweight from equal weight.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Clearwire (CLWR) to neutral from underperform.

Altria (MO - option chain) shares are rising to a new 52-week high today of $26.15, up more than 20% from the stock's summer low. Altria has been moving steadily higher for the past four months, hitting new yearly highs with great frequency during that time. If you purchased MO in late June, the stock boasted a 7% annual yield, which has decreased as the stock price advanced. However, the company boosted its dividend recently to 0.38 per quarter, which at today's stock price is still good for 5.8% annually. To lift that adjusted dividend rate even higher, consider a hedged trade on MO where you can lower your basis by selling options.

MO opened this morning at $25.93. So far today the stock has hit a low of $25.83 and a high of $26.15. As of 12:15, MO is trading at $26.10 up 0.34 (1.3%). The chart for MO looks bullish and S&P gives MO a positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy ranking.

When you write about Apple (AAPL), you inevitably hear from some naive person informing you that, "You just don't get it; Apple is different."

There are certainly many things about Apple that are very different, but in the context of the "you just don't get it" crowd, it is absolutely not. The same was said about Google (GOOG) only a short while ago, Xerox (XRX) three decades ago and Winchester -- now part of Olin Corp. (OLN) -- rifles 125 years ago.

Analyst Upgrades

• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital, as the firm thinks the company's valuation is inexpensive while it will perform well during the holiday season.
• Credit Suisse upgraded CF Industries (CF) to outperform from neutral, citing favorable fundamentals in nitrogen and phosphate markets.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was raised to buy from hold by Jefferies, which cited expectations for higher selling prices next year and cost savings from sourcing more components internally.
• BMO Capital upgraded RC2 Corp. (RCRC) to outperform from market perform as the firm believes that RC2's baby products are performing better than previously expected.
• Ericsson (ERIC) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merril.
• ProLogis (PLD) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Constellation Energy (CEG) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to overweight from neutral and raised its target price for shares to $77 from $53 after The New England Journal of Medicine reported the company's PARTNER Trial met primary endpoints.
• UBS upgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $36 from $25. UBS is positive on Endo's creative strategic deals and believes the switch to Opana TRF from Opana ER will be easy. Additionally, the analyst believes pipeline expectations are very low.
• BMO Capital upgraded Nvidia (NVDA) to outperform from market perform based on expectations that share loss in the core GPU business will stop, Tegra momentum and valuation. The firm raised its price target to $16 from $9.
• FirstEnergy (FE) and Allegheny Energy (AYE) were upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Mylan (MYL) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman. Warner
• Chilcott (WCRX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Here is a common sentiment about the stock market: "No fun at all. As I have said before, I believe it has turned into one big casino largely divorced from its original goal of providing capital to companies who produce something of value."

There's a lot of truth to what "granny" recently said to me in an e-mail. Fortunately she also noted "FYI Granny's up 5.86% + dividends." That would give her a gain of about 10% in the past ten months since I posted Where should granny put $50,000, suggesting a very conservative portfolio for an uncertain time.

Not only has she earned a very nice return, surpassing her CD account by 9.5% (20 fold), but she was able to do so with a great deal less volatility than the overall market most of us have lived through.

Great dividend picks are easier to find than you think. Retirees looking for safe places to stash their cash are already familiar with many blue chips that have hefty yields. It's just that when investors stop at the grocery store or pay their phone bill, they aren't thinking about how the big brands they're doing business with are actually good dividend payers.

Here are three of America's best know public corporations with yields that are about twice what 10-year Treasuries pay. These low-risk blue chips are some of the most famous high-yield dividend stocks out there.

Option traders are pushing up call option prices in the Processed & Packaged Goods industry and are pushing up put option prices in the Packaging & Containers industry.

Any time the volatility skews above 1.00, it is an indication that calls are more expensive than puts. Typically, when calls are more expensive than puts, it means the demand for calls is greater than the demand for puts because investors believe the stock is going to rise in the future and they want to take advantage of that movement by buying calls.

The opposite is also true. Any time a volatility skews below 1.00, it is an indication that puts are more expensive than calls.

When I read that economically troubled Greece has 10-year bonds currently yielding between 6.32% and 6.44%, I wondered why these have any worth at all given the many alternatives offering a better return and greater liquidity? This baffled me.

Only Tuesday, I wrote about Telecom Corp New Zealand (NZT), a stock paying over 10% yield. The story also mentions that AT&T, Inc. (T) is currently paying a 6.4% yield and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is offering 6.25%. From my perspective, these are far better bets, safer and with some upside too than Greek debt.

"There's a reason companies that pay stable, outsized dividends can be so profitable in uncertain times; dividends provide you with an instant litmus test of value; they show you whether a company is making money; and they reflect how seriously management takes its responsibility to shareholders," says Keith Fitz-Gerald.

The editor of the Money Map Report explains, "Altria Group (MO) is a dividend machine. Right now, the stock yields 6.9%. And there's more than enough business to sustain such a high payout rate."

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

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q3 earnings beat by a penny but sales fell short of expectations; shares fell.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) reported a Q3 net loss and plunging revenue but also raised $4 billion in cash.
• BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) topped Q3 earnings expectations but said bad-loan provisions nearly doubled.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) missed estimates and posted a Q3 loss due to delays for a couple of jet products.
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) shares rose after it reported better-than-expected Q3 numbers.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted a better-than-expected Q3 profit but sales fell short, and shares fell.