Analyst upgrades:

• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Canaccord, which cited the company's strong Q1 results.
• Pali Capital raised T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) to Neutral from Sell following the company's better-than-expected Q3 results.
• Under Armour (NYSE: UA) was upgraded to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna following positive checks ahead of the company's Tuesday's Q3 report.
• Stifel Nicolaus raised American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Buy from Hold, as the firm thinks the company is close to reaching "normalized" earnings.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) to Sell from Conviction Sell.
• RBC Capital upgraded Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL) to Outperform from Sector Perform.
• American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform by Pacific Crest.

"BHP Billiton Ltd. ADR (NYSE: BHP) is well placed in coal, oil, gas, and uranium markets, making it a solid play in any investment environment," says global specialist Yiannis Mostrous.

In The New World 3.0, the advisor explains, "BHP Billiton is the only major listed company to that boasts such a diversified energy portfolio.

"Recently, analysts have unleashed an avalanche of upgrades for companies in the mining sector, coinciding with higher price forecasts for a wide range of metals.

"The main reasons for the recent upsurge in optimism regarding miners are strong economic growth in China and an anticipated restocking of materials in developed nations.

Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Neutral after the close Monday. The firm believes Motorola's devices segment will approach breakeven in 2010 while operating margins in nonhandset segments will expand, and that a break-up story will reemerge. Credit Suisse raised its target on shares to $9.50 from $7.
• UBS upgraded BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) to Buy from Neutral. The firm cites BHP's leverage to iron ore, coking coal, copper, and oil for its upgrade after raising its commodity price forecasts.
• Merriman upgraded Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect higher met coal price forecasts. The firm believes Chinese demand is strong and has a target range of $66-$72 on the stock.
• Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Coach (NYSE: COH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says even stocks without exposure to that country will probably be on sale today.

If China has pulled back 20%, do we have to pull back 20%, even though they were up 80% and we are up 9%? Are we so in lock step now that when China catches a cold, we are the ones with pneumonia?

I don't think so. It's such an easy story to stretch out, though you can see that our Freeports (NYSE: FCX) (Cramer's Take) and our Exxons (NYSE: XOM) (Cramer's Take) can get hammered.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the plunge in China overnight is being blamed on the industrial metal, so expect some carry-over.

It turns out copper was the metric. Drats, I thought it was the dollar or oil. I thought we were supposed to buy the cyclicals on earnings being better than expected. I thought we might be buying the minerals and the steels and the oils off the morning proxy of the Baltic Freight Index, known as the Baltic Fright Index in the days when it kept going down, and kept us out of the Freeports (NYSE: FCX) (Cramer's Take) and Vales (NASDAQ: VALE) (Cramer's Take) and Union Pacifics (NYSE: UNP) (Cramer's Take) and U.S. Steels (NYSE: X) (Cramer's Take).

Silly me.

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.

After finding three stocks yesterday that were a good bet to beat the the S&P 500 index going forward, I decided to pursue this notion further. Each of yesterday's stocks was in a different industry that will have strong recurring revenue and pays a dividend; energy, food and booze.

Today's three stocks are in diversified mining, electric power utilities and high-tech defense. Going back ten years, they have all trounced the index and I'm betting they will continue to do so.

This is a continuation of a theme I have been writing about this year involving stock options referred to as naked puts.

This allows investors to take a position in a stock, most often below its current price, but depending on market sentiment. That sentiment remains relatively negative so the spreads are attractive.

I have been following BHP Billiton Ltd ADR (NYSE: BHP) the largest mining company in the world, with headquarters in Australia, for a while but I do not own the stock today. I view all mining companies as an opportunity because I think the diversified raw materials they control are the best hedge against inflation. I do not think inflation is imminent, but with the extreme increases in money supply and debt being created I do not think it will be avoidable a few years out.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded Anglo American (NASDAQ: AAUK) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on a potentially higher bid from Xstrata (OTC: XSRAY) or a white night willing to pay a premium for the group, higher copper prices, and improving operating performance.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB) to Buy from Neutral citing improved bagged salad margins, strong free cash flow, solid banana trends, and valuation. The firm has a $13 target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Legacy Reserves (NASDAQ: LGCY) to Buy from Hold due to the firm's belief that the back of the crude board is still very cheap, the firm's increased distribution outlook, and the movement of the stock after the discontinuation of the company's talks with Apollo.
• Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

It was reported on Sunday, June 21, that Anglo-Swiss mining company Xstrata has proposed a merger of equals to the board of Anglo American ADR (NASDAQ: AAUK), hoping to create a new, more competitive mining giant. Rumors have been milling about for a while.

Together, Anglo American and Xstrata would have a market capitalization of approximately $68 billion, (AAUK's $35 billion + XTA.L's $33 billion) and be larger than Rio Tinto plc ADS (NYSE: RTP), which ended the trading day last Friday with a capitalization hovering over $42 billion.

Analyst upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT) to Perform from Underperform after the FDA's Arthritis Advisory Committee voted 14-1 in favor of approving Krystexxa for gout.
• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $27 from $18 based on expectations that margin expansion will be higher than Street expectations.
• UBS said Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has limited downside risk given the improved outlook for the graphics processor market and professional solutions business. Shares were upgraded to Neutral from Sell and its target was raised to $11.50 from $8.
• BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie.
• Neutral Tandem (NASDAQ: TNDM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP - option chain) stock is declining this morning on reports that Chinese authorities could use a new antitrust law to block the company's planned joint venture with BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP). If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on RTP.

This morning, RTP opened at $193.00. So far today the stock has hit a low of $188.52 and a high of $194.00. As of 11:45, RTP is trading at $190.15, down $14.29 (-7.0%). The chart for RTP looks neutral and S&P gives RTP a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

It was certainly a big-time bet: Chinalco agreed to invest a whopping $19.5 billion in Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP), which is the #3 ore miner. However, over the past couple months, there was some doubt as to whether this transaction would come to fruition.

Well, this week, we got an answer. That is, Rio decided to dump Chinalco and instead form a joint venture (JV) with BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP), which is the #2 player in the global ore industry (keep in mind that both firms had a buyout deal that blew up last year).

Now, the JV has lots of merit. For example, there will be huge cost synergies, which could amount to more than $10 billion.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you may hear reasons why the rally shouldn't have occurred, but you can't deny it did happen.

On Tuesday I wanted to shoot myself, as always when I woke up and went online to see what was going on. Here's a partial list of the beautiful data points that were in my purview in the first hour of looking over the market:

1. A trenchant note from a major strategist at a bank I trust who is talking about why the market must be avoided because private-equity valuations are collapsing, so what's the point of owning equities.

Analyst upgrades:

• Stephens upgraded Arris (NASDAQ: ARRS) to Overweight from Equal Weight following the company's Q1 results and raised its target on shares to $15 from $8.
  
• Goldman upgraded Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) to Neutral from Sell and raised their target to $11 from $7 citing better earnings prospects and stabilizing volumes.
  
• KeyBanc upgraded Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) to Hold from Underweight citing the company's improved balance sheet and valuation.
• Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was raised to Buy from Sell at Royal Bank of Scotland.
  
• First Potomac (NYSE: FPO) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Sector Perform from Underperform.