As companies try to find ways to cut costs, one popular approach is to leverage software. And an area that is getting lots of traction is supply chain management. Hey, it's worked for companies like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), right?

A leader in the supply chain software space is JDA Software (NASDAQ: JDAS). Well, now the company is going to get bigger; that is, it will purchase i2 Technologies (NASDAQ: ITWO) for $396 million. In fact, the deal will make JDA the world's largest player in the supply chain space.

I'm reiterating my Buy rating for Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), first recommended on April 13, 2009, at a price of $33.02. If you bought CAT in April, you're up about 68%.

The growth story remains the same regarding Caterpillar: after a global recession that substantially reduced demand, the U.S. and global recoveries will enable construction and agriculture equipment to continue to rebound. Caterpillar's recent increase in its FY2009 EPS guidance to $1.85-2.05 adds to the positive mix. The First Call FY2009/FY2010 EPS estimates for CAT are $2.00 to $2.67.

There is no question that the recession took its tool on Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT). The company saw its stock plummet from mid 2008 through March of this year. Along the way the company was forced to layoff employees to help lower costs, but it announced today that it would be rehiring 550 of its laid off workers.

Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens announced the news and stated that the company was pleased that "signs of recovery in the global economy" is allowing it to bring back some employees.

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

• AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI) reported its third consecutive quarterly profit and will increase capacity.
• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares soared after it reported very strong Q3 numbers.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported stellar Q4 results, driven by the popularity of Macs and iPhones.
• BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Q3 earnings soared, due in part to a tax benefit, and assets managed grew.
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) revenue surged sequentially but note the would be flat going forward.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) beat Q3 earnings expectations and shares rose though revenue slumped.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) to Market Perform from Underperform following the Q3 results to reflect the company's improved earnings outlook and better credit trends. The firm has a $70 price target on shares.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) to Buy from Hold as it believes a bottom has been reached in the manufacturing and construction industries. The firm raised its target on shares to $30 from $26.
• Goldman upgraded Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) to Neutral from Sell and raised its target to $64 from $48 citing improved cost controls and construction outlook.
• Pentair (NYSE: PNR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.
• Lexmark (NYSE: LXK) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• Stryker (NYSE: SYK) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) is doing great. The stock is hot, and even though the company is still reporting sales and earnings declines, you just know that the fundamentals will eventually get better. In the meantime, management is doing its best to beat earnings expectations.

Yesterday, management succeeded. For the third quarter, according to our Closing Bell post, Caterpillar said it made 64 cents per share. Analysts were expecting only 6 cents per share. Well, something was off there, huh? Anyway, according to the actual press release, sales decreased over 40%, and per-share profit was off by 15%, but really, it didn't matter to the market. Shares of the heavy equipment maker closed higher by 3%, on heavy volume.

Despite some very tame inflation reports, the housing data was deemed as a disappointment. Investors used today's early strength to sell stocks to lock in profits or to take at least some money off the table. Of the five DJIA components which reported earnings, the pre-earnings gains were astounding on most of them.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,041.48 -50.71 (-0.50%)
S&P 500 1,091.07 -6.84 (-0.62%)
Nasdaq 2,163.47 -12.85 (-0.59%)

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Analyst upgrades:

• American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital, as the firm sees limited near-term downside in the stock. The firm raised its target price on the shares to $37 from $25.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) to Outperform from Sector Perform. Target to $44 from $34. UBS upgraded Nestle on expectations the company will begin returning cash to shareholders via buybacks and dividends.
  
• Piper Jaffray raised Dicks Sporting (NYSE:DKS) to Neutral from Underweight following positive channel checks and raised its target on the shares to $28 from $18.
  
• Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell by Pali Capital.
  
• Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was raised to Buy from Hold by Natixis.
  
• Sunpower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Macquarie.
• China Automotive (NASDAQ:CAAS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merriman.

Rising oil prices a positive development for economies around the world? For the new investor, that may appear to be a contradiction in terms, but experienced investors know it's not.

The International Energy Agency's 350,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) increase in its 2010 global oil demand forecast to 86.05 million bpd is a positive development for both the U.S. and global economies – positive, that is, provided oil prices don't return to stratospheric levels.

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.

Today was a weak day even before the leading economic indicators brought a disappointment. The dollar was strong ahead of the FOMC meeting decision this week, where the Fed is expected to give less free money but will likely hold rates firm. The good news is that despite a negative news bias from companies, the drops were not as hard as they could have been.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,778.93 -41.27 (-0.42%)
S&P 500 1,064.71 -3.59 (-0.34%)
Nasdaq 2,138.04 +5.18 (0.24%)

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TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it's great to see stocks go up, but discipline remains paramount.

Can you weary of a market going higher? Can you be as exhausted of the rally as you are of a selloff? Sometimes that's how I feel when I look at my bases for stocks I own and where they are now and realize the impossibility of reaching for even the best names. It feels like what happens when you bought low, and then it turned out that things could go much lower. You feel like you should sell, but then the stocks go much higher and you get left behind.

This is a time when discipline has failed people. It is when the market is most electric and exciting and people just figure, "What the heck? I will hold on to that Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take) or Deere (NYSE: DE) (Cramer's Take) or Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK) (Cramer's Take) or Devon (DVN) (Cramer's Take) ... and why not? It hasn't hurt me."

Summer is winding down and so is another earnings season. Most of the S&P 500 have reported results for the past quarter, but there are still a few things of note coming up this week.

In its second quarter, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA), one of the largest entertainment media companies in China, announced plans for an IPO for its Shanda Games business and bought a majority stake in music producer and distributor.

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

• American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) said its earnings report would not include a conference call.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares rose after it reaffirmed the 2009 outlook and forecast further growth.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) said its Q4 numbers tumbled despite cost-cutting efforts.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) posted strong Q2 results, though its cash flow was flat.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) reported better-than-expected Q2 results and forecast a return to profitability.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) revenue surged in Q1 and its narrower loss beat expectations.

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - option chain) shares are rising today after company CEO Jim Owens told a group of financial analysts and institutional stockholders that he expects company earnings to reach $8 to $10 per share annually in the next five years as long as the global economy recovers. He also reaffirmed CAT's 2009 EPS forecast of $1.15 to $2.25. 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 CAT.

CAT opened this morning at $45.45. So far today the stock has hit a low of $45.35 and is currently trading at its intra-day high $47.41 up $2.29 (5.1%). The chart for CAT looks bullish and S&P gives CAT a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.