Despite the U.S. stock market's recent run up, the decline in the U.S. dollar and inflation fears have investors searching for safety in these uncertain times. A popular strategy that has emerged is to hedge market and currency risk with commodities, namely gold, oil, and uranium. What specific stocks and investments in these sectors are likely to outperform?

ETFs like the US Oil Fund (NYSE: USO) and the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) will obviously track any rise or fall in these commodities to a T, but perhaps individual companies in these sectors are a better fit for you. Below are some industry giants, as well as speculative plays that are also drawing attention from investors.

Analyst upgrades:

• CIBC upgraded Sunlife Financial (NYSE:SLF) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.
  ProLogis (NYSE:PLD) was raised to Outperform from Underperform at Wachovia.

Analyst downgrades:

• Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered their target to $13 from $48 to reflect their lower uranium price outlook.
  
• B. Riley downgraded S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) to Neutral from Buy on valuation and asset quality concerns.
  
• Gabelli downgraded KV Pharmaceutical (NYSE:KV.A) to Hold from Buy after the company said it was indefinitely suspending distribution of all tablet products due to manufacturing and quality assurance concerns.
  
• AMAG Pharma (NASDAQ:AMAG) was cut to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Once again it's ugly out there today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped below 11,000 for the first time in two years, plunging over 2%. The rest of the U.S. stocks are not far behind with both the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 down over 2% as well. It's depressing. But you don't have to look far to see a nicer picture, you just have to look up: up north that is.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has fared much better in what has officially become a U.S. bear market. Over the past year, while the S&P 500 sank over 19%, the S&P/TSX Composite index dropped only 3.4%. Year-to-date, while the S&P 500 declined over 16%, the TSX was barely down 1%. And if you stay away from financials on the TSX, you'd fare even better.

How so, you ask, doesn't the Canadian economy closely follows the U.S.'s? It's mostly true as the U.S. is Canada's biggest trading partner and the Canadian economy is intertwined with that of the U.S. For example, some of the layoffs at GM and Ford plants have occurred in Ontario plants, and Canada's unemployment rate edged up to 6.2% in June due to a drop in full-time jobs.

The thing is, though, that the TSX is heavily weighted in mining and oil & gas companies, sectors that have fared better than techs and financials the past year or so. Getting exposure to the Canadian market is very easy since many stocks also trade on U.S. exchanges, the famous of all may be Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM). But there are others, and some of them, the U.S. investor may want to consider.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: PetSmart, Banco de Chile and Xerium Technologies were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) to Overweight from Neutral citing the company's position in a relatively strong category, benefits from food inflation, and margin improvements.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) to Buy from Hold as they expect greater earnings power following the acquisition of Citibank Chile.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Xerium Tech (NYSE: XRM) to Buy from Hold on the success of the company's debt renegotiation. The firm also raised the company's target to $7 from $2.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs added State Street (NYSE: STT) and Lorillard (NYSE: LO) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Banc of America.
  
• William Blair raised American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

"Oil is setting the stage for a big rally in alternative energy," says Eric Roseman, resources expert and editor of Commodity Trend Alert. Here's a look at two stocks poised to benefit from this trend.

"A surging oil price is extremely bullish for alternative energy. Over the last 12 months, as oil prices have doubled, uranium and solar energy stocks have crashed.

"These sectors have declined because sub-prime has taken everything to the basement until recently - not because solar energy or uranium are flawed investment themes.

"That's why we've recently placed new trades on Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) and Cameco (NYSE: CCJ). There's no way high oil prices won't encourage more interest in these distressed sectors.

"I believe the #1 rule for making money in the next decade is to get long whatever the Chinese are buying," says Tony Sagami in the Asia Stock Alert.

"China will need to consume an unprecedented amount of natural resources to fuel its red-hot economy," says the advisor who offers his speculations as to the most likely takeover candidates in three areas -- energy, metals and food.

"There's no doubt in my mind that China is on a buying spree. And I'm not just talking about oil, either. Fact is, the Chinese have a ravenous appetite for virtually all commodities.

"While I don't have any inside knowledge about what companies the Chinese have in their sights, I do know what industries are strategically important to their lofty growth objectives.

"China needs energy - and lots of it - so you can expect frenzied buying activity to lock up reliable supplies of multiple sources of energy. In my book, oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium are all key players. My #1 pick for an energy takeover: Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), the largest uranium producer in the world.

"I love buying great companies near the bottom of the barrel," says resources expert Eric Roseman, who has added Canadian-based Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) to his buy list.

The edtior of The Commodity Trend Alert explains, "Cameco, the world's largest uranium concern, is a gem, right in the middle of a long-term earnings boom amid high energy prices and a massive backlog of orders for its raw material used to feed nuclear reactors." Here is his review.

"I'm drawn to quality at a distressed price, for whatever reason, such as earnings-related surprises, management changes, special one-time write-downs, etc. Most of our recommendations are founded on exactly these principles of value-contrarian investing.

"Cameco Corporation was a $60 stock 12 months ago, but because of production bottlenecks caused by a major flood at one of its biggest mines (Cigar Lake) in late 2006, the stock suffered a beating and has bounced all over the map lately. Yet, for years, Cameco was Canada's uranium darling and I always wanted to own this gem. But the problem was, Cameco always fetched a high price, and I hate paying top dollar - even for a great business.

"Nuclear power is about to enter a new phase of rapid growth," says Tony Sagami. "Plain and simple, the demand for uranium is going to go through the roof."

"What's the best way to profit from this unstoppable trend?" he asks. In his Asia Stock Alert, he answers: Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ). "The biggest producer of uranium in the world should be a cornerstone of your natural resource portfolio.

"According to the World Nuclear Association, there are nuclear power plants 34 under construction, 86 on order or planned, and 223 proposed. By 2013, 48 additional nuclear power plants should go into service, and over the next 10 years, an additional 100 plants will be built, with 40 of them in Asia.

"All those new nuclear power plants, of course, are going to need uranium. Next year, uranium demand is estimated to hit 83,000 tons. But according to the Uranium Information Centre, the world only produced 46,720 tons of uranium last year.

"We're talking about a huge increase in the demand for uranium and a severe production shortage. That is, of course, extremely positive news for uranium prices and uranium producers.

What are the best energy investments for long-term investors? To answer this question, I surveyed 20 of the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors to find their current favorite ideas in the energy sector.

Interestingly, the advisors see the best opportunities in areas well beyond traditional oil firms; indeed, no one included in this report chose a major integrated oil company. Rather, the advisors have shown a preference for various oil services sectors, non-oil energy sources, and developing alternative technologies.

Some focus on areas such as deep-sea operations with Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO), Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) and Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII), while others look toward oil shippers such as Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NYSE: NAT) and refiners such as Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO).

Others chose companies that make specific products needed by the oil & gas industries such as NATCO Group Inc. (NYSE: NTG), which makes a wide range of oil & gas processing systems; Dresser-Rand Group Inc. (NYSE: DRC), a maker of control systems; Gardner Denver Inc. (NYSE: GDI), which makes compressor and fluid transfer systems; Tenaris (NYSE: TS), a maker of pipes and tublar products and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), the largest and most diversified of the oil services companies.

"I predict that 2007 will end with a bang and not a whimper," says global expert Nick Vardy, who predicts a strong a strong fourth quarter global rally.

Meanwhile, in his industry-leading Global Bull Market Alert, he notes, "Canadian mining giant Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) combines the global commodity supercycle theme with the recent turnaround in the price of uranium."

Vardy explains, "As the world's largest uranium producer -- accounting for around 20% of global uranium production -- Cameco is the closest thing to a blue chip name in what has been one of the hottest sectors in the past few years."

Why? He states, "Blame the law of supply and demand." In 2006, he observes, the world's nuclear reactors used 173 million pounds of uranium. Yet uranium mines only supplied 103 million pounds. The gap, he contends, was met by dwindling U.S. and Russian government stockpiles of weapons-grade uranium from decommissioned nuclear weapons.

"And the supply and demand imbalance likely will get much worse," says Vardy. In the past 12 months, he notes, the number of proposed nuclear reactors has risen by 67% to 256 as governments across the globe turn to nuclear as a way to cut carbon emissions quickly and painlessly.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd. ADS (NASDAQ:ACTS) was the only noteworthy initiation today. Shares of the fabless semiconductor company were started with an Outperform rating and $10 target at Pacific Crest. The firm believes Actions is a cheap way to play the world's largest MP3-controller vendor.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Lazard started Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) with a Buy rating and $6 target.
• SuperValu, Inc. (NYSE:SVU) was initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal Weight rating.
• CIBC started Cameco Corp. (NYSE:CCJ) with a Sector Outpeformer rating, with expectations for uranium demand to stay robust.
• HSBC Holdings initiated shares of Liberty Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) with an Overweight rating.
• AG Edwards initiated Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE:SE) with a Hold rating.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Each year, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.

Energy Metals (NYSE: EMU) is the favorite speculative pick for 2007 from Elliott Gue. The editor of The Energy Strategist explains, "The supply/demand balance for uranium is tighter than for just about any other major commodity; supply of natural uranium from mines just isn't enough to cover even current demand. And with a global building boom for nuclear power plants underway, demand for uranium is only going to rise.

"In late October, uranium mining giant Cameco announced that it was experiencing uncontrollable water inflow into one of its key new mine projects, delaying the project from in early 2008 to, perhaps, mid-2009 for this mine.

"By around 2008, some utilities will be running low on uranium inventories to fuel their existing reactors. And there aren't many other sources of uranium out there to fill the void. For an aggressive play on this trend, consider Energy Metals. The stock, previously only listed in Toronto, recently listed its shares on the NYSE.

"While Energy Metals is headquartered in Canada, most of its projects are located in the U.S. Its Hobson facility in Texas is a licensed processing plant that is currently capable of processing 500,000 pounds of uranium oxide (yellowcake) annually from ISL liquids. This plant could produce as much as 1 million pounds of yellowcake annually once EMU completes upgrades to the facility.