Analyst Upgrades

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Fluor (FLR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Macy's (M) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ), JA Solar (JASO) and HeartWare (HTWR) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• RenaissanceRe (RNR) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• DCT Industrial (DCT) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Coeur d'Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Standard (SSRI) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Weatherford (WFT), Hercules (HERO), GulfMark Offshore (GLF), Tidewater (TDW) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to buy from hold, and Diamond Offshore (DO) to hold from underperform, at Jefferies.
• Ritchie Bros. (RBA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.

"Silver stocks are exploding upwards; one beneficiary is Coeuer d'Alene Mines (CDE), a classic turnaround story," says Mark Skousen.

The editor of The Turnaround Letter explains, "Despite the recent run-up, still is selling at a 60% discount from its high of $60 a share back in 2006.

"Although it was founded in 1928 and is one of the oldest silver mines in the famed northern Idaho panhandle, it's been a money loser for years and heavily in debt.

"In our view, golden days lie ahead for silver; and one of the most promising small-cap silver mining companies is Coeur d' Alene Mines (CDE), which I believe has the potential for 40 percent or more upside," says Ian Wyatt.

The editor of The 100K Portfolio explains, "While the company takes it's name from the Idaho town in which it is headquartered, this is a mining company with a global presence.

"With mines in geographically stable areas including Argentina, Alaska, Australia, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and Nevada, the operations are wide reaching.

By all accounts, the educational market in China looks particularly bright -- with favorable demographics and growing wealth. For example, according to the China Statistical Yearbook, there are about 686 million people between the ages five and 39. Plus, the Chinese population living in urban areas has gone from 36.2% in 2000 to 43.9% in 2006.

So, one of the beneficiaries is China Distance Education Holdings Limited (CDE), which offers a range of online education offerings and test prep courses. In fact, the company has recently filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange (the proposed ticker is "DL").

The primary focus of CDE is on professional categories, such as in accounting, law, healthcare, constructions and so on. The courses include a mix of media, such as audio-video lectures (streamed on the Net), online communities and proprietary content. There are currently 14 websites.

No doubt, CDE has been growing at a rapid rate. From 2005 to 2007, revenues have spiked from $3.8 million to $11.8 million. Net income was $5.4 million.

During this time frame, total course enrollments went from 233,000 to 504,000.

Actually, a few years ago, another Chinese educational provider -- New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU) – had a successful IPO. The market cap now stands at about $2.3 billion.

The lead underwriters on the CDE IPO include Citi (NYSE: C) and Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER). You can also locate the prospectus at the SEC website.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

For a high-risk speculation in the mining sector, Curtis Hesler poses the hypothetical situation: "Suppose one just received a windfall of money and were willing to throw all caution to the winds; what looks good here?"

In his The Professional Timing Service, the usually conservative and disciplined advisor looks at his more speculative mining ideas for a current favorites for high-risk and high-reward potential.

He says, "In looking over our buy-and-hold list and our list of junior 'option alternative' recommendations, one stock that has been weak is Coeur d'Alene Mines" (NYSE: CDE).

He points out that the company is the largest U.S. silver producer, but that it had matured to the point that their reserves were decreasing and their future growth prospects were not bright.

Recently, though, he says, they announced a deal to buy out Bolnisi Gold and Palmarejo Silver and Gold Corporation. Says Hesler, "This is a big deal. It involves a stock swap and some cash, and the net effect will be to double the number of Coeur d'Alene shares outstanding."

However, he says, if the deal goes through, it will put CDE "back on a growth path." He notes that the prime asset in the acquisition is the Palmarejo Project in Mexico.