One of my wonderful friends, Ms. P, asked me for some guidance on how she might allocate $50,000 currently earning peanuts in a money market account. Though she is decades from becoming a grandmother, after a brief discussion about her financial parameters, it became clear to me that she was looking for a "granny fund."

In reality, my recommendations would be suitable, and perhaps desirable, for many passive investors as well.

The $50,000 is a portion of money Ms. P has set aside to purchase a home, which might happen in six months, but could also be pushed out further, depending on the economy and her situation. Basically, she wants to cover all her bases because she might need the money at any time and does not want to be caught short, while at the same time she would like to generate some revenue without taking any big risks.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company will be able to reach a settlement with the New York PSC Staff that will provide benefits to both ratepayers and shareholders. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $40.50.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) to Market Perform from Underperform to reflect the company's balance sheet, industry leading position, and potential for accretive acquisitions. The firm raised its target on shares to $75 from $57.
• JPMorgan upgraded Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect valuation and industry data points that suggest a pick-up in discretionary spending. The firm has a $30 target on the stock.
• Alcoa (NYSE: AA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• East West Bancorp (NASDAQ: EWBC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Bronco Drilling (NYSE: BDC) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Spartech (NYSE: SEH) to Buy from Hold as it sees further upside following the company's "strong" Q2 results. The firm raised its target on shares to $10 from $2.50.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Clorox (NYSE: CLX) to Outperform from Underperform. The firm believes the company's FY10 outlook is conservative, providing room for upside, and that the valuation is compelling at current levels. Opco set a $70 price target on the stock.
• Goldman upgraded Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $20 from $16, citing reduced balance sheet concerns following the capital raise. Note that AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy.
• PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.
• Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays believes Disney (NYSE: DIS) is the best positioned company for "media's digital evolution." The firm upgraded shares to Overweight from Underweight and has a $32 target on shares.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Semtech (NASDAQ: SMTC) to Outperform from Perform after channel checks indicated improved inventory levels, better product mix, and market share gains. The firm set a $20 target on the stock.
  
• RBC Capital expects Rigel's (NASDAQ: RIGL) R788 in RA to achieve its primary endpoint in the Phase II trials. Shares were upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform and the price target was raised to $8 from $6.
• WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD) was upgraded to Accumulate from Sell at ThinkEquity.
  
• International Game Tech (NYSE: IGT) was raised to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Infineon (NYSE: IFX) was lifted at Banc of America/Merrill to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades:

• Argus upgraded CBRL Group (NASDAQ: CBRL) to Buy from Hold as it believes increased efficiency at Cracker Barrel will help to boost restaurant traffic and same-store sales. The firm has a $33 target on shares.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's blood-thinning drug Effient is on track for a Q2 U.S. launch. The firm raised its price target on shares to $41 from $36.
  
• Needham upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Buy from Hold after recent channel checks suggested Intel's PC OEM orders are tracking better than expected. The firm expects Intel to keep prices and product mix stable, enabling margins to recover in Q2. Needham has an $18 target on INTC shares.
• SEI Investments (NASDAQ: SEIC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) was raised at Jefferies to Buy from Hold.
  
• Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO) was lifted to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

Public Service Enter (NYSE: PEG), a regulated gas & electric utility serving three-quarters of New Jersey's population, closed at $25.96. PEG April option implied volatility of 49 is near its 26-week average of 45, according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger price movement.

PG & E (NYSE: PCG) serves 4.9M electricity distribution customers, and approximately 4.1M natural gas customers in California, closed at $37.52. PCG option implied volatility of 39 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) closed at $39.15. ED April option implied volatility of 32 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says that Dominion Resources saw a lot of the green movement coming and moved aggressively.

What do you do with a company that raises its dividend twice in two years by 11%, that has superior growth characteristics in its sector, enlightened management and a plan for executives to buy stock regularly?

Well, in this market, that's an easy question to answer: You sell it. That's what's been going on with Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) (Cramer's Take), the Richmond, Va.-based utility that yields more than 6%, but is bumping along its 52-week low like every other stock I follow.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded MSM Industrial (NYSE: MSM) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and a positive view for Industrial Distributors.
  
• William Blair upgraded Allscripts (NASDAQ: MDRX) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following the recent pullback and believes Allscripts is well positioned to benefit from public policy that drives adoption of electronic medical records.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) to Buy from Hold as they believe the ALJ recommendation in the company's pending electric rate case indicates potential for an improving outlook.
• Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Underweight.
  
• Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst downgrades:

• Oppenheimer downgraded Bio-Reference Labs (NASDAQ: BRLI) to Perform from Outperform as they believe weaker volumes could pressure top-line growth in the near-term. The firm lowered their target to $25 from $30.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Equal Weight from Overweight to reflect market deterioration as they find the risk/reward as balanced at current levels.
  
• JP Morgan cut Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) to Underweight from Neutral on concerns the company's 2009 revenue will miss consensus estimates due to market share losses.
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) and Anglo American (NASDAQ: AAUK) were lowered to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

The question on everybody's mind this week was when will the declines end? Was that the so much talked about capitulation? Have the stock markets bottomed?

Well, I can't answer that, and suffice it to say that many market analysts, fundamental and technical, are still quite gloomy. Pretty much all we can do in this time is hope for flat performance from a few select stocks, which perhaps would yield good returns once the economy starts rebounding and the bear market has completed its course.

Here are some picks and pans from the past week from BloggingStocks contributors:

Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) -- Steven Halpern brought a recommendation from one of The Forbes Wireless Stock Watch advisors, Nikhil Hutheesing. In Hutheesing's words: "In the long run, smart investments today will lead to profits down the road. One of those companies, that I now think looks attractive, is the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry." Not only is RIMM's corporate business strong, it is also working on getting its phones to consumers. In addition, it has lots of cash and little to no long-term debt and great prospects, what the advisor is looking for in addition to value and fundamentals in this environment.

Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) is an auto parts supplier. Jamie Dlugosch bets on a bailout for the auto industry here. Today, Lear has a $110 million market capitalization, down from its peak within the last 52 weeks of $2.6 billion. If the bailout finally happens, owners of LEA could benefit greatly.

"For more than 180 years, Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) has served the world's most dynamic and demanding marketplace: metropolitan New York," notes Dennis Slothower in his Stealth Stocks newsletter. Here, he explains why ConEd is his "stock of the month."

"Con Edison, our latest 'stockj of the month' provides electric service to about 3.2 million customers and gas service to approximately 1.1 million customers in New York City and Westchester County.

"It also provides electric service to 300,000 customers in southeastern New York and adjacent areas of northern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

"Con Edison's competitive energy businesses participate in segments of the electricity industry that are less comprehensively regulated than our regulated businesses.

"These segments include the operation of electric generation facilities, trading of electricity and fuel, sales of electricity to wholesale and retail customers, and sales of certain energy-related goods and services.

"I can't tell you how tough it is to find and recommend a company based on my strict selection criteria. I have never seen so many stocks in my universe in steep down trends. While there are some good companies paying high dividends, their stocks are in a free fall.

"Con Edison is a strong utility company that I feel confident will continue to pay a nice fat dividend. The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond is yielding about 4%, while Con Ed's dividend is yielding 5.3%. We get a good combination in Con Ed: a high yield and possible increase in the stock price."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) has finally come up with something to save its bacon. It will team with a number of utilities including Con Edison (NYSE: ED) and Duke Power (NYSE: DUK) to create a broad market for electric cars.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Auto makers need the cooperation of utilities since they control the new technology's primary fuel -- electricity -- and must make sure that the vehicles' recharging processes mesh with the electricity grid and don't inadvertently undermine grid reliability." In other words, no one wants the cars to cause brown outs. GM also plans to negotiate special rates to make its electric cars cheaper to recharge.

The announcement is one of GM's first intelligent moves in a long time. It has allowed its reliance on pickup trucks and SUVs to drive down its sales and cut its market share in the US. Foreign rivals that kept lines of smaller cars now have products with broad appeal to consumers. This is particularly true of their hybrids.

GM's concern remains whether being late to the market will make it too late. Its potential customers want fuel-efficient cars now, when the price of gas is high. GM will lose billions of dollars while it tries to catch up.

The competition will not be sitting still.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The books of Fannie Mae -- Federal National Mortgage Association (NYSE: FNM) -- and Freddie Mac -- Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: FRE) -- are being examined by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to review their financial condition, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Chevy Volt, an electric car from General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), is slated to roll out in two years and it received a major boost from 36 utilities that operate in 40 states who agreed to work together to make the plug-in vehicle possible. Among the utilities are American Electric Power Company Inc (NYSE: AEP), Consolidated Edison Inc (NYSE: ED), Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK), and Edison International (NYSE: EIX).
• Struggling mortgage lender Paragon is reportedly in talks with The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) about a potential takeover by Blackstone, the Financial Times reported.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The New York Times reported that TiVo Inc (NASDAQ: TIVO) will today introduce a "product purchase" feature in partnership with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN). Under TiVo's plan, the television remote control will be turned into a tool for buying products that are advertised and promoted on talk shows and commercials.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says this is a crucial moment for the dividend-payers, which should be getting support here.

You can't even find protection in yields these days. It just went away. Perhaps we will get it if Sen. Obama gets elected. Perhaps with higher rates. Perhaps with the downfall of the high-yielding American financials. (Nice discussion of the lack of dividend safety courtesy of the man who knows more about dividends than anyone, Dave Peltier, in the Columnist Conversation last week.)

For ages, it seemed you could get to a magic number, typically 4% yield, where stocks would bounce, or at least be given a parachute that opened for a gentle landing.

Last week that parachute failed. You have stocks like Con Ed (NYSE: ED) (Cramer's Take) just getting trashed here, pushing the yield to 6%. You have stocks like Weyerhauser (NYSE: WY) (Cramer's Take), Carnival Cruise (NYSE: CCL) (Cramer's Take), Gannett (NYSE: GCI) (Cramer's Take), just slicing through the protection. The former's got cyclicality, the middle's got consumer and fuel worries, and the latter is in secular. But they all have no trouble paying the dividend.

Or consider Verizon (NYSE: VZ) (Cramer's Take) and AT&T (NYSE: T) (Cramer's Take). The first is at a 5% yield, the other is almost there. No one questions their ability to support that dividend.

In typical times, investors with years to invest look for innovative, dynamic companies in growth sectors. It is the lifeblood of a healthy, growing equity market.

But as most investors/readers know, these are not typical times. And under these conditions, sometimes tried-and-true safety of capital, plus a modest return, is more than enough. Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) is a prudent play with the above in mind.

Utility Consolidated Edison, or "Con Ed," is the holding company for the primarily electric utility that serves the five boroughs of New York City, most of Westchester County, N.Y, other parts of New York state, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Residential and commercial electric utility customers represent the company's main revenue stream, comprising 63% of revenue in 2006. Natural gas customers accounted for 16%, non-utility revenue 14% and steam 5%. In short, Con Ed is a classic regulated utility play, and its results reflect that:strong, steady cash flow, low customer turnover, conservative technology implementation cycle, and a solid dividend.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column, content firms such as Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) and Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) are getting hammered, and there appears to be no letup in sight because while online traffic is up 60% a year over the last few years, those firm's shares are expensive and, says S&P's Scott Kessler, "There's plenty more room for [Akamai and Limelight] to fall."
• TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) is looking at a new revenue source -- being paid to give out market research to advertisers, reported the Wall Street Journal. The company plans to announce today that it will add demographic data, including age, income, marital status and ethnicity, about its viewers.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Ford (NYSE: F) is likely to have to pay any buyer of its Jaguar and Land Rover units because of a $2B pension deficit, according to people close to the situation.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The New York Times reported that Con Edison (NYSE: ED) was fined $18M for service disruptions in 2006, including the nine-day blackout in western Queens, NY.
• The Associated Press reported that Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) is considering listing on the Hong Kong and mainland China stock markets, according to the company's CEO.