With gold and silver prices testing new highs, we turn to several leading resource experts -- Mary Anne and Pamela Aden, Mark Skousen and Larry Edelson -- for their favorite plays in the sector.

In The Aden Forecast, the Aden sisters explain, "Gold and silver recently moved well into record high territory, and it looks like they are poised to head even higher.

"Most impressive, gold's leading indicator still has room to rise further before it reaches the high area. This tells us that gold's current C rise is very strong and it's now likely headed to our next target level near $1200. Meanwhile, December gold will remain super strong above $1,020.

Eldorado Gold (AMEX: EGO - option chain) shares are rising today as gold futures have tagged another record intra-day high today. The front-month October gold contract is currently at 1,060, but was as high as 1,068 earlier this morning. 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 EGO.

EGO opened this morning at $12.48. So far today the stock has hit a low of $12.13 and a high of $12.48. As of 12:00, EGO is trading at $12.53 up 46 cents (3.8%). The chart for EGO looks bullish.

"Gold has yet to take off in true bull market fashion, but its chart suggests that it's coming," says Mary Anne and Pamela Aden.

In their top-notch The Aden Forecast, the resource experts discuss the outlook for gold as well as some of their favorite mining stocks for investors to consider.

"Considering that the Summer months tend to be slow months, we could still see some short-term weakness.

"More important, however, is the bigger picture as gold is poised to rise during the second half of the year." Here, they discuss their outlook and some favorite ming stocks.

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:

• Stephens upgraded The Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) to Overweight from Equal Weight on expectations the company is benefiting from good space income opportunities and better ethanol profitability. The firm raised its target price to $31 from $28.
  
• Jefferies upgraded NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) to Buy from Hold as the analyst believes Exelon (NYSE: EXC) will have to materially raise its offer to close the acquisition. The firm raised its target on shares to $25 from $22.50.
  
• FBR Capital upgraded FMC Technologies (NYSE: FTI) to Outperform from Market Perform after meeting with management to reflect the company's 2011 growth potential. The firm raised its target on shares to $51.
• J. Sainsbury (OTC: JSAIY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• SVB Financial (NASDAQ: SIVB) and Fulton Financial (NASDAQ: FULT) were upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.

Mary Anne and Pamela Aden are among the advisory world's top authorities on metals and resources.

In a recent Q&A session, the editors of The Aden Forecast answer the most common questions that they are asked by readers as to the current state and future outlook for the precious metals markets.

In addition, the sisters answer what they say is the most frequent question they receive: "What is the best way to buy gold." Here, they offer a review of five strategies for investing in gold, including their top picks among stocks, closed-end funds and ETFs.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Time Warner, MedCath and Schlumberger were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• UBS upgraded shares of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and believes the company's focus on structural improvements and cost reductions will provide positive catalysts.
  
• MedCath (NASDAQ: MDTH) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia, as they view weakness following the Q1 miss due to a higher-than-expected option expense as a buying opportunity.
  
• Bear Stearns raised Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) to Outperform from Peer Perform, as they believe the company is well-positioned for the next oilfield service business cycle and valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• SunTrust upgraded Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: CRZO) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO) to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LCAPA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman.

In the race to claim the title as the "world's largest automaker," does the world really care? How about the stock market -- do traders speculate based on a claim that's meaningless? Do purchasing consumers give a thought to this claim either? With General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) trading this inane title in 2007, gossip and ego-bragging has apparently taken the place of, you know, actual profitability and growth prospects. At least in the media.

As many market pundits (and value investors) have been screaming forever, it's the profit a company makes that should be at the top of investor and consumer minds, instead of something as meaningless as "the world's largest" anything. Which is more important? Market share or making money? Sometimes the hand of luck graces a company with both (for a while, at least). But for others, blind chasing of market share eventually leads to their demise. Which is more important for the companies you stock in your portfolio?

If it's market share, then you're probably not scared by questionable corporate motives or jack-o-lanterns. GM and Toyota need to forget about this eventual baton-passing related to the "world's largest automaker" statement and focus on making vehicles customers want, growing profit in an orderly fashion. Capturing market share should rank a distant third priority. It's not nearly as exciting as all the meaningless hubbub that surfaces in the media about the "world's largest" whatever, but it's a guiding principle of any business, anywhere. Or at least, it should be.

"The technical picture for gold is getting better by the day," says Eric Roseman. In his Commodity Trend Alert, he notes, "The last 16 months have been painfully boring for gold bugs. But every asset class has its day, and right now it's time for gold to shine once again."

The advisor considers Eldorado Gold (ASE: EGO) a speculative favorite. He explains, "Eldorado Gold is a $1.7 billion dollar company with operations in Brazil, China and Turkey. Management is strong, and despite a recent political spat with the Turkish government in July, earnings are booming."

He continues, "The stock is a perfect addition to our mining portfolio because it earns a net profit, has tangible reserves and has boosted its free cash flow."

In August, he observes, EGO reported strong Q2 results with net income rising to a record $26.7 million dollars, or $0.08 per share compared to $0.00 a year earlier. He states, "During the second quarter, Eldorado sold 112,702 ounces at an average price of $664 an ounce – one heck of a healthy margin."

With gold turning down from its recent highs, some have questioned whether the 6-year bull market in metals may be ending. According to Mary Anne and Pamela Aden, the evidence points to the opposite conclusion. Indeed, they note, "Gold and silver have everything going for them and their rises have a lot further to go."

Here, the resource experts and co-editors of The Aden Forecast explain the six key factors they see that are pointing to higher metals prices.

The first two reasons are spending and money. They explain, "The world is swimming in money and that's the fuel that's been driving money assets and commodity prices up. But the magnitude of what's currently happening has never been seen before in world history."

The Adens points out that the U.S. is the world's largest debtor nation and "the government keeps spending money it doesn't have."

Since the government doesn't want to cut spending or raise taxes to reduce its debt, they note, "It simply produces money to cover its expenses, which is what governments throughout history have always done, and this amount is also huge."

In fact, in just over the past year, they observe, the amount of paper dollars that've been created is equal to half the value of all the gold that's ever been produced worldwide over the past 2,000 years, which is about $2 trillion. And it's not just the U.S. "Other countries are pumping out money like mad too. In Europe, for instance, money has been growing at the fastest rate in 17 years."