The addition of 217,000 private sector jobs reported by ADP led the market opening higher this morning, but the gains have been hemmed in by a sharp jump in the price of crude oil. Many investors fear that the continued rise in crude oil prices could squelch the economic recovery. More intense fighting in Libya pushed WTI crude solidly above $101/barrel today, while Brent crude remained above $115/barrel. Gold has jumped $6.50/ounce, to $1,437.20, and the US dollar was weaker against the euro, pound, and yen again today.

Here are the numbers for late afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones 12,066.80 +8.78 (0.07%)
S&P 500 1,308.44 +2.11 (0.16%)
Nasdaq 2,748.07 +10.66 (0.39%)

I have already gone on record this year saying that financial companies and insurance stocks are going to continue to rebound. In my previous two posts Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11 and Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 6, 7, 8, 9, I included several financial institutions. Today I add an insurance company.

The industry got whacked hard for many reasons. For one, it makes a significant amount of profit by investing its float, and like every other investor, the industry lost a pile of money in the financial crisis. It was embroiled more directly than some industries, as several insurers are affiliated with banks. Finally the housing crisis meant disruption to payment streams by homeowners who were delinquent on more than their mortgages.

Today was one of the days where the only way to know where it would really end up was to have a crystal ball or time machine with a 4:00 PM destination. The only real data was existing home sales, and the overseas markets offered enough continued weakness and uncertainty that the news flow almost did not even matter. The three major stock indexes all spent at least some time in positive territory despite the woes of the day.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,066.57 -126.82 (-1.24%)
S&P 500 1,073.63 -14.06 (-1.29%)
Nasdaq 2,213.55 -15.49 (-0.69%)

Top Analyst Calls

When Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Bing "decision engine" took final form recently, many internet pundits didn't think it would pose a serious threat to Google, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) market-leading internet search positioning. Indeed, Bing hasn't really threatened Google in a little over a week since being officially launched.

What is has done is overtake Yahoo Inc.'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) position in second place behind Google -- all in less than seven days. How on earth did Microsoft's Bing shoot up so fast? It's brand new, has a huge amount of hype and online advertising and there is an initial euphoria goading the numbers so far. Will "decision search" customers who continue to use Bing long-term spell deeper trouble for Yahoo!, or just prove that initial-launch bumps can happen and then fade away?

Google, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube, the online video juggernaut that has more brand recognition than most things online or offline, could be just that -- brand recognition. It sure hasn't made Google loads of cash since the billion-dollar acquisition a few years back. Since then, YouTube has become a behemoth. Just like in Google's case with many of its products, though, it's now one of many products that is having trouble finding a revenue stream that's sustainable.

Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is expected to take possibly 50% of the business that would have gone to former competitor Circuit City, with the other half being distributed among every other large retailer that sells consumer electronics. Due to that market share capture, the largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S. saw its stock price upgraded more than a few times in recent weeks.

When embattled Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) CEO Jeff Bewkes gets on the company's fourth quarter earnings call next week, February 4, he will certainly be asked one thing. With the advertising market facing one of its worst periods in years, how does he intend to keep profit margins high? Several of the company's businesses, particularly magazine group Time, Inc., AOL (parent company of BloggingStocks), and the firm's cable networks, rely on advertising for a large portion of their revenue.

Late last year, Time, Inc. cut 600 jobs. AOL just said it would let another 700 people go. No plans have been announced for cable operations like CNN, but those may come.

If you're seeking out a new PC for your own holiday gift or for someone near and dear, some research says you're probably looking at Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) or Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to fill your need. ChangeWave said yesterday that two-thirds of those looking to buy a laptop PC this holiday season have visions of Steve Jobs or Michael Dell dancing in their heads. Interesting, since Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) outsells both of them by a huge stretch in the U.S. market.

I'm not sure where ChangeWave conducted its survey (perhaps college campuses?), but it revealed that 33% of the 3,699 respondents stated they would be buying an Apple Mac if they would be buying in the next 90 days, while the same amount -- 33% -- indicated a Dell laptop purchase was on the radar this season.

Since the consumer market is the one keeping PC makers in business (as businesses have stopped almost all PC purchasing), it's just astounding that HP and even PC makers like Sony, Toshiba and Acer weren't mentioned in this research. Regardless, it's good for Apple. The company has continued to defy expectations by selling higher-priced laptops at an increasing rate every quarter throughout 2008.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has been touting its Android mobile operating system platform for over a year. Still without a product to showcase its efforts, many are beginning to wonder if Google has classified Android as "vaporware." Even though the company is itself not making a single piece of hardware, a mobile handset is the product the customer will use. So, Google, where is it?

Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G, which admittedly has a few issues, but is still selling like hotcakes, is stealing any thunder Android would have created. T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest mobile operator in the U.S., may have an Android phone on the market sometime in September, according to TMoNews. Still, is it too late for Android to make a huge splash in the mobile pool?

Welcome to the 58th installment of The Wal-Mart Weekly, a column dedicated to bringing you insight, wit, facts, results, opinions, and just a bit of everything else when it comes to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

This week's Wal-Mart Weekly looks at the moves the world's largest retailer is making to actually slow its growth. When one thinks of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) -- or any other retailer -- the term growth always seems to come to mind. That's what Wall Street's short-sighted investors fret about every day, although by its nature this kind of focus keeps most public companies trying to plan for the future while appeasing the market makers.

How about actually trying to slow down growth? There is a lot to be said for "disciplined growth" and growing at a rate that fits the general retail landscape and economy of the countries in which you're operating. Would -- gasp -- Wal-Mart ever want to temper its growth and actually slow things down a bit? Perhaps.

A couple in Pennsylvania who values their privacy is suing Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) because its Street View product is making images of their house available for free to anyone with an internet connection. The couple argues that by Google Street View archiving views of their home, it's being devalued.

The Boring couple (yes, that is their last name) is seeking at least $25,000 in damages from the world's largest internet search company in what could be a large precedent. How many other "private" areas has Google Street View been able to present for free on the internet that many don't even know about? Google is all about giving anyone information access at any time on any device -- but at the cost of privacy loss for those that value it? Where is the line drawn? Right now, there doesn't seem to be one.

This case is unique because the images of the Boring's home seem to have been taken from the couple's driveway, which is clearly labeled "Private Road" -- it's what the couple was seeking in 2006 when it brought the property. The publicizing of their case, however, is anything but private. Google made it clear in the response to the suit that they have made it quite easy to request image removal from its Street View product. The question remains -- what rulebook does the company use when photographing areas for display anyway?