Look at what the computer did for communication. We are now is the midst of a revolution in technology.

Now innovation moves to the auto industry. Electric and hybrid cars have the potential to take us off the "oil standard," at least in a major way. Imagine the money you would save if you were not held hostage to the oil cartel.

President Obama has granted $2.4 billion for research in the development of electric/hybrid cars. There will be 48 different projects in more than 20 states as part of the American Recovery Act.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company will benefit from the broadband Stimulus funds.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on relative valuation and views the company as a "survivor." Additionally, the analyst lowered 2009 industry estimates but believes it is the last cut for the year and is incrementally more positive on the sector.
• Morgan Stanley also upgraded EXFO Electro-Optical (NASDAQ: EXFO) to Overweight from Market Weight based on valuation.
• Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Ascent Solar (NASDAQ: ASTI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
• Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

"President Obama has stated that he's been studying Roosevelt's first 100 days and the way out of the current economic mess will look a lot like the New Deal," says David Fessler.

The advisory panelist for The Oxford Club explains, "Seventy-five years after Roosevelt's inauguration, I think we will soon see President Obama get the ball rolling on his version of the New Deal, focused on two very specific areas: energy and infrastructure." Here, he looks at stocks poised to benefit.

"Saving energy will be one of his first initiatives. It's what will give us the quickest bang for our buck. Better insulation in homes, programmable thermostats, fluorescent bulbs, more fuel-efficient cars, energy management systems for use in larger-scale commercial buildings and beefed-up public transportation are just a few of the ways to save energy.

"The government will likely offer attractive tax incentives to rally support. So who stands to prosper from such initiatives?

"Big blue-chip companies, like Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), maker of insulated glass and building insulation; General Electric (NYSE: GE), manufacturer of wind turbines, energy control and infrastructure products; and Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI), maker of energy management systems (for buildings and vehicles) and hybrid vehicle batteries.

The new earnings season ramps up this week as Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) reports fourth-quarter results. Last week, the Pittsburgh-based producer of aluminum and alumina announced layoffs and production cuts as a reaction to the economic downturn. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect that Alcoa will have swung to its first quarterly loss in years: $0.10 per share. That compares to a profit of $0.36 per share in the same period of the previous year. Revenues for the quarter are expected to have fallen 28.8% from a year ago to $5.3 billion. For 2008, analysts are looking for earnings of $1.40 per share on revenue of $27.6 billion, down from $2.60 per share and $30.8 billion in the previous year. Alcoa missed earnings estimates in three of the past five quarters, by 25.4% in the third quarter. The consensus recommendation of analysts shifted from buy to hold AA during the past quarter. The share price has been climbing in recent weeks, but it is 65.6% lower than a year ago.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is also scheduled to report fourth-quarter results this week, one of a handful of tech stocks to do so. The number one semiconductor maker is expected to post earnings down 86.8% to $0.05 per share, and sales of $8.2 billion, down 23.3% from a year ago. Last week, Intel forecast sales for the quarter of $8.2 billion. The full-year numbers are expected to be marginally lower than a year ago, or $0.94 per share on $37.7 billion. Intel only missed earnings estimates in one of the past five quarters. Shares are about $2.00 higher than the 52-week low, but 37.2% lower than a year ago.

Former Vice President Al Gore is doing quite nicely staying out of the current political fray.

Generation Investment Management Ltd., which he co-founded with ex-Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) banker David Blood in 2004, attracted nearly $5 billion to its main Global Equity Fund and is probably restricting inflows into the fund next month, according to Bloomberg News.

The fund has some pretty high ideals according to its Web site: "We focus on the economic, environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities that can materially affect a company's ability to sustain profitability and deliver returns. Our research plays an important role in forming our views on the quality of the business, the quality of management, and valuation."

So how does that translate in the real world? Al Gore isn't providing performance details, according to the Bloomberg story. It's kind of weird for Gore to be so mum considering that its biggest holding Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) is up more than 60% over the past year in U.S. trading.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: China Petroleum & Chemical, Syniverse and Allegheny Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (NYSE: SNP) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent sell-off.
• ThinkEquity upgraded Syniverse Holdings Inc (NYSE: SVR) to Buy from Accumulate citing growth from further price reductions and adoption of new technologies that will drive transaction volumes.
• Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: ATI) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.The firm upgraded Allegheny based on valuation, low stainless steel inventories, and nickel price stabilization.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Napster Inc (NASDAQ: NAPS) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
• Goldman raised Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) to Neutral from Sell.
• Johnson Controls Inc (NYSE: JCI) was upgrade to Buy from Add at Calyon.

Here are a few highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) had a lackluster quarter due in part to the acquistion of ATI.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) posted a larger than expected loss due to rising fuel costs.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares are hunkered down post-MacWorld but ahead of the Q1 report.
• Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA) beat earnings estimates, though its growth is slowing.
• General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) forecasts earnings growth on cost-cutting and overseas sales.
• IBM (NYSE: IBM) had an impressive fourth quarter and expects a good 2008 (see transcript).
• Intel Corp.'s (NASDAQ: INTC) solid results failed to impress investors (see transcript).
• Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) posted a solid first quarter, with growth in all divisions.
• New Oriental Educational & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE: EDU) posted disappointing results.
• Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) profits fell on restructuring costs and increased competition for generics.
• Sony Ericsson beat estimates and is gaining market share in the global cell phone market.
• TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) revised its fourth quarter outlook after strong December sales.
• Vignette Corp. (NASDAQ: VIGN) raised its fourth quarter revenue guidance, which buoyed shares.
• Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) lowered its guidance on weak holiday sales.

See additional earnings highlights. Also, Jim Cramer ponders the ennui of the new earnings season. Georges Yared is bullish on tech stocks, and big tech executives are bullish as well. Jonathan Berr looks ahead to upcoming big tech reports.

Other upcoming results to watch for include Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), E*Trade Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFN), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM) announced after the market closed Thursday that it swung to a loss of $1.87 billion, or $2.19 per share, due to the disarray in the mortgage and credit markets. WaMu had been preparing Wall Street for the hit since December. Still, revenues fell 5% to $3.41 billion in the quarter, missing Wall Street's estimate of $3.51 billion. For 2007, WaMu posted a loss of $67 million, or 12 cents per share, on $11.11 billion in revenue, compared to a profit of $3.56 billion, or $3.64 per share, on $13.68 billion in revenue in 2006. CEO Kerry Killinger said in a conference call that 2008 won't be much better. However, by midday Friday shares were up more than 6%.

Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) reported Friday that its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 45% with growth across all divisions. Earnings grew to $235 million, or 39 cents per share, in the quarter ended December 31, from $162 million, or 27 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Quarterly revenue climbed 16% to $9.48 billion from $8.21 billion a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected profit of 37 cents per share on revenue of $9.1 billion. The company maintained its full-year 2008 forecast for earnings of $2.45 to $2.50 per share and revenue of $38 billion. After opening at $34.35 on Friday, shares fell to near $30 in morning trading.

For more Friday results, see also:
General Electric (GE) earnings match expectations and lift markets
IBM earnings call: Lightning in a bottle
Schlumberger (SLB) fourth-quarter profit rises but misses estimates
AMD: Will the last one to leave please turn out the lights

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Another earnings season crunch has begun, though with a level of uncertainty and ennui, as Jim Cramer and others have pointed out here on BloggingStocks. Several of the big banks are reporting soon, but among other companies reporting this week are Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) and Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI). Here is a quick peek at these two companies.

Schlumberger hasn't missed quarterly earnings expectations since 2004. When it reported third-quarter results back in October, its $1.09 earnings per share beat the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial by two cents, as well as the actual 81 cents per share in the same period of 2006. For the current quarter, analysts expect earnings of $1.13 per share, or $4.20 for the full year, up from $3.04 in 2006.

Schlumberger's 56.9 percent earnings per share growth forecast for the next three to five years is better than the industry average and the S&P 500. The analysts' consensus recommendation has been to buy Schlumberger for at least six months. The share price rose to a 10-year high of $114.84 in October, but has traded mostly in the $90s since then.

For news that could influence the earnings results, check out BloggingStocks' Schlumberger coverage.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Statoil (STO), BG Group (BRG), Repsol (REP), Flow International (FLOW) and the refining sector were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• Citigroup cut Statoil (NYSE: STO), BG Group (NYSE: BRG) and Repsol SA (NYSE: REP) to Sell from Hold due to valuation and the difficult operating environment.

• Matrix USA downgraded Flow International (NASDAQ: FLOW) to Strong Sell from Hold, citing weak demand from Asian customers that led to slowing sales growth.

• Bernstein downgraded the refining sector to Underperform and refiners Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) and Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) to Underperform from Market Perform...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse; RBC Capital downgraded CP shares to Sector Perform from Outperform.

• Goldman downgraded Taiwan Semi (NYSE: TSM) to Neutral from Buy.

• Buckingham lowered Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) to Accumulate from Buy.

• Credit Suisse downgraded Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) to Neutral from Outperform.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Oil and gas services companies, mining companies and Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Morgan Keegan upgraded Natural Gas Services Group Inc (AMEX: NGS), Basic Energy Services Inc (NYSE: BAS) and Complete Production Services Inc (NYSE: CPX) to Outperform from Market Perform and Patterson-UTI Energy Inc (NASDAQ: PTEN) to Market Perform from Underperform, as the firm has a bullish outlook for drilling activity in the back half of 2007 and into 2008.
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of both Compania de Minas Buenaventu (NYSE: BVN) and Goldcorp Inc (NYSE: GG) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation.
• Moody's was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, citing increased confidence in revenue outlook and growth drivers.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Inverness Medical Innovations Inc (AMEX: IMA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Johnson Controls Inc (NYSE: JCI) to Outperform from Neutral, citing growth outlook in the company's building efficiency business.
• Allianz SE (NYSE: AZ) was upgraded to Buy from Add at WestLB on valuation and the company's strong Q1 results.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The automotive sector was today's most noteworthy initiation:

• Prudential initiated the automotive manufacturers industry and automotive retail industry with Favorable ratings and the automotive parts and equipment industry with an Unfavorable rating. The firm initiated coverage on following stocks:
  
• Overweight-rated names included Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV), Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI), Honda Motor Co, Ltd (NYSE: HMC), Johnson Controls, Inc (NYSE: JCI), Sonic Automotive, Inc (NYSE: SAH), & Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM).
  
• Neutral Weight-rated names included AutoNation, Inc (NYSE: AN), DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX), Magna International Inc (NYSE: MGA) and United Auto Group, Inc (NYSE: UAG).
  
• Underweight-rated names included Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F), General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) and Gentex Corp (NASDAQ: GNTX).

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Bernstein initiated JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) with a Market Perform rating and $54 target.

• Lehman started Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE: TWC) with a Neutral rating.

• Merriman initiated shares of Progressive Gaming International Corp (NASDAQ: PGIC) with a Buy rating, as the firm believes it is on the cusp of gaining meaningful market share of casino floors through its technologies and now is the time to get involved in shares.

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

8 Stocks With Rising Dividends
Dividend-paying stocks don't have to be stodgy. Whether you're 25 or 75, you can use dividend trends to flag solid growth companies run by managers who truly care about their shareholders. These include M&T Bank, W.W. Grainger, Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, Seaspan, Praxair, Fastenal and Expeditors International.
The Lure of Rising Dividends - Kiplinger.com


How to Live Like a Billionaire
What does it take to live the life of luxury like one of the world's billionaires? First you need a Gulfstream IV private plane, luxury yacht like the Wally 107, private island, sports car, centurion AmEx, palatial estate, domestic help, private chef, your own sports team and more.
How To Live Like A Billionaire - Forbes.com


$2 Billion in Unclaimed Tax Refunds Could Be Yours
Three years ago 1.8 million individuals decided they had better things to do than file their 2003 tax returns, even though they were due refunds. In total, more than $2.2 billion from that tax year is still sitting in the Internal Revenue Service account. If you think you are one of these 1.8 million people you've only got a few more weeks to claim it.
IRS holding billions in old, unclaimed tax refunds State-By-State Breakdown of Unclaimed Refunds


Take the Sting Out of Credit Card 'Gotchas'
Americans use credit cards to pay for everything from groceries to speeding tickets. But they're increasingly besieged by colossal fees and interest-rate increases that seem to hit them without warning or justification. Under scrutiny from the Democrat-led Congress, which held hearings on credit card practices last week banks also are feeling competitive pressure to become more consumer friendly. Some unpopular practices that credit card issuers are abandoning include: double billing and universal default.
How to Keep Your Credit Card Costs Down - USATODAY.com


Generic Doesn't Always Mean Cheap
At a time when policy makers are searching for ways to cut health-care costs, generic drugs are often viewed as one of the most straightforward solutions. But prices can vary wildly, and may not be nearly as cheap as expected.
Why Generic Doesn't Always Mean Cheap - WSJ.com

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nokia (NOK) and selected restaurants topped today's extensive list of downgrades:

• Due to slowing in the wireless sector, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK) to Neutral from Buy, following Texas Instruments' (NYSE:TXN) lowered guidance;
• Citing valuations and a deteriorating outlook, Buckingham downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) and Wendy's Inernational Inc. (NYSE:WEN) to Neutral from Accumulate, as well as Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM) and Jack in the Box Inc. (NYSE:JBX) to Underperform from Neutral.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan downgraded Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU) to Neutral from Overweight based on concerns of growing inventory levels and a weaker-than-expected flash market in the first half of 2007.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was removed from Sandler's Focus List.
• Calyon downgraded Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE:JCI) to Neutral from Buy with an $85 target, citing valuation and the weakening economy.
• RBC Capital Markets downgraded Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) to Underperform from Sector Perform on valuation.

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