"Our goal is helping investors grow their capital and income base from which to derive cash for their current and future needs," notes dividend expert Kelley Wright.

The editor of Investment Quality Trends explains, "To that end we believe that high-quality stocks purchased at historically low-price-to-high-yield offers the best potential for downside protection and upside appreciation. Our Timely Ten list represents our current top ideas.

iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is recently up 48 cents to $35.17. Silver futures closed up 2.27% to $36.13, according to Bloomberg. March put option implied volatility is at 41, above a level of 37 from last week, April is at 41; above its 26-week average of 35, according to Track Data, suggesting large price movement.

United Technologies (UTX) overall option implied volatility of 21 is near its 26-week average of 22, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional movement into its analysts and portfolio managers meeting on March 10.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Goodrich (GR), a company that supplies items to the aerospace and defense industries and whose competitors include Honeywell (HON) and United Technologies Corp. (UTX), issued its fourth-quarter results on Thursday. Friday, the shares hit a new 52-week high of $94.12 during the intraday session; they eventually settled down to $93.09, good for a gain of 0.6%, a move backed by above-average volume.

The 52-week low for the stock is $61.24, so the shares have come a long way over the last 12 months. The chart shows a nice uptrend that emerged from a round of sideways trading. How was the Q4 profit? Does it validate the bullish sentiment?

With earnings season in full swing, the FOMC meeting on interest rates, the GDP estimate, and housing numbers due out, the coming week is shaping up to be a busy one. So here's a peek at what's on the economic calendar.

Monday

Quarterly reports from American Express (AXP) and McDonald's (MCD) will highlight Monday. Amgen (AMGN), CSX (CSX), Halliburton (HAL) and Texas Instruments (TXN) are also expected to report strong earnings results.

Investors should get used to the refrain, at least for the short-term: "The company generated strong international sales, which offset a modest sales increase in the U.S."

Tuesday's high-profile case study is retail giant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), whose strong international performance in the third quarter compensated for a 0.1% sales decline in the United States, but the macro trend is the point here. Namely -- a high U.S. unemployment rate and a "frugal consumer" habit in which adults are watching every dollar is likely to weigh on domestic sales.

Aerospace business Goodrich Corp. (GR), whose related companies include Honeywell International (HON) and United Technologies (UTX), has been a good stock to own this year. The 52-week low for the shares is $53.57 while the 52-week high is $82.18, the latter being made earlier today. With a little more than two hours to go before the end of regular trading activities, the shares were exchanging hands at $79.55, a quote that reflects a gain of over 2%.

The twelve-month chart seems shows an attractive situation. From a technical viewpoint, it does appear as if more upside is in store for the equity. But what about the latest quarterly missive to investors?

"My latest trading idea is United Technologies (UTX), a company that is experiencing rising sales and profits, despite the weak overall economy in the U.S.," says Melvin Pasternak.

The editor of Trade of the Week explains, "Based on solid fundamentals and technicals, I think United Technologie appears poised for take off.

"United Technologies is an industrial conglomerate that makes Pratt & Whitney jet engines, Carrier air conditioners, Sikorsky helicopters and Otis elevators. The company is the world's largest maker of elevators and air conditioners.

With current tough times, and maybe getting tougher with deflation as a real possibility, investors who think more defensively may see better returns with more conservative stocks, ones with dividends and solid balance sheets. Now isn't the time to be too aggressive. With that in mind, here are five stocks that made our column dedicated to conservative investors.

Avista Corp. (AVA): an energy company, engaged in the generation, transmission, and distribution of energy and energy-related businesses in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Avista Utilities and Advantage IQ.

"Fear is back and it can be seen in the internals. So what is one to do? What we always do: identify quality, establish value, and take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself," suggests Kelley Wright.

The editor of Investment Quality Trends -- an advisory service that assesses blue chip stocks by analyzing their historic dividend yield levels -- adds, "While all ships go out with the tide, value is eventually rewarded. Remember, we are in this for the long haul.

"Our current Timely Ten -- featured below -- is our reasoned expectation based on our methodology and experience for what we believe will perform best over the next five years. Do we believe that all 10 will go up simultaneously or immediately? Of course not.

Let's take a quick look at two earnings releases from the past week. We'll start with Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), an online business that could be a long-term growth story. Then, we'll check out Honeywell International Inc. (HON), an industry conglomerate that hit a new 52-week high.

Amazon has been on the move over the past twelve months. You've got to respect the 52-week range, defined by a low of $73.10 and a high of $151.09. And you've got to like Amazon's latest quarter: net sales increased over 40% in Q1, and net income came in at 66 cents per share, five pennies ahead of the analysts. Also, according to the press release, free cash flow over the past year rose over 60% to $2.3 billion.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded ConocoPhillips (COP) to outperform from perform after the company sold its stake in Syncrude. The firm has a $70 price target for shares.
• Leerink upgraded UnitedHealth (UNH) to outperform from market perform. The firm sees upside to the company's 2010 guidance and finds shares attractively valued at currently levels.
• Citigroup upgraded both Mirant (MIR) and RRI Energy (RRI) to hold from sell after the two companies agreed to merge.
• Cooper Companies (COO) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Expedia (EXPE) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• A123 Systems (AONE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) better-than-expected Q4 numbers due to strong holiday sales of media products.
• BlackRock Inc. (BLK) reported strong Q4 results and doubled assets under management due to an acquisition.
• Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) shares fell despite better-than-expected Q4 earnings as guidance fell short of the Street view.
• DeVry Inc. (DV) reported better-than-expected Q2 numbers due to increasing enrollments, which lifted shares.
• EMC Corp. (EMC) reported strong Q4 results that beat the Street view and offered full-year guidance.
• General Dynamics Corp. (GD) Q4 results fell short of expectations and its guidance was less than estimates.