Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Lubrizol (LZ) to Hold from Sell following the company's analyst day citing its continued pricing power in lubricants. Citi upped its target price for shares to $115 from $82.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Viacom (VIA) to Buy from Neutral citing the company's ratings improvement, 2011 film slate, and video game pipeline. The firm has a $45 price target for shares.
• BMO Capital resumed coverage on Gammon Gold (GRS) with an Outperform from a Market Perform following the its equity issue. The firm has a $12.50 price target on the stock.
• Comerica (CMA) and First Horizon (FHN) were upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Prudential (PRU) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Itron (ITRI) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

Analyst Upgrades

• RBC Capital upgraded Syniverse (SVR) to outperform from sector perform based on strong secular growth in mobile data and roaming. The firm raised its price target to $28 from $23.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded PG&E (PCG) to buy from hold with a $49 price target due to valuation.
• Jefferies assumed coverage on Sierra Wireless (SWIR) with a buy from a hold and raised its price target to $12 from $9. The analyst expects the M2M market to experience 25% growth over the next two years.
• Affiliated Managers (AMG) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• EastGroup Properties (EGP) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Gammon Gold (GRS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded PPG Industries (PPG) to buy from hold on expectations the company will benefit from increased auto production in 2010. The firm raised its price target on shares to $71 from $62.
• Stephens upgraded H&R Block (HRB) to overweight from equal weight as it believes the company is well positioned to gain market share with the problems at Jackson Hewitt (JTX). The firm raised its target price on H&R Block shares to $28 from $22.
• Credit Suisse raised Tyson Foods (TSN) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $16 from $13. The firm believes Tyson is a cyclical stock in the early stages of a rebound in protein processing.
• Lennar (LEN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Spartech (SEH) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Curtis Hesler, editor of The Professional Timing Service, believes that the recently announced Chinese investment fund will have a significant impact on commodities. The fund, he explains, was developed in order for China to diversify its reserves.

He notes, "The great Chinese reserve fund has now been established, and it is a whopper; they have announced that they will hold $650 billion of their reserves at ready.

Further, he adds, "They will also invest $200 billion to $250 billion a year that they expect to receive hereafter. That is a lot of money!"

So, what will they buy? According to Hesler, "They will certainly spend a lion's share on raw materials and other commodities."

The advisor forecasts, "This money will likely be the engine that will fuel the next major leg in the commodity bull market. China has every intention of being a significant player on the global scene; and to do that, they will need to increase their gold reserves."

Already bullish on gold, the development of the China investment fund for its reserves is an added demand factor supporting his optimistic stance. He notes that some resource experts are estimating that China will need to accumulate 2,000 to 3,000 tons of gold toward this goal.

Among junior gold mining stocks, Hesler owns Gammon Lake (ASE: GRS) and Yamana (NYSE: AUY). Another "solid core metal investment" he adds is Gabelli Global Natural Resources (ASE: GGN), which he points out has a decent dividend and as a closed-end fund, offers a broad-based investment in metals.

As a long-term investor, Hesler argues for patience and suggests that investors should accumulate positions during periods of price weakness. Long-term, however, he says, "I firmly expect to see gold eventually hit $1,600. That will put the mining stocks through the roof."

For more stock picks from the leading financial newsletter advisors, visit Steven Halpern's free daily website, TheStockAdvisors.com.

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."