There have been many lessons to learn from the "Great Recession." But while the message is often clear, we can't always muster the courage, discipline or consensus to act on these lessons.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is about to enter its second season -- the playoffs. And for a Laker fan in Los Angeles, there is much to look forward to. However, the current NBA collective bargaining agreement will end and we will have to witness another battle between the billionaires and the millionaires.

Why can't the NBA learn from other businesses that have successfully maneuvered through economic turmoil to achieve profitability?

I'm now going to take a brief look at two stocks that were affected by earnings releases earlier today. The two companies are a study in completely different business models: one sells video games, the other sells drugs. Then again, video games are a drug to some, so maybe they aren't so different?

First up: Electronic Arts (ERTS). EA wasn't exciting during the regular session. It closed up fractionally to $15.62; volume was strong, though. And after looking at the extended-hours reaction to the earnings report that was released following the ringing of the bell, it might be understandable why so many players were intent on getting in on the stock.

"High-quality stocks bought at historically low-price-to-high-yield offer the best potential for downside protection and upside appreciation," says dividend specialist Kelley Wright.

The editor of IQ Trends explains, "Our 'Timely Ten' list is our reasoned expectation based on our methodology and experience for what we believe will perform best over the next five years.

"Our 'Timely Ten' list 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.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was down 1.8% to $61.07 at one point during afternoon trading. Volume was significant. The problem is the fourth-quarter earnings report. Was it so bad?

Well, it wasn't anything to gloat about. On a reported basis, profit dropped nine pennies to 70 cents per share, according to the Associated Press. On an adjusted basis, the profit figure was $1.03 per share, and that was in-line with Wall Street's projection.

Could a stock that you made 1,100% on still have room to run? Yes, it is possible. In particular if it had a near death experience as a penny stock for a while.

That is the case with Newcastle Investments (NCT), the CMBS lender and real estate investment company that reached a recent high of $7.10 and has settled back down, most recently hovering between $6.70 to $7.00. It closed Thursday December 23 at $6.71.

Analyst Upgrades

• Walgreen (WAG) and Triumph Group (TGI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Focus Media (FMCN) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Home Depot (HD) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Arbitron (ARB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Waddell & Reed (WDR) and Legg Mason (LM) to overweight from equal weight, and Janus Capital (JNS) to overweight from underweight, at Barclays.
• Central Euro Media (CETV) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• GenOn Energy (GEN) and Ntelos (NTLS) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cooper Tire (CTB) to buy from neutral and Goodyear Tire (GT) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

It's that time of year when I start thinking about my 2011 stock picks, and enough folks have been nudging me that I might as well get on with it. The list will not be finalized until the end of the month. During the interim time I will take readers through a number of possibilities, explaining the rational for my suggestions along the way and adding and subtracting until I get the list down to ten.

Today I will start by reviewing opportunities discussed in another post and determine which of these stocks might provide the best value. The list was originally cast as a globally diversified, large cap, dividend paying and relatively stable group of companies that would likely weather any storm. See: Chasing Value: Bonds, Gold, Stocks and Capital Flight

It certainly is presumptuous, perhaps even self serving of me to assume the market is going higher in the face of so much uncertainty.

The reason I hold this belief is that so much money is sitting on the sidelines and much of it is getting restless. It's one thing for those on a fixed income to suffer because the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates so low, but it is quite another thing to expect $2 trillion dollars of corporate cash to want to live like senior citizens. That cash is a bigger drag on earnings with each passing day.

The market is down and the headlines are blaming Cisco Systems (CSCO), in part because they reported tepid earnings and somber growth projections. This once again underscores the fact that stock prices are always determined at the margins. Most folks could care less, and this is reflected by the big silent yawn of the majority of investors.

Cisco is not the bell-weather it has been in the past. Some of its business is down because there are more alternatives from competitors, "the cloud" keeps growing, and also many products have become commodities.

There are many other companies I would consider better measures of how the economy is doing.

"Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is an international giant, employing more than 115,000 people and operating in 60 countries," notes Gavin Graham.

The contributing analyst to Internet Wealth Builder explains, "The conservative stock is in a great business in an almost recession-proof field. Indeed, we see this an opportunity to buy a world-class stock at a reasonable price.

"It is a major provider of prescription drugs, including Remicade for arthritis and Procrit for red blood cell production.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has had its problems in recent times with recalls, but when you think about the stock, you can't help thinking that it's one of those blue-chip winners that will be around for a long time. It's a name that you can utilize a dollar-cost-averaging strategy with in an attempt to keep the cost basis at an attractive level.

Today, the health-care concern issued its third-quarter report. While the top line failed to do much, as this article indicates, the bottom line was able to top the analyst community's prediction. Net income came in at $1.23 per share, eight pennies ahead of the estimate. A weaker dollar did act as a partial driver of the profit performance.

Early Friday, American health care giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced that it is in "advanced talks" to acquire Dutch biotech firm Crucell NV. According to the report, the deal (which would help strengthen JNJ's vaccine business) is going to cost $2.29 billion. JNJ already owns a 17.9% stake in Crucell and will be offering €24.75 in cash for the remaining 82%. The offer price represents a 58% premium from Crucell's Thursday close.

In a joint statement, the companies noted expectations for "Crucell's strength in the manufacture, discovery and commercialization of vaccines would create a strong platform for Johnson & Johnson in the vaccine market." According to the Associated Press, JNJ has roughly $64 billion in annual sales and is the "world's biggest and most broadly based health care company."

Medical technology company Medtronic (MDT), whose colleagues include Boston Scientific (BSX) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), has not had a good year. The chart communicates a very bearish situation. But when a stock takes a significant dip, many investors wonder if it is time to buy.

Earlier in the week, the business reported disappointing fiscal first-quarter news. If that wasn't enough, UBS issued a downgrade on the shares. The firm has reduced the equity's status to neutral from buy, according to BloggingStocks' analyst calls article. The price target is $33. Medtronic finished Thursday's session at a quote of $32.28.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced Monday that it is recalling 1-Day Acuvue contact lenses sold mainly in Japan and other countries in Asia and Europe. None of the recalled contact lenses were sold in the U.S. or in Canada.

The company said that it received a "limited number" of complaints from Japanese customers of unusual stinging or pain when inserting the Acuvue lenses. The recall started on August 18 and was not immediately announced in the U.S.

Here is a common sentiment about the stock market: "No fun at all. As I have said before, I believe it has turned into one big casino largely divorced from its original goal of providing capital to companies who produce something of value."

There's a lot of truth to what "granny" recently said to me in an e-mail. Fortunately she also noted "FYI Granny's up 5.86% + dividends." That would give her a gain of about 10% in the past ten months since I posted Where should granny put $50,000, suggesting a very conservative portfolio for an uncertain time.

Not only has she earned a very nice return, surpassing her CD account by 9.5% (20 fold), but she was able to do so with a great deal less volatility than the overall market most of us have lived through.