Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's sales and margins are at an inflection point. The firm expects comps to turn positive in the next six months and raised its target on shares to $9.50 from $5.
• JMP Securities believes that Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) incoming iPod product cycle, geographic expansion of iPhones, and market expansion led by new products will result in "significant" outperformance. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $200 target on the stock.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Tiffany (NYSE: TIF) to Outperform from Neutral citing productivity comps and gross margin upside, leading to potential upside to 2010 Street estimates. The firm raised its target to $45 from $20.
• Brady (NYSE: BRC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.
• Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q3 results to reflect improved visibility. The firm raised its target price to $6.50 from $3.
• Citigroup upgraded Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) and Potash (NYSE: POT) to Buy from Hold and Agrium (NYSE: AGU) to Hold from Sell as it believes stronger grain fundamentals more than offset China contract risk. The firm raised its target on Mosaic to $72 from $48, on Potash to $145 from $83 and on Agrium to $55 from $36.
• Fulton Financial (NASDAQ: FULT) Was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
• Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) was upgraded at Deutsche Bank to Buy from Hold.

Auto parts company O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY- option chain) is one of the newest additions to the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Standard & Poor's announced late Thursday that ORLY will join the venerable index after the close of trading on March 26, where it will replace Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE).

The news caps off a pretty good week for ORLY; on Wednesday, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage of the stock with an "outperform" rating, and the equity tagged a new 52-week high of $36.17 in Thursday's session.

Analyst upgrades:

• Friedman Billings upgraded LSI Corp (NYSE: LSI) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes the risk/reward is attractive at current levels as the company's near-term business trends are stabilizing. The firm maintains a $4 target on the stock.
  
• Merriman upgraded shares of Medarex (NASDAQ: MEDX) to Neutral from Sell on valuation following the stock's 40% decline year-to-date.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded ITT Educational (NYSE: ESI) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm believes valuation appropriately discounts risks from its internal lending program.
• Noble (NYSE: NE) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman and added to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Energizer (NYSE: ENR) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  
• Arch Chemicals (NYSE: ARJ) was upgraded at KeyBanc to Hold from Underweight.

It's time to start drilling for oil and natural gas offshore on the east and west coasts. We are wasting our time and our money, and risking our future by not doing so. The energy needs of the United States have made oil our number one import and the biggest factor in our imbalance of trade.

It is not just that oil holds us hostage to the rest of the world. This imbalance of trade means we cannot support ourselves and must borrow from others to get by, and I, for one, have a very hard time with that notion. I prefer independence -- remember that? I think it was an important concept in our founding, way back when.

The imbalance in trade is a mortgage against the future of our children and it is getting worse year after year. The money often goes to foreign governments whose interests are not aligned with ours and they hold us politically and economically captive. Nothing is more shameful than President Bush pleading with Saudi Monarchs to pump more oil.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says lots of companies now thrive with crude up here.

Oil's not a tax on everything -- it's a tax on the consumer. That's what I come down to when I see the charts this weekend and ponder what's happening in so much of industrial America.

Company after company that I examine -- the new techs, as I call them -- actually benefit from higher oil prices. Or they can pass them on with ease, because of the worldwide demand being so strong.

Take all of the companies involved with making a Boeing (NYSE: BA) (Cramer's Take): Boeing itself, Alcoa (NYSE: AA) (Cramer's Take), Honeywell (NYSE: HON) (Cramer's Take) and Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP) (Cramer's Take) being good examples. Each of these is necessary because the new Dreamliner burns lots less fuel, and with fuel the biggest airline cost, it stands to reason that higher energy prices make the plane more desirable even at a higher price point.

Or how about all of the companies involved with process and flow control and efficient motors: Parker-Hannifin (NYSE: PH) (Cramer's Take), Emerson (NYSE: EMR) (Cramer's Take), Eaton (NYSE: ETN) (Cramer's Take) and Flowserve (NYSE: FLS) (Cramer's Take). Those work higher with higher energy prices. CSX (NYSE: CSX) (Cramer's Take), Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) (Cramer's Take), Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) (Cramer's Take), Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) (Cramer's Take) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) (Cramer's Take) are smaller energy users than trucks, and they ship plenty of ethanol and fertilizer.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Shire Plc, Bank of Ireland and Walgreen were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Bernstein downgraded shares of Shire Plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY) to Underperform from Market Perform as they believe sales of hyperactivity drug Vyvanse will be lower than expected.
  
• Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS on the slowing economy and commercial property market.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) to Sell from Hold as they believe the weaker consumer environment should magnify company-specific challenges and that earnings pressure will continue over the next few quarters.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Raven (NASDAQ: RAVN) Industries was lowered to Sell from Neutral at Piper.
  
• Goldman downgraded Brown-Forman (NYSE: BF.A) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded Noble (NYSE: NE) to Neutral from Overweight.

On the Periodic Table of Elements, the symbols Kr, Ne, He stand for krypton, neon, and helium, three of the so-called noble gases. Noble gases are chemically stable, and can be easily overlooked because they are colorless and odorless. They have boiling and melting points that are close together, meaning that they have a very narrow range of temperatures at which they are liquid. And noble gases have industrial applications in lighting, welding, and lasers.

On the New York Stock Exchange, KR, NE, and HE stand for Kroger, Noble, and Hawaiian Electric Industries. Do these companies exhibit similar characteristics of stability, a tendency to be overlooked, and scarce liquidity? Well, no analogy is perfect, especially one as arbitrary as this. But here's a look at these stocks nonetheless.

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is the largest traditional grocery chain in the U.S. (though Wal-Mart is the largest seller of groceries). Kroger has more than 2,400 supermarkets under several different names, as well as more than 750 convenience stores.

What is up is the theme of this week's merger talk, because there is lots of chatter, but no bold moves. Yet.


NEW CENTURY FINANCIAL CORPORATION (NYSE: NEW)

Down the tubes, and then what? With bankruptcy imminent, what next happens to the nation's second largest sub prime mortgage banker? Shares continue to fall today, recently at $3.18, a 69 cent fall, equal to almost 18%. Just two months ago the share price was over $30. The real estate investment trust isn't getting any help from lenders. Maybe reorganization is just what they need.

PALM INC (NASDAQ: PALM), DELL INC (NASDAQ: DELL)

Or should it be Dell, Palm? Either way, Palm is looking to sell, and Dell is looking to buy. Palm knows Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone can really hit them with a number of body blows, hence, get out while the getting's good, or at least okay, seems to be the Palm plan. For Dell, they're looking at smart phones as a part of their consumer products future. And lord knows they have the cash to buy a Palm. It's a brand with international contacts and a retail distribution network. Let the bidding begin, say at $2B?

NOBLE DRILLING CORP (NYSE: NE)

A noble "no" to an LBO was sent out from high atop the corporate structure several weeks ago, but rumors keep a coming. Yes, they said they'd use their extra dough to buy their own stock, just like they did before, in 2006. And that's what they've been doing. Who knows, maybe there's nothing to it.


CLAIRE'S STORES INC (NYSE: CLE)

Private equity firm Apax seems to be in the lead to take the 3,000 stores-strong Claire's. Get this: Apax is said to be so anxious to get going that it's said they have new management "in waiting." Wow. Claire's has said it's exploring "strategic alternatives", including a sale. Goldman Sachs is helping. Must be serious stuff. By the way, same store sales were up but down recently. Up 1%, but 2.3% was expected. What do you think Apax feeds that management team in waiting, anyway?

ALLTEL CORPORATION (NYSE: AT)

Buy me, please. That's what the nation's fifth largest wireless operator (subscribers) has been saying. AT&T is kicking the tires, but because of antitrust and other issues, it may only be doing just that. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) may have a look-see, as well as private equity firms. Tepid seems to have been the response so far, but that can change quickly. Management says the rumors are nothing new. Is that a bad thing?