Sometimes we have a strong bias concerning which way a stock or commodity will move. Let's take gold and silver. Let's assume that you believe the turmoil in the Middle East, especially in Libya and Syria, is bullish for gold. Let's also assume that the weaker U.S. dollar is good for gold.

You hold on for the past two weeks with the Mideast getting worse, and with the dollar getting weaker, and nothing happens. Gold just meanders. You start to wonder if you've done the right thing buying gold.

Analyst Upgrades

• Marriott (MAR) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and Owens-Illinois (OI) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• FirstMerit (FMER) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Safeway (SWY) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Babcock & Wilcox (BWC) to buy from neutral, as well as Jacobs Engineering (JEC) and W. R. Berkley (WRB) to neutral from sell, at Goldman.
• Pioneer Natural (PXD) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Teekay Tankers (TNK) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

U.S. stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors are awaiting data on home prices and consumer confidence. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 18 points to 12,132.00 and S&P 500 index futures climbed 1.80 points to 1,304.00. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 5 points to 2,300.75.

Negative sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.51%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.30%. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.21%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gaining 0.40% and China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.87%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.03% and India's Sensex surged 177.66 points.

Stocks fought on and off all day over whether they were going to close up or down, and the red or black verdict was one that was not easy to predict until immediately before the closing bell. Europe was soft on earnings. A positive confidence number was not enough to send shares remarkably higher.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,169.46 +5.41 (0.05%)
S&P 500 1,185.65 +0.03 (0.00%)
Nasdaq 2,497.29 +6.44 (0.26%)

Top Analyst Calls

Analyst Upgrades

• BMO Capital upgraded Procter & Gamble (PG) to outperform from market perform as it views P&G's valuation as attractive and expects growth to pick up in the March quarter. The firm has a $74 price target for shares.
• Goldman upgraded Tupperware (TUP) to buy from neutral and raised its target for shares to $60 from $48.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scansource (SCSC) to buy from hold. The firm believes that the company's growth is poised to accelerate, allowing the stock's multiple to expand or even rise slightly. The firm has a $43 target for shares.
• CA Technologies (CA) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Brady (BRC) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at BMO Capital.
• Lukoil (LUKOY) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says forget calling a financial bottom -- everything you need is right in front of you.

Do you think this week will finally end the oil inventory nonsense? Do you think this week could be the breakout where oil doesn't trade on the slight build or the "heavier than expected" chatter?

I sure hope so.

Yesterday was a horrible market, but midday, when the market was really beginning to roll over, the whole complex turned. This was quite an achievement given the overwhelming collapse of the futures and the propensity of the bears to push things down.

Today with the futures breaching $140 -- remember, I think they're on the way to $150 -- we can see the error of relying on these numbers, which I have said for years now are meaningless. Witness how many times the inventories have been more full than expected and yet oil has doubled.

I want to go back to the cheaper-than-oil stocks, though. Natural gas. Oil has to go down $65 to get to where natural gas is right now. Meaning that historically oil trades at six times the price of natural gas. So natural gas -- forget the season, which is supposed to be bad for nat gas -- needs to come higher.

Much higher.

"Glass is also more eco-friendly than other materials, benefiting Owens-Illinois (NYSE: OI), the world's largest supplier of glass containers," says quantitiative analyst Vahan Janjigian, editor of The Forbes Growth Investor.

"The company's bottles are used for beer, wine, liquor, tea, juice, food, and pharmaceuticals. Major customers include Anheuser-Busch, SAB Miller, Molson Coors, Diageo, PepsiCo, H.J. Heinz, and Heineken.

"Glass containers offer several advantages over alternatives such as aluminum and plastic. They preserve purity and flavor, they are infinitely recyclable, and there is no shortage of raw materials.

"Glass is also cost-efficient for the customer, which is particularly important in developing countries where containers are often reused and refilled 30-50 times before being recycled.

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.

Readers of this space know that the investment bias is toward large-cap companies with demonstrated business models and who have a competitive advantage in established markets, preferably with a favorable global trend as a support. And with the above in mind, Owens-Illinois is worth an evaluation.

Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE: OI) is the world's largest maker of glass containers. Owens makes a variety of containers, including bottles in a wide range of shapes and sizes used to hold beer, soft drinks, liquor, wine, juice, and other beverages.

Analysts really like Owens' market-leading positions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia/Pacific. Analysts also like OI's blue-chip clientele list.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Disney, GlaxoSmithKline and Owens Illinois were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Disney (NYSE: DIS) to Outperform from Perform ahead of the company's Q1 results, as they expect in the quarter and find the valuation attractive at current levels.
  
• GlaxoSmithKline (ASE: GSK) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at HSBC on valuation as they believe the dividend yield provides support.
  
• Owens Illinois (NYSE: OI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank following the Q4 upside, as they believe the company is gaining traction with its pricing initiatives.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• PepsiAmericas (NYSE: PAS) was upgraded to Peer Perform from Underperform at Bear Stearns.
  
• Goldman added Simon Property (NYSE: SPG) to its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Jefferies upgraded Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) to Buy from Hold.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) may have plans for a gPhone, but their real objective is to run their own mobile network, reported the Wall Street Journal. The company is reportedly looking at a $4.6B wireless network bid.
• Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development may look to take a 9%, or approximately $700M, stake in Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD), the Financial Times' Alphaville blog noted. An investment may draw the attention of the U.S. committee on foreign investment.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to Business Week's "Inside Wall Street" column, the patent Biodel Inc (NASDAQ: BIOD) was granted in September for its VIAdel technology was "key," as it opens up markets for products estimated at $2.3B.
• Glass container maker Owens-Illinois Inc (NYSE: OI) is defying the current market tumble due to earnings momentum, reported Business Week's "Inside Wall Street" column.
• According to BW's "Inside Wall Street" column, some money professionals are "snapping up" shares of retailer Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) despite the housing slump, credit crunch and rising gas prices.