This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Japan's tsunami has struck worldwide," says Richard Moroney, the editor of Dow Theory Forecasts, which has maintained a model portfolio of blue chip stocks for over 50 years.

Here, he reviews a number of the top buy recommendations in the newsletter's portfolios to determine the potential risk posed by the recent tragic developments in Japan.

Stocks cited as "Focus List Buys" are are those issues that the service expect to significantly outperform the market over the next 12 months.

Analyst Upgrades

• Applied Materials (AMAT) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Air Products (APD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Youku.com (YOKU) and Pinnacle West (PNW) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Stryker (SYK) and Zimmer (ZMH) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Zions Bancorp (ZION) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Alnylam (ALNY) to buy from hold at Needham.
• AK Steel (AKS) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Analyst Upgrades

• Ryder (R) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• HCP (HCP) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Hertz Global (HTZ) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Lincoln National (LNC) to buy from neutral and T. Rowe Price (TROW) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Protective Life (PL) and Janus Capital (JNS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• National Instruments (NATI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Team Health (TMH) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Mosaic (MOS) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $78 from $64 citing improving ag fundamentals and the potential for BHP (BHP) to issue a higher bid for Potash (POT), which Citi feels would bode well for Mosaic.
• Cowen upgraded VMware (VMW) to outperform from neutral, citing recent share weakness and the company's significant growth opportunity.
• Citigroup upgraded CareFusion (CFN) with a $29 price target, citing valuation and the potential for margin expansion.
• Pfizer (PFE) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Juniper (JNPR) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Stryker (SYK) was upgraded to buy from gradually accumulate at Soleil.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded AstraZeneca (AZN) to neutral from underweight after the company's U.S. Crestor patent was ruled valid. The firm believes the ruling could lead to AstraZeneca announcing a sizeable share buyback program. AstraZeneca was also upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill and to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Peabody Energy (BTU) to buy from hold, citing valuation and attractive fundamentals in the coal sector. The firm has a $57.50 price target for shares, and also maintains buy ratings on Arch Coal (ACI) and Alpha Natural (ANR).
• Oppenheimer upgraded NextEra Energy (NEE) to outperform from perform, citing valuation and an improving regulation outlook in Florida. The firm maintains a $55 price target for shares.
• Eaton Vance (EV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Dynamex (DDMX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Stephens.
• Soleil upgraded RPM (RPM) to buy from gradually accumulate.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the Senate is filled with more-savvy politicians, and the upside for beaten-down names is huge.

Nancy Pelosi has now said her piece. The most unpopular Speaker of the House in the history of Wall Street has gotten her precious health care legislation through the House after ramming through a stimulus package that had far too little infrastructure and far too much pay raise for municipal and state workers, the most powerful interest group in the country.

But this time the Senate sees through it, and the politicians -- despite Pelosi's insistence that Tuesday's election went her way -- know better. There are pages after pages after pages in this bill that look threatening. But here's the rub: This bill's public option, the one that is supposed to be a killer to everything health care, should affect no more than 6 million people over a 10-year period, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In order to get 60 votes in the Senate, even that may prove to be too powerful an option.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) to Market Perform from Underperform following the Q3 results to reflect the company's improved earnings outlook and better credit trends. The firm has a $70 price target on shares.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) to Buy from Hold as it believes a bottom has been reached in the manufacturing and construction industries. The firm raised its target on shares to $30 from $26.
• Goldman upgraded Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) to Neutral from Sell and raised its target to $64 from $48 citing improved cost controls and construction outlook.
• Pentair (NYSE: PNR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.
• Lexmark (NYSE: LXK) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• Stryker (NYSE: SYK) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) to Buy from Hold as it believes the BGI acquisition is becoming more accretive with the market rally and that the company's core trends are healthy. The firm raised its target on shares to $230 from $180.
• Citigroup upgraded Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) to Hold from Sell as it believes the risk/reward on shares is balanced based on 2010 estimates. Citi raised its target on shares to $89 from $75.
• Auriga upgraded Eclipsys (NASDAQ: ECLP) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's margin expansion initiatives will drive benefits in 2010 and 2011. The firm raised its target on shares to $24 from $16.
• Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) was upgraded to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel and to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Web.com (NASDAQ: WWWW) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $5.50 from $4.25 citing valuation and expectations for the company's competitive position and gross margins to improve.
• Barclays upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Overweight from Equal Weight citing long-term earnings growth as the company benefits from declining charge-offs and credit costs. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• JPMorgan upgraded Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) to Overweight from Neutral and raised its target to $22 from $19 citing the FTC approval for the acquisition of Jacobs Ranch mine and valuation.
• Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Ashland (NYSE: ASH) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says there'll be a time to buy health care. But wait until the smoke clears.

Please don't tell me we are back in the world of no institutional memory again. That all that happened is we dropped enough points to freak everyone out, get the bears out of hibernation and then it is onward and upward. Nothing would shock me, especially the vehemence with which everyone hated the market again Monday.

If you replay what happened, most of the issues stemmed from statements made by the same Europeans that have said no more stimulus is needed, the same Europeans who have been in denial the whole way publicly, but believe me they have been stimulating like mad because their banks are a much larger size relative to their gross domestic product than ours and are in many ways worse off.

Analyst upgrades:

• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $17 from $10 citing expectations that the company will "qualify for and accept TARP funding."
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO) to Outperform from Neutral as it believes inventory levels are low end demand is better than expected.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR) to Overweight from Neutral. The firm views the recent pullback in shares as a buying opportunity given the company's attractive nuke position and expected ramp in government spending.
• Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) was raised to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  
• Stryker (NYSE: SYK) was lifted to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.

Stryker (NYSE: SYK - option chain) stock is falling today after advisors to federal regulators recommended that the company's bone-growth putty for spinal surgery should not be approved for expanded use. The advisors were concerned about a lack of scientific rigor in SYK's clinical trials of the putty. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on SYK.

This morning, SYK opened at $33.55. So far today the stock has hit a low of $32.34 and a high of $33.89. As of 11:50, SYK is trading at $32.73, down $1.31 (-3.9%). The chart for SYK looks bullish and S&P gives SYK a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Earnings season was in full bloom this week, and BloggingStocks contributors often made their choices following a company's report. With the exception of very few, the conclusion was to stay away from most stocks, which says a lot about how companies did overall.

Still, there have been a select few that looked like good investment ideas even in these troubled times. So for those who can brave investing during such an earnings season, here are a few ideas from BloggingStocks contributors:

"Stryker (NYSE: SYK) is a bargain at 15.1x next 12-month EPS," says J. Royden Ward, editor of The Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter, a service which focuses on stocks that would be well-suited to the investing strategy of Ben Graham, legendary value investor and mentor to Warren Buffett.

"Stryker develops, manufactures and sells specialty surgical and medical products. Its orthopedic division makes hip, knee and other implants.

"SYK also makes a wide variety of medical products and instruments ranging from hospital beds to medical video cameras, surgical drills and saws, and instruments for implants.

Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) closed at $39.93. MDT is scheduled to report Q2 EPS on November 18. MDT November 40 straddle is priced at $3.50, December 40 is at $5.50. MDT December option implied volatility of 54 is above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Covidien (NYSE: COV), a medical solutions device provider, closed at $37.07. COV is scheduled to report Q4 EPS on November 17. COV November 40 straddle is priced at $4.40, December 40 straddle is priced at $6.40. COV December option implied volatility of 58 is above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Abbott Lab (NYSE: ABT) closed at $57.14. ABT December option implied volatility of 42 is above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Stryker (NYSE: SYK), a medical technology company, closed at $47.70. SYK December option implied volatility of 60 is above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com