Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) may get a bit of a lift this morning, as the company's corporate credit rating was raised by Standard & Poor's (S&P). The ratings agency upped SIRI's rating to "CCC+" from "CCC" and raised the issue-level ratings a notch. That said, S&P did keep SIRI's senior unsecured notes at "CCC-."

S&P analyst Hal Diamond attributed the move to "increased comfort with the company's near-term liquidity needs," following a loan from Liberty Media. Liberty loaned SIRI money in exchange for preferred stock, which is convertible into 40% of SIRI's common shares. This investment pushed significant debt maturities from 2009 to 2011.

"Is Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) ripe for a buyout?," asks growth expert Karim Rahemtulla. Here's an assessment from the investment director of Xcelerated Profits Report.

"I've predicted over the last several months that the larger pharmaceutical companies would be on the prowl for possible acquisitions.

"As it stands now, we probably haven't seen the last of such offers - and thanks to the previous two large mergers recently announced Merck acquiring Schering Plough and Pfizer buying Wyeth, many analysts are now speculating that Bristol-Myers Squibb could be next.

"I believe the #1 rule for making money in the next decade is to get long whatever the Chinese are buying," says Tony Sagami in the Asia Stock Alert.

"China will need to consume an unprecedented amount of natural resources to fuel its red-hot economy," says the advisor who offers his speculations as to the most likely takeover candidates in three areas -- energy, metals and food.

"There's no doubt in my mind that China is on a buying spree. And I'm not just talking about oil, either. Fact is, the Chinese have a ravenous appetite for virtually all commodities.

"While I don't have any inside knowledge about what companies the Chinese have in their sights, I do know what industries are strategically important to their lofty growth objectives.

"China needs energy - and lots of it - so you can expect frenzied buying activity to lock up reliable supplies of multiple sources of energy. In my book, oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium are all key players. My #1 pick for an energy takeover: Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), the largest uranium producer in the world.

"Harvest Energy Trust (NYSE: HTE) is exactly what we love – a company with incredible upside and hefty 'dividends' that's being ignored byWall Street," says Keith Fitz-Gerald.

The editor of Money Morning explains, "But the stock is not being ignored by the company's executives. In fact, insiders are buying like crazy. And while this by itself doesn't guarantee higher prices, it's an important indicator of things to come, especially when oil prices are destined to increase in the coming years.

"Harvest Energy is located in Calgary and functions as a Canadian royalty trust, which means its profits are funneled back to investors in the form of 'distributions.' Harvest engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in western Canada.

"And the best part is, it's been tamped down in the last two quarters. You see, management has reduced its distribution by 21%, citing volatile energy prices and the new tax rules set to take effect in Canada in 2012. It also carries a lot of debt after having consolidated purchases of other oil and gas trusts and large private producers over the last two years. The company also purchased a refinery complex – and that didn't come cheap.

"Now here's where things get really good: Plain and simple, Harvest is sitting on oil – a lot of it. Large multi-million barrel reserves, with an estimated 9.3 years of proven and probable reserves using conventional extraction techniques. It's also sitting on over 1 billion barrels of untapped oil sands.

E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) "is a high higher-risk trade, so do not bet the house; however, I believe the opportunity is still compelling," says Ian Cooper in Small Cap Trading Pit.

"About 10 insiders are betting heavy that E*Trade Financial will turn itself around this year. The filings are revealed here:

• Hayter, director 4,917 at $4.06
• Layton, director 245,800 at $4.06
• Fisher, director 31,806 at $4.06
• Randall, director 29,500 at $4.06
• Parks, director 24,586 at $4.06
• Raffaeli, director 12,293 at $4.06
• Lilien, acting CEO 7,376 at $4.06
• Weaver, director 68,843 at $4.06
• Brewster, director 24,586 at $4.06
• Willard, director 11,942 at $3.98 and 13,058 at $3.99

"And for them to be buying after a one-month triple digit move speaks volumes on confidence, which may explain the latest surge in option volume. Sure, the stock took a major dive in 2007, but that's because it got itself involved in a business it shouldn't have been in -- subprime.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"For more conservative investors, my favorite idea for 2008 is First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN), the Tennessee-based holding company for First Tennessee Bank," says Keith Fitz-Gerald, editor of Money Morning.

"Its banks feature all the offerings you might expect from a good regional bank: Savings, checking, mortgages, investment banking, and brokerage services. It's not exactly an innovative idea -- minimize risks and maximize profits.

"But let's face it, it's a tried-and-true strategy that most US banks have abandoned as they chase after the (allegedly) big profits that subprime-backed debt, leveraged buyouts and other similarly esoteric investments appeared to promise.

"Yes, FHN really over-extended itself in the credit markets and recently announced a loss of $14.2 million. More losses may be coming. And its ultra-high dividend yield off 7.93% may be in jeopardy. Nonetheless, we think the stock's beating was overdone.

"The Internet and Media sectors have been exploding with merger talks lately," notes Wayne Mulligan in The Tycoon Report, noting that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) have been part of the most talked about "potential" merger over the last year, even though nothing has yet come of their "supposed talks."

Says Mulligan, "I'm not quite sure where a software based operating system company has any business owning a pure-play Internet company like Yahoo, but they seem to think it'll work."

Rather, he notes, "I feel that a spin-off of MSN-Yahoo would make the most sense from a competitive perspective and possibly include Microsoft's Live unit and its experimental entertainment division (Zune player, Xbox, etc.) in the mix as well."

This, he notes, would allow the company to have a substantially larger piece of the search engine and search marketing pie. However, he adds, consolidating those operations under a single technology standard would prove to be extremely difficult "considering the fact that both companies have yet to really refine their advertising software offerings."

Yahoo, he points out, being the smaller company (at $50 billion), would have to be the one to get "swallowed up by the Redmond giant." He notes, "This would obviously do wonders for Yahoo's languishing share price, but that's not the issue here."

But, he asks, "Can this add exponential value to the combined entity?" He explains, "With Microsoft's product line and Yahoo's existing traffic base, I definitely think some cross-promotional ventures could add a lot of fuel to both businesses."

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