Under the radar: Some trends are obvious enough and visible to all investors. Others are more-subtle, but are just as potent, and these often slip 'under the radar.'

Case in point: the decline in gasoline consumption. As many U.S. motorists will no doubt attest, it was a perplexing driving season concerning gasoline prices.

The driving season - Memorial Day in May thru Labor Day in September - occurred during a U.S. recession that's seen about SEVEN million Americans lose their jobs, and amid a sustained pull-back in consumer spending (including gasoline consumption).

Who said big oil was a dying business? Fortune has released its Global 500, their "annual ranking of the world's largest corporations," and topping the charts is Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), which, much like a Mariah Carey song, bumped up into the coveted number-one slot after some time at number three. The Netherlands-based oil company trumped its U.S. rival, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) by $15 billion in sales and saw its revenue spike nearly 29% from 2007.

Speaking of Exxon, the company once again had a tiger in its tank, ranking number two in the world as oil futures bounced around in a nearly $100-dollar range, hitting $146 per barrel at its heights.

I am the Global Editor at MoneyShow.com and each week I interview an investing expert. This week, I spoke with Cynthia Tusan, president of Strategic Global Advisors -- a woman-owned asset management firm -- who discusses her approach to global investing.

Q. Cynthia, your stated strategy is a fundamental, bottom-up approach, focusing on international companies. With that in mind, which are the three most important criteria that you use to determine whether a company's stock has the right stuff?

A. Our approach is both fundamental and quantitative, but we focus mainly on company-specific factors. Over the years we have consistently focused on four areas: valuation, growth, quality, and sentiment. For 2008, we were more active in looking at debt levels of companies and price momentum.

I am the Global Editor at MoneyShow.com and each week I interview an investing expert. This week, I spoke with Heiko Böhmer, editor of Privatfinanz-Letter, who says it's not yet time to return to the German stock markets.

Q. The German economy entered a recession in the third quarter of 2008. Recent projections estimate that it will shrink by 2.25% this year, its worst performance since World War II. With that in mind, which, if any, sectors do you see actually growing in 2009?

A. It's not easy to find growing sectors in this tough economic environment. But I think that utilities and basic goods will show some growth this year. On the other hand, it will be very tough for the most important German sectors-cars and car suppliers.

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:

Not that long ago, investing in the oil sector was a no-brainer. It was an easy way to make some quick bucks.

But, now, there's mostly doom and gloom as oil prices have plunged since reaching a peak in July.

So, is it time to come back into the market? Well, this is the view from the front-page story in this week's Barron's [a paid publication].

However, for the next year, the forecasts for oil are wide-ranging. After all, it's really dependent on if the economy comes back. And, does anyone have a good grasp of that?

Instead, investors need to take a long-view of things. Yes, eventually the economy will rev again. And, at the same time, OPEC will find ways to cut back on production.

Yet, it's still important to focus on global oil operators, because they have the resources to expand their platforms as well as maintain dividends. And, according to Barron's, the top ones include companies like: ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Total (NYSE: TOT) and BP (NYSE: BP).

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

I am the Global Editor at MoneyShow.com and each week I interview an investing expert. This week, I spoke with Charles de Vaulx, partner and portfolio manager at International Value Advisors, who brings us up-to-date on what his funds are currently buying.

Q. Charles, global markets have really taken it on the chin recently, yet you have bravely launched two new funds, IVA Worldwide (IVWAX) and IVA International (IVIOX). Does that mean that you are near-term optimistic on the markets?

A. The October 1st launch date of our two new funds was somewhat coincidental. We realized this spring that the private funds IVA offered were not sufficient and that there was a considerable demand for mutual funds. It took us a few months to get the registration of these mutual funds effective. But, though we believe our strategy is resilient to downturns, we are thrilled to launch these two funds now that stocks have become so much more attractive than a year ago.

Q. Your funds are not constrained by any particular sector or capitalization concentration, as long as the investments are value-oriented. What is your definition of value and in which sectors and countries are you currently investing the funds' money?

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q3 update as they believe the quarter marks a turning point.
• Merill raised BP Plc (NYSE: BP) and Total SA (NYSE: TOT) to Neutral from Underperform.
• DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) was lifted to Hold from Sell at Soleil.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Sovereign Bancorp (NYSE: SOV) to Market Perform from Underperform as they believe the company's deposits are showing stability despite the massive sell-off.
  
• Kaufman Bros. raised Longtop Financial (NYSE: LFT) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe Chinese software service stocks now reflect the investment risks.
• Lear (NYSE: LEA) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

Analyst downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing checks that indicate deteriorating trends are worst than expected.
  
• Juniper (NASDAQ: JNPR) and Pediatrix Medical (NYSE: PDX) were downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
  
• Merrill cut StatoilHydro (NYSE: STO) to Underperform from Neutral.
  
• HSBC (NYSE: HBC) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of BP Plc (NYSE: BP) to Buy from Neutral on valuation as they believe the recent pullback provides an attractive entry point.
  
• VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse citing its acquisition platform and international growth. The company's target was increased to $100 from $88.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) to Buy from Hold and increased its target to $8.50 from $7 to reflect increased confidence in the company's ability to beat expectations over the next 12 months and reduce its net debt.
• US Steel (NYSE: X) was raised to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
  
• United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) was upgraded at UBS to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: American International Group, Energy East and BG Group Plc were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of American International Group (NYSE:AIG) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they see limited downside at current levels. They believe the stock is "poised for over 35% upside in the next twelve months" and raised their target price to $42 from $41.
  
• Jefferies raised Energy East (NYSE:EAS) to Hold from Underperform to reflect the growing pressure from politicians to influence the final NYPSC order in the merger approval proceeding. The firm raised their target price to $25.50 from $16.50.
  
• Bernstein upgraded shares of BG Group (NASDAQ:BRGYY) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company should benefit from the tightness in the global liquefied natural gas market.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Total SA (NYSE:TOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman and added to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Wachovia lifted CarMax (NYSE:KMX) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Pike Electric (NYSE:PEC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Hershey Foods, Genentech and Garmin were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Bernstein downgraded Hershey Foods (NYSE: HSY) to Market Perform from Outperform, citing commodity cost pressures & slowing volume growth.
  
• Thomas Weisel downgraded Genentech (NYSE: DNA) to Market Weight from Overweight after the company reported Q1 results, due to Avastin growth concerns and a lack of meaningful drivers of long-term revenue growth until 2009.
  
• Oppenheimer cut Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) to Perform from Outperform on concerns regarding PND pricing and the company's profitability dynamics.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) was downgraded at Goldman to Neutral from Buy and to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
  
• Baird downgraded Millennium Pharma (NASDAQ: MLNM) to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• JP Morgan lowered Total SA (NYSE: TOT) to Neutral from Overweight.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: DirecTV, Salesforce.com and Total SA were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman, as they believe it is well positioned to outperform in the difficult macro environment.
  
• UBS believes Salesforce.com's (NYSE: CRM) Force.com platform has strong differentiation in the marketplace and will help CRM benefit from spending outside of the customer management area. The firm raised its rating to Buy from Neutral.
  
• ING upgraded Total SA (NYSE: TOT) to Buy from Hold as they believe positive results from the company's downstream operations in Europe will support the stock.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman.
  
• Goldman upgraded RightNow Tech (NASDAQ: RNOW) to Neutral from Sell.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Total SA, HLTH Corp, Aflac First Solar and Town Sports were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Total SA (NYSE: TOT) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q3 results. JP Morgan upgraded shares to Overweight from Neutral, as they believe the company's Q3 results underlined the strength of exploration and production growth prospects versus peers.
  
• Friedman Billings raised its rating on HLTH Corporation (NASDAQ: HLTH) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's proposal to merge into WebMD Health Corp (NASDAQ: WBMD) for a combination of cash and stock.
  
• The firm also added shares of Aflac (NYSE: AFL) to its Top Picks List, as they believe Aflac is the only high quality, defensive growth story in the Life Insurance sector.
  
• CIBC upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer following the Q3 upside and set a $230 target on the stock.
  
• Banc of America upgraded shares of Town Sports (NASDAQ: CLUB) to Neutral from Sell on valuation as they believe the downside risk is now priced into the stock.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) to Neutral from Underperform.
  
• Merrill upgraded Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Ericsson, Total SA, Research in Motion, MasterCard and Sun Microsystems were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Buy from Neutral and added the company to their pan-Europe Conviction Buy List, as they believe the factors that lead to the October earnings miss will be rectified and the company will report upside to Q4 estimates.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Total SA (NYSE: TOT) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and expectations for a return in upstream volume growth in 2008.
  
• Credit Suisse also upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Outperform from Neutral, citing RIMM's expanding international market share.
  
• MasterCard (NYSE: MA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, as they believe the company's margin potential is yet to be fully priced into shares or Street estimates.
  
• Citigroup raised shares of Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's improving product line, restructuring, and share buyback. They find the risk/reward attractive and expect solid Q2 results.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman added Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) to its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Citigroup upgraded American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) to Hold from Sell.
  
• KeyBanc raised its rating on Comstock Resources (NYSE: CRK) to Buy from Hold.
  
• Millennium Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: MLNM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen.
  
• Roth Capital upgraded Gevity HR (NASDAQ: GVHR) to Hold from Sell.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says names in this group are now trading vehicles, not long-term investments, but that doesn't mean they're any less critical to own.

Here we are again in the weeklong pullback in oil where the stocks all get thrown out and no one wants to touch them. We will soon hear from the chartists (as I call technical analysts) that these stocks were unable to take out their highs, or they are getting the right -- and cold --shoulder.

How long until I hear that now that the bubble has popped and you are looking at Exxon (NYSE: XOM) (Cramer's Take) as Toll (NYSE: TOL) (Cramer's Take) at $50 and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) (Cramer's Take) as Lennar (NYSE: LEN) (Cramer's Take)?

Plus you have the ne'er-do-wells, like the ridiculously poorly run BP (NYSE: BP) (Cramer's Take), truly stinking up the joint.

So, what should you do?

How about buy them?