Today was a strange day with the DJIA having put in seven straight days of gains. The weekly jobless claims came down to almost the lowest reading since the recession, but there was a surge in continuing jobless claims as a wash. The headline PPI also came out down a sharp -0.5%, but was 0.1% outside of food and energy. The weak spot was Empire Manufacturing and Philadelphia data showing weak economic readings.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,359.31 -7.41 (-0.07%)
S&P 500 1,096.48 +1.31 (0.12%)
Nasdaq 2,249.08 -0.76 (-0.03%)

Top Analyst Calls

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"The Energy Security Act of 2007 has received little investor attention; however, it contains provisions that are likely to lead to significant returns for investors," suggests Andy Obermueller.

In his Government-Driven Investing, he notes, "The law codifies the federal production targets for biofuel, which we believe presents a real opportunity for Vernenium (VRNM)."

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Williams, Kilroy Realty and Dynavax Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• RBC upgraded shares of Williams (NYSE: WMB) to Outperform from Sector Perform to reflect their expectation for three years of double-digit production growth in the company's E&P business.
  
• Kilroy Realty (NYSE: KRC) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral as they believe the current valuation does not reflect the company's pure asset value.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Dynavax Tech (NASDAQ: DVAX) to Outperform from Perform as they expect positive phase III results for Heplisav around mid-2008, driving shares higher.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS raised Linear Tech (NASDAQ: LLTC) and Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• JP Morgan raised its rating on Verenium (NASDAQ: VRNM) to Neutral from Underweight.
  
• Discover (NYSE: DFS) was upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

This is the seventh in a series of trend-spotting tips from Hilary Kramer's newly-released book, Ahead of the Curve.

Everyone knows imagination and creativity are essential for entrepreneurs -- after all, they're the visionaries who see things that don't already exist, and then figure out a way to make them exist. But it's also essential for investors to be imaginative in thinking of ways to make money, and then investing in companies that share their vision.

To take an example, a few years ago, only a science-fiction fan or a dreamer would have thought we could power cars off plants in the ground. Everyone knew about ethanol, of course, but who would ever have thought we could use almost any biological matter to get ourselves to work in the morning?

Back in April it was announced that two respected biotech companies, Celunol and Diversa, would merge to form Verenium Corporation (NASDAQ: VRNM). Celunol, based in Cambridge, was on the forefront of the effort to derive ethanol from sources other than corn (Celunol focuses on farm waste). Diversa was a California company focusing on the use of enzymes to accelerate reactions for industrial processes. The idea was that Diversa had products that would help with the creation of cellulosic ethanol, and so the merger went forward.

The two companies haven't been merged long, but I think they have a great future together. Already Verenium has won a major contract with the U.S. Department of Energy, and it also completed a significant upgrade of a big celluosic ethanol production facility, which will help generate revenues down the road. It still remains to be seen whether Verenium can generate ethanol at a rate that is cheaper and less ecologically taxing than regular gas, but the signs are positive.

Beyond producing ethanol, VRNM also generates revenues by licensing its technologies to other companies -- for example, the BioEthanol plant in Osaka, Japan is using VRNM technology for its own production of ethanol -- and from using its enzymes in other industrial processes, as well as in the health and nutrition markets.

This is not a risk-free company, but people are demanding a world that is greener and greener and now the U.S. House of Representatives is due to vote on a significant alternative energy bill in the Fall known as the "Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007."

An article from CNNMoney.com's website on July 3 described the recent pending legislation that will make Verenium's work so important and profitable in the future: "Senate lawmakers recently approved a Renewable Fuels Standard calling for the production of 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022, with more than half of that coming from plants other than corn -- so called cellulosic ethanol. That marks a six-fold jump from what's being produced now and nearly a five-fold increase from the 7.5 billion gallon production sought by 2012."

I'm sure this merger of two established and respected companies is a way to make your own profit off the green revolution and the ethanol requirements that will be mandated when this law finally makes its way through the Congress.

Type of Stock: A biotechnology company that is on the cutting edge of current biofuel technology.

Price Target: This stock has been a real dog and is currently trading below $5. If you can take the risk (and hold through legislative mandates becoming reality), I think you'll be happy with the results -- three analysts who cover the stock on Wall Street have a median price target of $13.

Note: I own shares in Verenium.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOLand an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com.