Resources expert Larry Edelson has just completed a six week tour of Asia; from his final stop in Dubai, he writes, "Gold is being gobbled up like it's going out of style."

The editor of Real Wealth notes, "In my 30 years in the gold market I have never seen the volume of gold trading and the lust for the precious yellow metal like I saw in Dubai." Here's his latest buys in the sector.

He explains, "The major fundamental forces behind high gold prices haven't changed. The U.S. dollar is very weak in the knees and inflation is rampant, despite what the government's numbers say."

He notes that the U.S. dollar continues to lose value against other major currencies. He points to both private and public debt problems as the root cause, along with troubles in the real estate sector and "political infighting" that is maaking foreign investors "think twice" about putting their money in the U.S.

He forecasts that the dollar's decline will continue, which in turn, will push up inflation. He notes, "All you have to do is look at your monthly bills and regular purchases."

To protect against inflation, he believes the best strategy is to invest in gold. And in this sector, he offers two new mining recommendations.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Whirlpool Corp (WHR), Amazon.com, Inc (AMZN), Arkansas Best Corp (ABFS) and Capital One Financial Corp (COF) were today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Whirlpool Corp (NYSE: WHR) to Hold from Sell with a $107 target after better-than-expected Q1 results.

• Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Piper Jaffray, to Hold from Sell at Citigroup, to Neutral from Underperform at Cowen, to Sector Perform from Underperform at Pacific Crest and to Buy from Hold at BWS Financial.

• Elsewhere, Stephens raised Arkansas Best Corp (NASDAQ: ABFS) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a $30 target.

• Bernstein upgraded Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) to Outperform from Market Perform...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Key Bank Capital Markets upgraded Cheesecake Factory Inc (NASDAQ: CAKE) to Buy from Hold.

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

• Stifel upgraded Advance Auto Parts, Inc (NYSE: AAP) to Buy from Hold with a $48 target.

• UBS raised Yamana Gold Inc's (NYSE: AUY) rating to Neutral from Reduce.

• Longbow Research upgraded Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH) to Buy from Neutral.

• Lehman upgraded American Standard Cos (NYSE: ASD) to Buy from Hold with a $50 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Curtis Hesler, editor of The Professional Timing Service, believes that the recently announced Chinese investment fund will have a significant impact on commodities. The fund, he explains, was developed in order for China to diversify its reserves.

He notes, "The great Chinese reserve fund has now been established, and it is a whopper; they have announced that they will hold $650 billion of their reserves at ready.

Further, he adds, "They will also invest $200 billion to $250 billion a year that they expect to receive hereafter. That is a lot of money!"

So, what will they buy? According to Hesler, "They will certainly spend a lion's share on raw materials and other commodities."

The advisor forecasts, "This money will likely be the engine that will fuel the next major leg in the commodity bull market. China has every intention of being a significant player on the global scene; and to do that, they will need to increase their gold reserves."

Already bullish on gold, the development of the China investment fund for its reserves is an added demand factor supporting his optimistic stance. He notes that some resource experts are estimating that China will need to accumulate 2,000 to 3,000 tons of gold toward this goal.

Among junior gold mining stocks, Hesler owns Gammon Lake (ASE: GRS) and Yamana (NYSE: AUY). Another "solid core metal investment" he adds is Gabelli Global Natural Resources (ASE: GGN), which he points out has a decent dividend and as a closed-end fund, offers a broad-based investment in metals.

As a long-term investor, Hesler argues for patience and suggests that investors should accumulate positions during periods of price weakness. Long-term, however, he says, "I firmly expect to see gold eventually hit $1,600. That will put the mining stocks through the roof."

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

An estimated 85% of financial success is being invested in the correct asset class, estimates Curtis Hesler, who is confident that the correct asset class for investors today is hard assets.

The editor of The Professional Timing Service uses several proprietary models to determine whether one should be in financial assets or real assets. One of these models is his Annual Asset Allocation Model.

He explains, "Its advice is simple as it will only point us in one of two directions -- financial (paper) assets or real (tangible) assets. The purpose of the model is to tell us which of these two assets offers the best potential reward for the lowest risk."

In recent months, the model has pointed toward real assets, suggesting that the risk of holding paper assets has been high. Hesler notes, "Although trading profits can be had in stocks, financial assets under these circumstances can turn very bad, very quickly -- as the recent market debacle illustrated."