KBW Upgrades

Keefe,Bruyette and Woods have upgraded PNC Financial(PNC) and Prudential Financial(PRU) to outperform.

Aircraft Carrier To Be Delivered

The USS George H.W. Bush was christened October 7,2006.She will be delivered to the fleet this year.The last of the Nimitz class of carriers,she has two nuclear reactors,about 80 aircraft,and a complement of 5680 personnel.Northrup Grumman(NOC) is her builder.

Hope For Quebecor World

Quebecor World(QBRWF) is the kind of corporate neighbor everyone wants.While providing hundreds of good jobs,it has low environmental impact.That is why everyone in the Fairfield,Pennsylvania area is pulling for the Canadian firm.Their recent bankruptcy filing doesn't mean they are going down the drain,fortunately.It is something many good companies have had to do at some point in their histories.In the end,it can be a second chance for them to be everything they have dreamed of-perhaps even better than would otherwise have been possible.It can truly work out for the best,given their optimism and the genuine concern they have for their workers.The financing they have received is a vote of confidence in them by prestigious financial institutions.There is little doubt that Quebecor World will justify that belief with a complete recovery.

Buy Recommendations

Citigroup(C) recommends General Electric(GE).Deutsche Bank(DB) recommends General Motors(GM) and IBM.

Navy Professional Reading Program

Here are some titles recommended by the U.S. Navy:The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman,Imperial Grunts by Robert D. Kaplan,From Beirut To Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman,Lincoln On Leadership by Donald T. Phillips,Execution by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan,A Sailor's History Of The U.S. Navy by Thomas L. Cutler

Chukchi Sea Leases

Some environmental groups have objected to the February 6 lease sale for oil and gas drillers in the Chukchi Sea,which is off the northwest coast of Alaska.They are especially concerned about polar bears,which are threatened by the shrinkage of sea ice from global warming.Yet the local residents,especially the aboriginal peoples,have the right to determine their own economic destiny,and,after all ,have been stewards of the area far longer than any organizations have been in existence.

Fortune's Picks For 2008

1.Electronic Arts(ERTS) 2.St. Joe(JOE) 3.Dick's Sporting Goods(DKS) 4.Genentech(DNA) 5.Merrill Lynch(MER) 6.Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.B) 7.Annaly Capital(NLY) 8.Petroleo Brasileiro(PBR) 9.Jacobs Engineering(JEC) 10.General Electric(GE)