General Motors (GM) faced immense problems during the financial crisis which hammered most of the U.S. automakers. With the help of the U.S. government, the company managed to restructure its business and emerge as a stronger company, even reporting a profit for the second half of 2010. The new GM commenced operations on July 10, 2009, after it completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets and assumed certain liabilities of the old GM through a 363 Sale under the Bankruptcy Code. GM is now focusing its resources upon four core brands: Cadillac, GMC, Buick and Chevrolet and competes with players like Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), Ford (F), Daimler, Volkswagen and Hyundai.

Analyst Upgrades

• Siemens (SI) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Diamond Offshore (DO) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• MeadWestvaco (MWV) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• TD AmeriTrade (AMTD) and Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Janus Capital (JNS) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Motorola Mobility (MMI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Humana (HUM) to buy from hold at Argus.

Time for a second look at General Motors Company (GM), first discussed in this space on November 11, 2010, shortly after its IPO.

And the view remains -- stand aside.

Like most new and/or restructured companies, GM needs to amass at least four, and preferably eight quarters of earnings history under its belt, before one can form a meaningful analysis regarding the company's prospects. Of course, there are exceptions, but these are rare. But GM is not one.

Teams have been preparing their game plans and it's time to see which of the 60 teams will win. No, not the Packers or Steelers -- Go Pack! -- but PepsiCo (PEP), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), General Motors (GM) and all the other companies competing for the best spots in one of TV's most expensive marketing moments, costing an estimated $3 million dollars per 30 second spot.

For those not into football, the ads in the Super Bowl game can be more amusing than the game itself as advertising teams compete for attention, show their best efforts and even get rated by numerous online sites. Last year, Doritos (owned by PepsiCo), and E-Trade (ETFC) did well, and Anheuser-Busch seems to always have a Clydesdale horse in the running.

All investors start at the beginning. They know very little, maybe nothing, but they see the stock market can make them money, big money. It can also take all their money and never even say thank you. If you're just starting out as an investor, follow these guidelines to help you minimize your mistakes and maximize your money.

First, understand that you are stepping into a world many have spent decades deciphering. You are a novice. You know nothing about the landmines that lie beneath. There are many and they can (and will) explode at any moment, usually the moments when you least expect them. Investing is fraught with danger like bankruptcies (even huge companies ... see GM), crooked management (very rare but when caught, very expensive ... to you), and many other disappointments that will cause sleepless nights. Scared? Good. You should be. Now you're in the right frame of mind.

"We have a bent towards growth companies, with new products or services that are producing major sales and earnings growth; nevertheless, we're also students of the market, and we believe that the recent 're-IPO' at General Motors (GM) provides a big opportunity for investors," says Mike Cintolo.

The editor of Cabot Market Letter explains, "Granted, we're not going to predict that the stock is going to triple or quadruple; we're talking about a company with well over $100 billion in annual revenue.

Economies go in cycles. They push to their breaking points, then move in the opposite direction. We saw it clearly in the '90s when there was no end to up (except there was and we abruptly hit it in 2000). In 2008, it felt like there was no end to down. But we now know there is. Things are picking up, and there are numbers to prove it.

Don't be the last to figure out we're in an economic recovery. Sitting on the sidelines, waiting for one more chance to buy a stock at the bargain price you saw in March of 2009 isn't going to happen. Times have changed. The U.S. economy is on the mend.

December is traditionally a slow month for auto sales. Most people are caught up with holiday shopping and tend to put off large purchases.

This year was different. December auto sales were higher for most makers, Toyota being the exception. Here are the numbers by company, as reported by CNNMoney:

Analyst Upgrades

• Boeing (BA) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Office Depot (ODP) and Staples (SPLS) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Kennametal (KMT) and Polyone (POL) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Airgas (ARG) to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• EchoStar (SATS) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.