The stock of AT&T Inc. (T), first written about here on February 11, 2009, at a price of $25.89, has meandered at/near $26 for the better part of a year, and that is a disappointment.

Even so, T remains well-positioned for the Internet/communications revolution in the years ahead. Look for T's revenue to grow about 2-4% in 2010, led by an impressive increase in cell phone customers (which numbered about 85 million as of January 2010) and wireless data service customers.

Analyst Upgrades

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded MSCI Inc. (MXB) to outperform from market perform on valuation following Monday's sell-off as it views the acquisition of RiskMetrics (RISK) favorably. The firm has a $36 price target on shares. UBS also upgraded MSCI, to buy from neutral, and raised its target to $40 from $34, citing the recent pullback in shares and the accretive acquisition of RiskMetrics.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Suncor (SU) to hold from sell on valuation and raised its price target on shares to $28 from $20. The firm continues to prefer Canadian Natural (CNQ) to Suncor, however, and raised its target on shares to $80 from $78.
• JMP Securities upgraded Grubb & Ellis (GBE) to outperform from market perform based on the improved operating environment and balance sheet, and valuation, among other reasons.
• Dell (DELL) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• FEMSA (FMX) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Westar Energy (WR) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

In a normal market, the conventional outlook of investing for capital gains applies. But in a not-so-normal market of today -- a market that moves sideways (or worse) for more than a year -- the conventional strategy is not adequate.

I fully expect the bull market to continue this year after a 10% Dow correction, but for those who hold a different view, here are a few, quality, dividend stocks that also offer modest capital gain potential:

BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT) -- Recent stock price: $88. Annual dividend: $14.45. Simply, BPT boasts a solid operation.

When Apple (APPL) launched the iPhone three years ago, the big attraction was the sleek design and cool graphics. However, there was something else that was truly innovative: the app store. Basically, Apple allowed third-party developers to create applications for the iPhone, which certainly benefited customers. It has turned into a cash machine, as Apple gets a cut of all the downloads.

Wanting to capitalize on this -- as well as try to slow down Apple -- a group of mobile companies have formed an alliance, called the Wholesale Applications Community. The members include 24 companies, such as AT&T (T), China Mobile (CHL), Verizon (VZ), NTT DoCoMo, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone (VOD).

One facet of the Obama administration's sweeping stimulus initiatives of which I have taken particular interest is its protracted effort to increase our national broadband access and capabilities. In pursuit of that end, The Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP), which seeks to build and enhance broadband access in unserved and underserved regions of our country, has been provided with over $4.5 billion in Recovery Act funds.

I am pleased to report that amazingly, BTOP has already dispensed with much of the red tape that might normally bog down an effort of this magnitude. Large chunks of BTOP funds are beginning to be granted. In the short term, the benefit of this program may well be to create jobs. In the long term, these infrastructure improvements could possibly increase the profit bases of companies such as Verizon Communications (VZ), Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), AT&T (ATT) and a host of other digital communication and entertainment providers.

As the number four wireless carrier, the situation is grim for T-Mobile USA. In this industry, size does matter in terms of network coverage and access to phone options. Plus, there is downward pressure on pricing, such as from prepaid operators like Leap (LEAP) and MetroPCS (PCS).

Now, it looks like shareholders are losing their patience with T-Mobile, which is actually owned by German giant Deutsche Telekom AG (DT).

About an hour ago, Apple (AAPL) finally unveiled its much anticipated and rumored tablet computer -- the iPad. For the past couple of years, many wondered why Apple never got into the netbook market. Steve Jobs, Apple's founder, CEO and visionary explained that netbooks simply are not better than laptops. The iPad, however, according to Jobs is.

Specs, from Engadget: The Apple iPad weighs just 1.5 pounds, and has a 9.7-inch touchscreen LCD display. It's running Apple's own 1GHz "A4" chip, with a 10-hour battery life and a month of standby. It'll come in three sizes and prices points: 16GB -- sold for $499, 32GB -- sold for $599, and 64GB -- $699.

Another quarter has come and gone for telecommunications expert Verizon (VZ). And with it, another opportunity for management to flaunt its cash-generation abilities. Earnings may be down, but I've said it before and I'll say it again here: When Wall Street thinks Verizon, it thinks attractive dividend yield.

On an adjusted basis, the company made 54 cents per share in the fourth quarter. This was seven cents less than last year's income figure. Unfortunately, it was also a penny below expectations, according to our earnings preview.

Back in late 2007, Motricity agreed to purchase the mobile division of InfoSpace (INSP) for $135 million in cash. It was a critical deal since it resulted in getting major customer contracts as well as a strong technology platform, called mCore.

Now comes the next part of the strategy: an IPO. The filing came late last week.

It seems that you can't swing a dead iPod in the financial media lately without hitting an article about Apple's (AAPL) hotly anticipated "iSlate" (and yes, I realize I am part of the problem right now). The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is unveiling its latest gadget in San Francisco next week, and just about everyone is predicting that it will be a touch-screen tablet computer.

As soon as Verizon Wireless (VZ) cut prices on its wireless calling plans last week, smaller competitor AT&T (T) did the same. Or, should we say, Verizon and AT&T simply rearranged pricing plans to grab psychological mind share more than anything.

As voice becomes something used less every year (while data use skyrockets), charging less for voice calls and more for data features is simply moving things around. Looks better for the customer, but makes little to any difference in revenue for the wireless carrier.

The growth-with-safety story continues at AT&T (T), which is why I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on February 11, 2009 at a price of $25.89.

AT&T's successful (but company subsidized) iPhone providership has added more than 7 million iPhone customers since mid-2007 -- a major reason why wireless revenue growth should exceed 10% in both 2009 and 2010; further, AT&T's 3G phone portfolio stacks up versus its competitors.

So, here is the question: do you want to complain that the stock market closed out 2009 on a down day, or do you want to talk about how the DJIA was up 20% and the S&P was up 24% going into today? Exactly! Today was marked by very light trading volume, as you always see on the New Year's Eve trading session, and by profit taking in many major stocks. Today's drop in jobless claims was the lowest since summer of 2008.

Today's unofficial closing bell numbers:

Dow 10,426.46 -122.05 (-1.16%)
S&P 500 1,114.97 -11.45 (-1.02%)
Nasdaq 2,269.15 -22.13 (-0.97%)

It's amazing how wireless customers will defend their iPhones to the point of being delusional, as some consultants found, just so they can use a superb device on lower-than-mediocre network.

But it's an incredible testament to Apple (AAPL) that many are choosing to carry as competing cellphone (even an entry-level model) in addition to sporting an iPod touch. The Touch can do everything an iPhone does except for having a phone functionality. All the user needs is wireless internet.

So, it isn't bad enough that Tiger Woods ruined his marriage and soiled his squeaky-clean reputation. Apparently he cost his corporate sponsors $12 billion in stock value as well. According to a study conducted by UC Davis economics professors Victor Stango and Christopher Knittel, Tiger lost his sponsors a "collective $5 to $12 billion." This loss outpaces "several decades' worth of Tiger Woods' personal endorsement income."

The study examined the stock market returns during the 13 trading days after Tiger's car crash, a period concluding a week after Tiger's announcement of an indefinite leave of absent. The two economics professors then compared the returns for Tiger's sponsors during this 13-day period to those of the total stock market and each of the companies' closest competitor. Returns for the four years prior to the car accident were also taken into account in order to establish the stocks' historic performance.