Stock picks and pans for troubled times: RIMM, ED, ISRG, GLW, LEA, SLB, GOOG ...

Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) -- And don't forget dividend, says Dennis Slothower. The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond is yielding about 4%, while Con Ed's dividend is yielding 5.3%. Being a strong utility company, ConEd could offer a high yield and possible increase in the stock price.

Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG) -- Sheldon Liber thinks that while it's true that capital spending is down, "Intuitive Surgical remains a unique company, with no meaningful competition, supported by doctors, patient demand and insurers alike." It could also benefit from President-elect Obama's planned improvements to the health care system. Sheldon said, "if ISRG goes lower, I may be buying even more stock instead of buying into the fears of the crowd."

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) -- Sean Udall of Minyanville points to the company's strong cash position and very little debt due for the next four years. Despite Corning lowering its guidance recently, it still looks cheap when looking at normalized EPS and book value.

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (AMEX: GDX)'s goal is to mimic the price and yield performance of the AMEX Gold Miners index. If gold is going higher, Mitch Tuchman claims this ETF is the preferred one over those following the price of gold since gold miners are selling at a discount now.

Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) -- oil companies have also become interesting in the current environment, following oil's drop from $147 to under $50 a barrel. SLB is "active in just about every imaginable market and I regard the company as a top-notch indicator of ongoing trends in the oil services business," says energy sector specialist Elliott Gue. Schlumberger is also trading at the lowest valuation since the late '90s, making it cheap.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) -- Defense? No one thought President-elect Obama would increase defense spending, but that's what his predecessor recommends and that's what the CEO of NOC believes will happen.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and its advertising search model will not be impacted by the economic slowdown like other companies, says Jamie Dlugosch. Google adds value and companies will not cut that out. GOOG trades for $277. "That is a steal in my book."

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) -- While last week two contributors thought that if -- if -- Sirius could survive the economic downturn it would be a formidable investment, Brian White cautioned against such a view. He said that the cuts in the programming and its quality would increase the competition from MP3 devices and the likes, leaving satellite radio a shell of its former self ... even if it manages to weather the economic downturn. Douglas McIntyre also says that if "GM drops, Sirius will fall within a month."

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) actually beat estimates when reporting its quarterly financial results this week, but Steven Mallas isn't impressed with how it managed it. Revenues are down and all management can do during this economic downturn is contain costs it seems. Brian White can't see a bright future for Dell either.