The second quarter is now behind us and for the most part it was a positive one in terms of the market pushing higher almost 40%. This is the second review of my 2009 stock picks through June 30 (see: Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more). There was a lot of talk about green shoots this past quarter as Wall Street was looking for any small bit of optimistic data to support the market.

The federal printing presses continued to run at full speed pushing the dollar lower and oil prices higher. While the feds were printing money to cover their deficits, the States do not have that same luxury and many of them are having trouble balancing their budgets to the tune of billions of dollars.

Profits up in the heartland; at least for General Mills (NYSE: GIS) as they doubled in the fourth quarter beating analysts estimates by promoting their strong brands to consumers as management understood well the economic headwinds they were facing.

This contributed to GIS income for the year making it into positive territory as it reported this morning that net income edged up to $1.3 billion, or $3.80 per share, from $1.29 billion, or $3.71 per share, in the prior year. Annual sales climbed 8 percent to $14.69 billion from $13.65 billion.

For those of you who are able to trade options, I have been writing more and more about naked puts, "selling to open" stock options that I have been doing all year with great returns due to an overabundance of fear.

Yesterday I reviewed one example in Chasing Value: GE -- maybe not eating out of trash cans after all, and today I review some of my favorite ways to make money and improve my portfolio.

Let me start with United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS), a company with a great balance sheet, strong management, and trading 29% off its 52-week high, about where I sold it last year. I bought it earlier this year at the bargain basement price of $44, and now wished I had bought more.

It was reported on Sunday, June 21, that Anglo-Swiss mining company Xstrata has proposed a merger of equals to the board of Anglo American ADR (NASDAQ: AAUK), hoping to create a new, more competitive mining giant. Rumors have been milling about for a while.

Together, Anglo American and Xstrata would have a market capitalization of approximately $68 billion, (AAUK's $35 billion + XTA.L's $33 billion) and be larger than Rio Tinto plc ADS (NYSE: RTP), which ended the trading day last Friday with a capitalization hovering over $42 billion.

The stock market has enjoyed a strong rally the past ten weeks, even with a few very minor setbacks. If you were in the market, you enjoyed it too.

It is more likely that the market will become somewhat volatile for the rest of the year rather than continue to rise substantially, barring some outlier. For this reason I have been emphasizing to our readers that they focus their attention on creating a watchlist of stocks they would like to acquire, potentially at great discount for the long haul.

I started this recent series last week with Serious Money: Keep your eyes on UPS and FDX, focusing on large cap stocks certain to make it through these difficult times.

Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR), known for its ventricular assist devices (VADs) for patients suffering late-stage heart failure, recently bought Australia's HeartWare. Investors responded positively to this move because it brings new technology to Thoratec and expands the company's already significant market share.

THOR currently has 85% of the U.S. heart pump market and 65% of Europe's, and this new technology could ensure THOR stays on the top of this market for at least the next five to 10 years. The Thoratec-HeartWare partnership has the potential to grow into a multibillion-dollar business, which will translate to big sales and earnings growth.

Ebix (NASDAQ: EBIX) sells insurance industry software products and services in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. This company is not your standard IT firm, however. The company's Ebix.com website acts as an online auction house for auto, home, health, life and other types of insurance -- and Ebix gets a fee on each transac­tion. It's cutting-edge applications like this that make Ebix an industry leader.

And the numbers prove it.

Ebix reported its best-ever net income and revenue for the first quarter of 2009. EBIX reported earnings of $8.34 million or 69 cents per share, which is 47% higher than last year's earnings of 47 cents per share. Total revenue rose from $16.64 million to a 33-year high of $20.67 million during the quarter. The company's expenses grew by 17%, but I want to also point out that Ebix's operating margins grew to 40%.

MasTec (NYSE: MTZ) plays a vital role in literally supporting the backbone of the U.S. economy: infrastructure.

For the last 75 years, MasTechas designed, built, installed, maintained and upgraded the telecommu­nications and utilities infrastructures of the U.S. This company has a hand in everything from telephone lines and high-speed Internet, to satellite and cable television services, to electric, water and natural gas utilities. All you have to do is look outside your window at the nearest telephone pole or glance across the fence at a neighbor's satellite dish to see where MTZ makes its money!

Neutral Tandem (NASDAQ: TNDM) provides third-party interconnection services to competitive telecommunications carriers. In a nutshell, TNDM helps wire-line, wireless and broadband customers talk to each other -- even if they all pay their bills to different companies. Neutral Tandem offers services in more than 60 U.S. metropolitan markets and is a critical part of our nation's communications network. The company's customers include Sprint Nextel, Comcast Cable and AT&T.

Neutral Tandem earned $9 million or 27 cents per share in the first quarter, compared with $4 million or 12 cents per share in the year-ago period. TNDM's earnings beat estimates by four cents for a 17.4% earnings surprise, sending shares up 15.6% in just the week following the announcement!

Almost Family (NASDAQ: AFAM) is in the home health nursing service business and offers senior citizens in nine states an alternative to spending their days in nursing homes. As the aging Baby Boomer generation looks to keep a level of independence without sacrificing their level of care, Almost Family is a perfect fit.

Almost Family has been buying up local providers to grow its share of the highly fragmented market and increase its margins. Clearly, this strategy is working, as the company's earnings rose 55% to 68 cents per share, compared with 44 cents per share in the first quarter of 2008. What's more, AFAM's revenue increased by a whopping 77% to $69.2 million from $39 million. Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 60 cents per share on revenue of 63 million, so Almost Family posted a 13.3% earnings surprise and a 9.8% sales surprise.

Small-cap stocks are a GREAT place to start if you're serious about rebuilding your wealth and securing your financial future.

But what makes small-cap stocks so spectacular?

The bear market stripped analysts from small stocks -- hardly anyone is covering them anymore. This creates wonderful pricing anomalies and gives the individual investor a significant edge.

Hopefully all the people who thought the world was coming to an end have found good counseling while the rest of us get on with our business. This is not to make light of those that are struggling to find employment, or trying to rebuild their retirement portfolios -- this is a brutal economy indeed.

The most important thing, though, is that the stock market has improved recently, "bear rally" or not, because it has allowed investors to see that the market can go up as well as down. The most reliable prediction for the future of the stock market has always been "it will fluctuate".

My favorite motto comes from my time as a Cub Scout: be prepared. If you do not have a watchlist then you are not prepared. Yesterday I started this conversation with Serious Money: Keep your eyes on UPS and FDX.

Never mind the bears and bulls or even the pigs and chickens, I think between Wall Street and Washington D.C. the goofs and ghosts are leading the charge.

What I mean by this is that the rationale for certain market activity and advisement makes no sense to me. Maybe we are not recovering from the recession but we are moving into something like a shadow economy, where people look at what is going on in the market and rationalize it after the fact, when all the real energy is in the darkness.

Today American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, and Lazard Capital Markets upgraded AEO from hold to buy. Why now, after the stock has run up 65% this year, do they finally wake up and think there might be something here?

The 2009 clock is ticking loudly. Last December I posted Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more. This is the first follow-up, four months later, through April 30 2009.

The year started off with continued turbulence. We have a new president, Barack Obama, who will boldly lead us where no man has gone before -- trillions further in debt, most likely.

Not that this is his doing, but it is his chosen calling, and right now he is calling out to the Congress to move forward on various contentious budget proposals and continued federal stimulus packages.

Most people probably have not heard of the Olin Corp (NYSE: OLN), even though it has been in business in the United States since 1892 (127 years!), and has been selling ammunition under the 140-year-old Winchester brand since it acquired the company 76 years ago.

While Olin has been around a long time, it does not get much attention. It is only capitalized at $1 billion and much of what it sells is far from glamorous. It also does more wholesale than retail business. However, investors should remember this: Olin pays a safe 5% yield!