U.S. stock futures declined Tuesday morning as global growth concerns hit markets following S&P downgrade of Japan's outlook and reports of further tightening in China that could hamper growth. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, amid several economic indicators due out.

U.S. stocks rose Monday as bargain hunters jumped in. But trading was light as Wall Street awaited news from later in the week regarding the confirmation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the State of the Union address and bank regulatory developments. Meanwhile, the earnings season continues to give mixed results, not fully convincing investors a recovery is underway.

As background information, Japan Airlines Corp. has been bailed out four times by the Japanese government in the past ten years. JAL's 2.3 trillion yen bankruptcy is the fourth largest in Japan and the largest non financial bankruptcy.

The fact that JAL has been allowed to fail, marks a shift in government policy. The four month old Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Yuko Hatoyama, has refused to bail out JAL. However, Hatoyama's government said it would provide the necessary support for JAL.

The 2009 equity market recovery has led to an increase in Q ratios for the world's largest retailers. What does this mean? They're using their tangible assets effectively and have demonstrated the strength of intangible factors, such as brand and operational efficiency, to create shareholder value.

"Q" is the ratio of a public company's market capitalization to the market value of its tangible assets. So, a Q ratio of above one means that investors value the company's non-tangible assets -- e.g., brand, differentiation, innovation, customer experience and customer loyalty -- and see these factors as reasons to pay a higher price per share. A company with a Q ratio of below one can't generate a sufficient return on its physical assets. According to Deloitte, this could create an arbitrage opportunity, as it may be ripe for an acquisition.

And, as they say in the foreign exchange, 'easier said than done.' The yen has risen to a level versus the dollar that's a concern to Japan's auto makers. Although the yen is roughly unchanged versus the dollar since January 2009, it's strengthened about 15% versus the dollar since the onset of the global financial crisis' acute stage in August/September 2008.

The significance? Japan's automakers must raise prices on cars/vehicles exported to the U.S. to protect profit margins of vehicles priced in dollars: if they don't those margins will shrink.

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"When extreme valuations are accompanied by unbridled optimism or abject pessimism, it virtually always marks a turning point -- and an opportunity; and this is no exception," says Alex Green, referring to the U.S. dollar.

Here, the senior investment advisor to The Oxford Club and Investment U looks to PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (UUP) as a favorite idea for the coming year.

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"Though most investors do not associate Pacific-Rim investments with high-dividend yields, Matthews Asia Dividend (MAPIX) could change their perception," says Mark Salzinger.

In his No-Load Fund Investor, he looks to this fund, which he notes recently offered a dividend yield of approximately 4%.

First of all what is sovereign debt? Sovereign debt is created by the issuance of bonds by a country's government. When the financial meltdown occurred last year, governments around the world issued bonds to obtain money for their respective stimulus programs. The amount of debt (bonds) issued worldwide has been astronomical.

Now, investors around the world are worried that some countries are in danger of their bond markets collapsing or, worse case scenario, for the country to default on its bonds.

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"Aflac (AFL) is best known in the U.S. for its 'duck ads,' but actually earns over 75% of its money from Japan," says Dirk Van Dijk.

In selecting the stock as his top pick for 2010, the strategist for Zacks.com, recalls "Aflac happens to be an old favorite of mine, a stock that I first recommended back in 1991." Here's his current update.

Despite last week's announcement that Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. (WEN) would withdraw from Japan, the third largest burger chain in the U.S. isn't ready to give up on Asia altogether.

Food service management company Kopitiam Group will be bringing the Wendy's fast food chain back to Singapore after an absence of more than 10 years. The group plans to open 35 Wendy's branches in Singapore over the next decade.

The financial markets received another deflation data point Tuesday, and it's not a minor one.

The Bank of Japan said it will begin a 10 trillion yen ($115 billion) quantitative easing program to commercial banks to fight deflation, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

Japan, still grappling with price pressure from a decade earlier -- the 'Lost Decade' -- has seen deflation pressures intensify this decade due to its aging population, low birth rate, and low consumer spending.

U.S. stock futures followed global markets higher Monday morning as Japan announced its economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace and governments around the world said they would maintain their stimulus policies. Investors are also awaiting a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, GM's first earnings report since emerging from bankruptcy, as well as more economic data, including retail sales and manufacturing.

Japan's gross domestic product grew at an annual pace of 4.8% in the third quarter, its largest expansion in more than two years. This was higher than economists' 2.6% projection. The world's second largest economy relies heavily on exports and demand at home and overseas improved, indicating its trading partners are also recovering.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Singapore Thursday, told Bloomberg News he sees "early signs" that the world is addressing imbalances in spending and saving that contributed to the global financial crisis. That's likely to be interpreted as a bullish sign by institutional investors.

Equally important, meeting attendees, which include finance ministers from China, Japan, and Australia, also reiterated a pledge to maintain stimulus efforts "until a durable recovery in private demand is secured."

The stock market is rallying. Commodities are on a tear. Yet the dollar is falling. Why?

There are several reasons for the drop in the dollar, but the most obvious and simple answer is that investors around the world are selling dollars and using the money to buy stocks and commodities, particularly oil and gold.

Last week India announced that it had bought 200 tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF.) At an average of say $1000.00 per ounce, the transaction amounted to about $7 trillion dollars. Chances are that India sold dollars from their sovereign fund to buy the gold.

Consumer confidence ticked upward for the first time since 2007. Around the world, consumers are becoming more comfortable with the prospect of shelling out some cash, even if they're still approaching the notion with caution.

According to a survey conducted by The Nielsen Company between September 28 and October 16, 2009, consumer confidence was highest in India, with Indonesia and Norway following. Japan, Latvia, Portugal, and South Korea were at the other end of the spectrum, though South Korea did show a significant quarterly improvement.

The United States is not alone. We just saw the unemployment rate creep higher to 9.8% for September, and the rest of the world is coming with us.

The worldwide recession is still circling the globe, it seems, leaving slashed jobs in its wake. While the rise in unemployment is essentially a fact of life, how countries are responding to it differs widely. Some are spending aggressively to protect jobs; for example, by chipping in some extra cash to pay for shorter work weeks.

In the 30 countries comprising the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), unemployment is as low as 3.2% in the Netherlands and as high as 17.6% in Spain, as of July 2009.