Ten weeks into the year and never a dull moment. Pondering the remaining 42 weeks and beyond, where will value be found? We know that "my pal Warren" is on the prowl waist high in Berkshire Hathaway cash to invest, and he is on record as chomping on the bit to do so. Just this morning it was reported that Buffett had closed a $9 billion deal to buy Lubrizol Corp. (LZ), the Wickliffe, Ohio-based maker of engine lubricants.

More evidence of this abounds: Wednesday March 2, (Reuters) - US-based Berkshire Hathaway aims to enter the Indian insurance sector as a corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

This is part 1 of a series examining the insurance market for expansion, stock valuations, potential risks and opportunities, excluding health care focused companies, a whole other breed of enterprise.

Could a stock that you made 1,100% on still have room to run? Yes, it is possible. In particular if it had a near death experience as a penny stock for a while.

That is the case with Newcastle Investments (NCT), the CMBS lender and real estate investment company that reached a recent high of $7.10 and has settled back down, most recently hovering between $6.70 to $7.00. It closed Thursday December 23 at $6.71.

It's that time of year when I start thinking about my 2011 stock picks, and enough folks have been nudging me that I might as well get on with it. The list will not be finalized until the end of the month. During the interim time I will take readers through a number of possibilities, explaining the rational for my suggestions along the way and adding and subtracting until I get the list down to ten.

Today I will start by reviewing opportunities discussed in another post and determine which of these stocks might provide the best value. The list was originally cast as a globally diversified, large cap, dividend paying and relatively stable group of companies that would likely weather any storm. See: Chasing Value: Bonds, Gold, Stocks and Capital Flight

It certainly is presumptuous, perhaps even self serving of me to assume the market is going higher in the face of so much uncertainty.

The reason I hold this belief is that so much money is sitting on the sidelines and much of it is getting restless. It's one thing for those on a fixed income to suffer because the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates so low, but it is quite another thing to expect $2 trillion dollars of corporate cash to want to live like senior citizens. That cash is a bigger drag on earnings with each passing day.

With widespread concerns over investments in the People's Republic of China right now, some traders have sworn off Chinese companies all together. That's a big mistake. Indeed, the current state of China stocks is uncertain and there is a lot of fear and frustration over China investments right now. But the issue is that all Chinese companies are not the same. There are a wide variety of China stocks listed in the U.S. -- state-owned enterprises, mid-cap blue chips and small-caps, each with specific characteristics.

To help navigate toward some promising China investments, here are three stocks that show potential for growth this earnings season.

This post is part of a 12-article feature on the best bets for investing in China. To see all the other recommendations in this special report, click here.

"The big story behind China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) is still the demographic one, as the population of China urbanizing and aging," says Paul Goodwin, a specialist in Asian stocks.

In his Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report, the advisor offers a fascinating look into the company, reviewing its firm's history, it's current state and assessing its future outlook.

Those surprised by the market's strength in recent weeks should be even more impressed with the rebound in China, where both their market and economy have proven among the most resilient in the world.

Global specialist Nicholas Vardy adds, "While the US markets are rising, Asian stocks are on fire." ETF expert Paul Tracy adds, "China funds have screamed to the top of the performance charts."

In large part, this strength is due to the country's stimulus program. Tracy points out, "To combat the sagging global economy, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao orchestrated a massive 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package.

"China has been my top market recommendation since late in 2008, and it remains so today," says global investing expert Yiannis Mostrous.

In The Silk Road Investor he explains, If the country's stimulus package works (especially on the infrastructure front) expect the Chinese economy to have a V-shaped recovery this year." Here's a looks at two of the advisor's favorites -- China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) and Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE: CHT).

"The sustainability of such a recovery will depend on the status of the global economy, though. If the global economy and the credit/banking crisis don't improve by this time next year, the Chinese economy will have more serious problems to deal with.

"For now, though, China seems to be headed for GDP growth of around 8% this year, which is nothing to fret about in the current economic environment.

With all the media buildup leading up to the Olympic Games in Beijing this past summer, just about everyone and their brother was bullish on the China/India emerging market theme.

"Chindia," as it was coined, was supposed to be the next great economic wonder.

The belief that these markets did not need American demand swept international investment circles. Forecasts of double-digit GDP growth continuing for the next several years became the mantra of emerging market funds, and Wall Street analysts got caught up in the commodity bubble, which burst a month before the Olympic torch was lit.

The widely held belief of global economists was that these two sleeping giant economies would lap America in a matter of a few years, as per all the economic extrapolations and white papers published leading up to the Summer Games.

Stocks like Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU), China Mobil (NYSE: CHL), China Life (NYSE: LFC), Huaneng Power (NYSE: HNP), PetroChina (NYSE: PTR), Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY) and Reliance Industries (not listed) seemed bulletproof given the revenue and earnings models being floated by the Chindia bulls.

The Summer Olympics are only days away and what the Chinese had hoped would be their coming out party to celebrate all that is good, may instead become quite the opposite.

The air pollution in Beijing is so bad that even reducing automobile traffic by 50% has not helped much. China is now considering a 90% reduction according to news reports. Athletes are staying in other countries until the games begin so that they may train somewhere they can breathe. There are also reports that many athletes involved in stamina events will be forced to wear masks to protect themselves from the particulates in the air.

Now Reuters is reporting that "Some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday."

So the world media will not be able to do their jobs in a manner they are accustomed to. But who are we actually referring to? Western media, of course, because half the world still limits access to information to some degree.

Markets in Europe and Asia sold off sharply.

The Nikkei fell 2% to 12,755. Toyota (NYSE: TM) was off 2.5% to 4680 yen.

The Hang Seng sold off 3.9% to 21,157. China Life (NYSE: LFC) dropped 6.1% to 26.75 yuan. The Shanghai Composite was down 3.4% to 2,779.

In London, the FTSE dropped 1.4% to 5,225. Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was down 3.7% to 259.75 pence. In Germany, the DAXX was off 1.8% to 6,086.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Markets in Asia and Europe have sold off sharply overnight due to rising concern that the credit markets will get much worse.

The Nikkei was off 2.5% to 13,033. Sony (NYSE:SNE) was down 4.1% to 4420 yen.

The Hang Seng was down 3% to 21,255. China Life (NYSE:LFC) was down 3.9% to 25.90 yuan. China Unicom (NYSE:CHU) was off 3.9% to 14.34

The FTSE opened down 2.6% to 5,368. Barclays (NYSE:BCS) was down 3.5% to 272.25 pence. Many other European banks stocks traded down over 4%.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Markets in Asia were troubled by rising oil and concerns that the global economy is getting into more trouble as each week passes.

The Shanghai Composite fell 6.5% to 2,749.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 2.2% to 22,807. China Life (NYSE: LFC) dropped 3.1% to 28.3 yuan. China Petroluem (NYSE: SNP) fell 3% to 8.07.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei dropped 2.2% to 14,130. Mazda fell 5.5% to 568 yen. Toyota (NYSE: TM) dropped 3.2% to 5490 on concerns that its truck sales were falling in the US.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

A number of markets in Asia were down 2% or more lead by the Shanghai Composite which is off 45% since the beginning of the year, according to MarketWatch.

In Japan, the Nikkei dropped 2.1% to 13,888.6. Sony (NYSE:SNE) was down 2.8% to 5,130 yen. Toyota (NYSE:TM) was off 2.7% to 5,400.

The Hang Seng fell 1.7% to 22,925.31. China Life (NYSE:LFC) fell 2.4% to 28.40 yuan. China Petroluem (NYSE:SNP) dropped 2.7% to 7.39.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.