When I read that economically troubled Greece has 10-year bonds currently yielding between 6.32% and 6.44%, I wondered why these have any worth at all given the many alternatives offering a better return and greater liquidity? This baffled me.

Only Tuesday, I wrote about Telecom Corp New Zealand (NZT), a stock paying over 10% yield. The story also mentions that AT&T, Inc. (T) is currently paying a 6.4% yield and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is offering 6.25%. From my perspective, these are far better bets, safer and with some upside too than Greek debt.

Shares of utility The Southern Co. (SO), first discussed here on June 19, 2009, at a price of $30.61, have meandered after breaking through key resistance near $33, but the company's business model still looks attractive. Here's why:

The Southern Co. is likely to be a top utility sector performer, and the reason is its Atlanta-area operations.

Southern Company (SO) closed at $31.88. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) committed to loan guarantees to SO for the construction of the first nuclear power unit in the U.S. in more than 30-years. Overall option implied volatility of 19 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Papa John's (PZZA) closed at $22.66. PZZA is expected to provide EPS on February 24. Overall option implied volatility of 38 is near its 26-week average of 37 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

February front month equity options expire Friday February 19.

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Tuesday was an important day in the nation's journey back toward energy independence, as President Barack Obama announced the approval of $8.3 billion in loan guarantees to help the Southern Co. (SO) build a nuclear power plant in Georgia.

The Obama administration has made a large increase nuclear power a top priority in its energy policy, in an effort to play catch-up for the decades lost without a coherent energy policy and without the wholesale development of the proven and innovative nuclear technology. Incredibly, no new nuclear plants have been licensed in the United States since 1979.

The Southern Co's (SO) stock has broken through key resistance, and that's one reason I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on June 19, 2009 at a price of $30.61.

Further, another reason is SO's Atlanta-based operations: the commercial side of energy use (primarily the industrial segment), will take longer to snap back, but a quicker residential recovery should offset that industrial sluggishness;the greater Atlanta region did not experience as large a residential housing bubble as the West and East coasts, hence the bust was not as severe, from a household formation standpoint. And as the macroeconomic tenet states-- "as household formation goes, so goes revenue." Hence, SO is in a metro area that should fare well in the years ahead.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the biggest companies can lobby their way to huge profits.

Anyone serious about climate change knows that coal is the worst enemy of the environment. We can have all of the electric cars we want, if they are hooked into a coal-based utility system then the gains are irrelevant. We can also be sure that while all sorts of companies, like the General Electrics (GE) (Cramer's Take) and Cokes (KO) (Cramer's Take) and Nikes (NKE) (Cramer's Take) and Nestles, support climate control, they are not equal to one Southern Company (SO) (Cramer's Take), which is an important coal-burning company and a huge lobbyist for the coal industry.

Our nation has a two-pronged climate philosophy: pushes on conservation and on renewables. Neither is enough to get us through the next 10 years; we can't produce enough renewable energy at a cheap price and we can't caulk our way out of the jam.

One of my wonderful friends, Ms. P, asked me for some guidance on how she might allocate $50,000 currently earning peanuts in a money market account. Though she is decades from becoming a grandmother, after a brief discussion about her financial parameters, it became clear to me that she was looking for a "granny fund."

In reality, my recommendations would be suitable, and perhaps desirable, for many passive investors as well.

The $50,000 is a portion of money Ms. P has set aside to purchase a home, which might happen in six months, but could also be pushed out further, depending on the economy and her situation. Basically, she wants to cover all her bases because she might need the money at any time and does not want to be caught short, while at the same time she would like to generate some revenue without taking any big risks.

Southern Co.'s (NYSE: SO) stock has meandered over the past four months, but rare is the day one should sell an electric power generation play.

Hence, I'm reiterating my Buy rating for SO, first recommended on June 19, 2009 at a price of $30.61.

In a race, when the yellow caution flag is out drivers are prohibited from advancing their position, and are subject to penalty.

In the stock market no such rule applies. When the caution flag goes up it is a sign you may be nearing an opportunity to advance your position, and it would be foolish not to do so. I think the market has definitely had the caution flag up the last two weeks as we enter earnings season.

I have written several articles regarding watch-lists encouraging our readers to be prepared for buying opportunities, and as I look at my watch-list it appears that many stocks are nearing prices that would make it attractive to add to my position.

After finding three stocks yesterday that were a good bet to beat the the S&P 500 index going forward, I decided to pursue this notion further. Each of yesterday's stocks was in a different industry that will have strong recurring revenue and pays a dividend; energy, food and booze.

Today's three stocks are in diversified mining, electric power utilities and high-tech defense. Going back ten years, they have all trounced the index and I'm betting they will continue to do so.

Billions of investment dollars are sitting on the sidelines for fear of entering the market at the wrong time and losing more money after taking a bath last year. However, the market seems to have hit bottom last March and many investors missed the 40% gain from that point to now.

Market prognosticators are spewing out opinions faster than the public can grasp, or understand. I choose to stick with basic fundamental value propositions and ignore the noise.

I have been buying for the past eight months and riding the market waves, good and bad, to huge gains -- so far. Maybe I will be giving some back, maybe not, but I have also been encouraging readers to take something off the table, in several recent posts.

Readers of this space know that one of the preferred sectors is the electric/power generation sector, which should benefit from both an expanded infrastructure and ramping demand, once U.S. economic growth resumes.

And with the above in mind, the Southern Co. is (NYSE: SO) worth a review. The Southern Co. provides power to roughly 4.3 million customers in the Southeast United States.

In general, analysts expect the economic recovery in and around Atlanta, Georgia, SO's core area, to put a bottom under earnings in FY2009. The commercial side of energy use (primarily the industrial segment), will take longer to snap-back, but a more-modest decline in the residential sector and its quicker recovery should offset that industrial sluggishness. The greater Atlanta region did not experience as large a housing bubble as the West and East, hence the bust was not as severe, from a household formation standpoint.

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.

Where to Invest in 2009: Safe Harbors
The good news for investors is that some of these defensive investments are selling at their lowest valuations in years--and paying decent dividends. Among the picks include Duke Energy, Southern Co., Microsoft and Johnson and Johnson.
http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/Stocks/Where-to-Invest-2009-Safer-Harbors/

My Facebook Becoming My Therapist During Recession
In a time of growing unemployment, tumbling stocks, and rising foreclosures, people are finding comfort on social networking sites.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc20081216_649709.htm?campaign_id=twxa

With the shift of power in the United States one of the hot topics is obviously America's dependence on oil and fuel consumption. During the coming administration we're likely to see a change in the energy field as new options are sought. It's likely that there will be some newcomers to the industry, but most likely the old standards will continue to pave the way for the future of energy.

I doubt that there will be any disruptive technologies to change the utilities in my lifetime. By investing in an exchange traded fund (ETF) consisting of a basket of utilities you will have a safe bet on energy. Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) includes electric utilities, multi-utilities, independent power producers, energy traders and gas utilities.

You'll own companies such as Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) a utility services holding company, Southern Company (NYSE: SO) who uses subsidiaries in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity, Dominion Resources, Inc (NYSE: D) a provider of electricity and natural gas to the eastern United States, and Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) an energy company in the Americas. XLU also gives you a diversified basket of dividend paying stocks. Over the past year, XLU has paid about $1.20 which is currently a 4.3% yield on a $28 stock which down 33% this year (which means your dividend yield is higher). That's a lot better than 10 year T-Bills and the stocks in this index could appreciate as well.