With what's left of your economic stimulus, check out this profitable microcap for your investing pleasure. Vermont Pure Holdings (ASE: VPS) is the largest regional distributor of bottled water in the New England and New York regions. It does business under the Vermont Pure and Crystal Rock brands.

For 2Q 2008 and 1H 2008, the company posted double digit increases in sales, gross profit margins and net income, an enviable trifecta. For 1H 2008, net income increased a whopping 40% to $983,000. Sure, the company will never rival Dasani or Perrier in magnitude, but it does operate efficiently and effectively within its niche. What makes the numbers noteworthy is that Vermont Pure Holdings managed to post these results despite absorbing a bad debt write-off of $475,000.

The company continues to look at ways to 'green' its operations and boost its bottom line. The company is installing solar panels at its Connecticut facility and replacing delivery trucks with more efficient models to reduce fuel costs and decrease the company's carbon foot print. The company's stock currently trades at $1.33 and is the only sensible way for investors to purchase bottled water.

And c'mon, when was the last time you bought a stock on the American Stock Exchange?

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Management is considering a private sale of 10% of the firm that would raise $1.5B.
• Carl Icahn has offered WCI Communities Inc (NYSE: WCI) $22 a share, 55 cents higher than its closing price yesterday, and equal to $920M, reported the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The U.K. Times reported that Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) is set to advise Royal Bank of Scotland on a potential counter-bid of GBP40B or more for ABN Amro Holdings (NYSE: ABN). Other bidders for ABN Amro include Barclays plc ADS (NYSE: BCS), which is currently in exclusive talks with ABN.

• The New York Post has learned that the American Stock Exchange, which is looking at "strategic options," has at least one "high-profile suitor" exploring the possibility of an investment, Susquehanna Investment Group.
• Investor's Business Daily's "The New America" column mentioned U.S. Global Investors Inc (NASDAQ: GROW) positively.

Today, the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) announced that it has hired Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) as its investment bank. AMEX plans to demutualize the exchange -- which means turning it into a for-profit organization.

In other words, it looks like the AMEX wants to do an IPO.

In light of the success of other exchange IPOs -- such as the NYSE Group (NYSE: NYX) -- it is certainly a smart move. Although, given its small size, it may mean that the exchange will ultimately merge with a bigger play.

In the meantime, why not pick-up some easy cash from the public markets?

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Do you have more money than sense? Do you want to be the first to own a stock none of your friends have heard of? A stock so new, so rare, so small even analysts do not follow it? A stock in a company doing business in a part of the world few people can find on the map? Look no further. Just this past week BMB Munai Inc., an oil and gas exploration company doing business on 113,500 acres in western Kazakhstan, qualified to list its shares on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol KAZ. BMB Munai also has oil and gas operations offshore in the Caspian Sea region.

BMB Munai conducts its operations in Kazakhstan through a wholly owned subsidiary, Emir Oil, LLC. BMB Munai hopes to become a major oil and gas producer for Central Asia. Shares began trading on 21 September at $5.60 per share. Shares closed on Friday 22 September at $5.30. Average trading volume for its 2 day trading history is 8,300 shares.