For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"My favorite conservative idea for 2008 is Mastercard (NYSE: MA)," says Bernie Schaeffer, editor of Schaeffer's Investment Research.

"We look for stocks with strong price action, strong fundamentals and evidence of investor skepticism, with the skepticism being an indication that there is sideline buying power that can drive the stock even higher.

"Mastercard fits this profile just about perfectly. In late October, MA reported third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates by 27%, as credit card transaction growth continued to soar. The earnings report continued a trend of positive earnings surprises, as the company beat Wall Street estimates by an average of 42% in its previous three earnings reports.

Sprinting into the earnings confessional tomorrow after the closing bell sounds is Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), the ubiquitous maker of stylish kicks and apparel for fitness-and-fashion-minded folks. According to Briefing.com, analysts with Reuters are expecting the king of the "swoosh" to bank 85 cents per share in its fourth quarter; analysts polled by Zacks expect 86 cents; both projections exceed year-ago estimates of 69 cents per share.

Technically speaking, Nike has been in rally mode since last August, gaining more than 45% in slightly more than 10 months. The stock has benefited from support at its 10-week and 20-week moving averages; while last week's broad-market pullback dropped the stock below these short-term trendlines, Nike has risen 3% today to retake control of these supportive averages.

My mentor Bernie Schaeffer has taught me to always gauge investor and analyst expectations ahead of an earnings release, as inflated expectations can lead to a disappointing reaction following the report. It seems as though optimism is running fairly high on the footwear retailer. Options players are showing a preference for call positions, which means a sense of bullishness, especially among short-term speculative players. Short interest is low -- the latest numbers show a short-interest ratio of just 2.1 days to cover despite a 19% jump in NKE shorted shares. Finally, analysts are already favoring the bullish camp. Recent Zacks data indicates six "buy" ratings and two "holds," leaving precious little room for upgrades.

It is true that Nike's recent uptrend provides some justification for this optimism. But when expectations are bloated, there is the concern that earnings will not be well received, even if they manage to match or exceed analysts' estimates.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Last December, over 100 stocks were featured in our Top Picks for 2007 report. Now, at mid-year, we turn to the 20 advisors whose picks showed the strongest gains to get an update on their previous picks, as well as a new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

Bernie Schaeffer, editor of Schaeffers Investment Research, chose International Securities Exchange (NYSE: ISE) as his top pick for 2007. The stock has risen 40% on news that Deutsche Boerse AG plans to acquire the firm. For those who own the stock, Schaeffer recommends selling.

For his new favorite idea, the advisor turns to electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH). He explains, "The stock has been flying high in 2007, doubling in value in less than six months and moving to a two-year high. Throughout this impressive rally, the stock has enjoyed the reliable support of its 10-day and 20-day moving averages.

"RSH shares have also benefited from their 10-week moving average, which neatly guided the equity higher following a late-April pullback in the shares.

"This performance has clearly dwarfed the accomplishments of the broader retail sector. RadioShack's weekly relative-strength measure, as compared to the AMEX Retail HOLDRs Trust, has been on the rise since January and is now at a 26-month high.

"The company has been impressive in the earnings confessional as well. RadioShack's first-quarter earnings, reported in late April, hit 31 cents per share, well above year-ago results of 6 cents per share and easily better than analysts' consensus view of 14 cents per share.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ISE) is the top speculative play for 2007 from Bernie Schaeffer, technical trading expert and editor of The Option Advisor. He explains, "ISE is an electronic exchange and the world's largest trading venue for equity options (in terms of volume traded).

"About two years ago, the ISE set a precedent when it became the first U.S. options exchange to debut for public trading. ISE has appeared in the earnings confessional seven times since its trading debut in early 2005. On all of those occasions, the firm has either matched or exceeded Wall Street's earnings expectations.

"Since it appeared on the scene, the stock's path of least resistance has pointed higher, although options players remain wedded to the bearish camp. If the stock continues to advance upon new-high territory, a short-covering situation could be in the offing, eliciting an additional source of buying power.

"Analysts are also skeptical; the most recent Zacks information finds that 10 of the 11 brokerages following the stock have named it a 'hold,' leaving one 'strong sell' rating and nary a 'buy' to be found. The skepticism is palpable on this one, making it a solid contrarian play as 2007 kicks off."

To see Bernie's top conservative investment idea for 2007, click here.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) is the favorite conservative investment for 2007 from Bernie Schaeffer, editor of The Option Advisor. He notes, "Lennar, one of the largest homebuilding firms in the U.S., is built on a very solid foundation.

"For more than 20 quarters running, the stock has exceeded or matched analysts' per-share earnings expectations. Despite negative earnings revisions and poor housing statistics during the past few months, homebuilding stocks have actually rallied from their July 2006 lows.

"For its part, LEN is back up near six-month highs. It has been a relative-strength leader when compared to its peers in the outperforming ISE Homebuilders Index. Meanwhile, options players are firmly entrenched in the bearish camp. And, nearly 9% of the equity's float has been sold short.

"Analysts are still leery of LEN, as evidenced by the latest Zacks data. Of the 12 brokerage firms ranking the shares, five have awarded a 'hold' rating while two list the stock as a 'strong sell.' A continued upward drive in the shares could spur some upgrade activity, drawing positive attention toward the equity."

To see Bernie's favorite speculative idea for 2007, click here.

As the year draws to an end I thought it might be interesting to check in with Bernie Schaeffer, my boss, to get his thoughts on the short-term outlook. I asked him about his near-term outlook and he had three concerns about the action during the next few weeks.

The first concern is based on the level of optimistic comments being made by analysts. Tracking this form of "anecdotal sentiment" is time consuming as it requires constantly staying abreast of what is being discussed, but it offers a look into the mindset of the Street. When the expectations get one-sided, it can be warning sign to watch out for potential disappointments.

The second point of concern comes from the options market. Among other uses, options give investors a way to speculate and hedge. Monitoring the activity can give another perspective on what market players are feeling and expecting. The current data reveal a slant toward optimism as speculators have a preference for calls in some indices. Comparing the relative pricing of call options to put options also suggests optimism, as we have seen a contraction in the typical negative volatility skew we track.

His last point of concern is based on underlying deterioration in the small-cap area. The Russell 2000 Index (RUT) has turned lower after pushing to the 800 level, but most of the attention has been on the narrowly focused strength in blue-chip stocks.

Taken as a whole, it seems that expectations may have gotten a bit ahead of themselves, which opens up the possibility of some short-term volatility. However, Bernie is quick to point out that he is quite bullish about the overall outlook for next year. In BusinessWeek's poll of 80 strategists, Bernie maintains the highest year-end target for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Calling for a new all-time high in the average, he does expect the economy will slow down next year, but believes that is already factored into expectations.

Nick Perry is an analyst with Schaeffer's Investment Research.