The negativity in the market place has been palpable for several years and is only thawing out now, in some people's view, while others rant about a "double-dip" or "W-shaped" recovery. In contrast to those who shun the market, I have been buying stocks at bargain basement prices over the past year with a return on investment that is "staggering," to quote a Wells Fargo Financial Consultant familiar with my account.

I am well aware that the record deficit spending in the United States is even more staggering. Everyone knows about the high unemployment rate, foreclosure rate, bank failure rate, and tepid consumer confidence. So why am I so optimistic about the economic recovery? Here's why, as simply as I can state the case:

I finally got it. That state of euphoria after you nourish your body with a life altering meal. Not just the flavors and tastes, but the entire dining experience including the smells (and lack of some smells), lighting, music, seats, everything. The experience that enables you to forget that you're in the middle of a bustling and boisterous city. As I leave Casa Satya and prepare to re-enter the city, I contemplate the impact of my life choices on my body.

Business travelers still aren't coming back to the good seats, despite airlines' best efforts. FareCompare.com reports that many business class tickets to Europe are going to be 33% to 66% cheaper this fall relative to last year. Companies are being careful with their cash – which means stacking people in coach rather than giving them a little leg room on overseas flights. With back-of-the-plane tickets going for a quarter of the price (or less) than their business class equivalents, this isn't exactly shocking.

On Wednesday, Delta's (NYSE: DAL) cheapest NYC-to-London's cheapest roundtrip coach fare was $716 (for an October 23 departure and October 30 return), according to a report in USA Today. To take the same trip in business class, you were looking at a hefty $4,634. So, even though prices are down year-over-year, it doesn't mean that business travelers are being allowed to enjoy the opportunity.

Continental Airlines, Inc. (NYSE:CAL), like many of its competitors, has suffered through another year of stock declines. Hit by surging fuel costs and a slowing economy, the carrier's stock has declined by almost 50% since the beginning of the year. The airline has done a good job of diversifying revenue sources. More than 40% of revenue is coming from International routes. These routes have become the bread and butter for most carriers as they are typically full of business travelers. Many of my friends fly Continental to Tel-Aviv, Israel, and they also say that it's just packed with businessmen. With a growing global economy this should be a catalyst for Continental. If, and it's a big if, fuel costs decline, this will help drastically improve margins and the stock price will react in kind.

If you are looking at a way to play the global economic growth game, take a look at Continental.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. Disclosure: Writer has no position in any stock mentioned as of 12/19/07.

Other than an occasional road trip back to the home office in Cincinnati, to which I safely venture in the confines of my own Volvo S-40, I don't have to do a whole lot of business travel. I'm part of a growing minority, however, as more and more female professionals are hitting the jetways and highways for business travel. The increased number of female travelers is having a palpable impact on business travel, from improved hotel rooms to enhanced safety features.

Typical hotel rooms have bettered their creature comforts, supplying better bedding, more palatable room service, and improved closets and work spaces. Improved lighting is helping business travelers of both genders feel more safe. Many attribute these changes to the ramped-up presence of female business travelers, who are more apt to share their experiences with friends and co-workers.

My shiny new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPod Shuffle is barely bigger than postage stamp, while my regular-sized iPod fits in the palm of my hand. My husband lives and breathes by his deck-of-cards-sized BlackBerry, while my cell phone is as thin as a chocolate bar. Through some miracle of karmic favor, we've so far managed to keep tabs on all of these items throughout our various travels during the past few years - but we're among the lucky ones.

Chicago-based security firm Pointsec recent told New York Times writers that three to six percent of portable electronic gadgets with corporate network access go missing every year. These are left behind on all legs of trips, from the security gates at airports to hotel rooms. From April to September last year, Pointsec said, 8,701 mobile devices were abandoned in taxi cabs in and around the nation's capital alone, and 3,106 devices were abandoned in San Francisco area cabs.

Once lost, these items are sometimes hard to track down, even if you can remember where you probably left it. Airlines appear to have placed returning lost property "far down the list of priorities," and it is nearly impossible for a passenger to return to check his seat (or that pesky black-hole pocket in front of it) once he or she has exited.

Travel, particularly business travel, can elevate stress and cause rushed behavior, leading to lapses in memory and carelessness. Experts advise coming up with a "systematic approach for cues that can remind you of what you might otherwise forget" or even the use of checklists.

My husband and I have been pretty lucky, especially me, who can be quite the klutz (embarrassing true story: I once had to ask an airport gate attendant for a fresh boarding pass as mine had dropped out of my back pocket and into the toilet. Sigh). But we watch out for one another, double checking those pesky plastic crates after they spit through security and always running split-second mental checks ... iPod, cell, blackberry, laptop, purse/wallet, money clip. Good Samaritans still exist in this world, so a well-placed identifier on your devices might just get them returned to you if you happen to leave them behind.

It just takes a moment or two, and perhaps a deep breath, to collect one's thoughts and ensure that all of your import personal effects remain on your person. After all, a cell phone can be replaced for a couple hundred dollars or less, but the loss of one's contacts and text-message history? We all know that can end badly - just ask Paris Hilton.

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