There are better companies and better stocks to invest in these days than Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), but it would be silly of me to leave this company totally out of the picture just because it is not in my top ten.

The market is down a few percentage points as I write and MSFT is down in sync with the market. Many investment gurus have stated that they think a 10% correction is in order after the huge run-up since March 9, 2009. I am not so sure there will be a 10% correction or any particular correction just because the market was on a hot streak.

Nothing is worse than repeating past mistakes. Despite the awful economy, my newest portfolio is doing better than any other since 1999-2000, actually passing a 100% gain recently, although it has dropped back slightly with the market the past few trading days.

Ten years is recent enough for me to remember giving everything back and then some. I'm not doing that again. But what to do? I certainly do not like sitting with a heavy cash position collecting almost nothing. I have recently discussed this issue, see: Serious Money: ETF that's better than cash.

The solution is to find stocks that have low volatility, high yields, and the recurring revenue and strong cash flow to maintain the yield. Long term investors will not be surprised by my search leading me to AT and T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), the two largest communications companies in the land.

This has been a good year for many stock pickers and my Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more is beating the market to date. The formal review will be published after the second quarter.

Among the stocks that have been doing surprisingly poorly, of the nine, is EZCORP (NASDAQ: EZPW) that owns and operates a chain of pawn shops and cash advance outlets.

Today it is trading significantly lower, from yesterday's close of $12.89, off about 14.5%, bouncing around the $11.00 mark. The stock is down on company news that earnings for the next two quarters and the full year would be down a few cents per share below analysts estimates and earlier company forecasts.

The 2009 clock is ticking loudly. Last December I posted Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more. This is the first follow-up, four months later, through April 30 2009.

The year started off with continued turbulence. We have a new president, Barack Obama, who will boldly lead us where no man has gone before -- trillions further in debt, most likely.

Not that this is his doing, but it is his chosen calling, and right now he is calling out to the Congress to move forward on various contentious budget proposals and continued federal stimulus packages.

Most people probably have not heard of the Olin Corp (NYSE: OLN), even though it has been in business in the United States since 1892 (127 years!), and has been selling ammunition under the 140-year-old Winchester brand since it acquired the company 76 years ago.

While Olin has been around a long time, it does not get much attention. It is only capitalized at $1 billion and much of what it sells is far from glamorous. It also does more wholesale than retail business. However, investors should remember this: Olin pays a safe 5% yield!

I have written many times in the past year about Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and since it is up another 23.66% today, I'd like to come back to it. As an investor I have done more than just blab (or blog) about it. I have been loading up on the stock, acquiring shares at $12.00 when the bears were ruling the market only a short time ago -- a very short time ago!

In the last month, Wells is up an amazing 48.41%, and that for the safest bank in the United States. The stock closed today at $24.25, up $4.64.

In addition to buying the stock, I have been playing with naked put options at multiple levels. The extreme negativity in the market created a huge opportunity, so much so that I wrote Chasing Value: Will we be eating out of trash cans? which includes a discussion of naked put options.

Last year most analysts proclaimed that the market would be up by the years end. The only accurate part of the analysis was that the year did end; although not well.

When Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) was trading at $114 analysts were silent. When it dropped below $100 and then $90 a share I do not recall anyone writing anything accept that "my pal Warren" was buying. At $80, and then $70 not more than a whisper.

Then yesterday when BNI was trading in the mid $60's (it closed at $64.97) Citigroup (NYSE: C) Investment Research analyst Matthew Troy cut shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. to "Sell" from "Hold."

If stocks were drums then there would be no stock that I have been pounding louder than Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) for the last decade!

The stock has been moving upward every day for over a week gaining more than 50% in that time. It is up about 11% to $152.00 in mid day trading.

It was only two days ago that I posted Chasing Value: Intuitive Surgical's right price outlining why the stock was a value, but determining the exact value was not possible. If there was anyone that heeded my call then, they must be smiling today.

As I have been sharing with our readers over the years, I do not suggest anything I would not do myself. Today I am calling your attention to the Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB) which I bought today at $13.00.

I had already taken advantage of a negative market view on the stock by selling "naked puts" at a November $12.50 strike price receiving $2.25 per share. I have been touting this as a way to make some money if you truly are interested in owning the stock already. On the puts my break even position is $10.25, the same as the recent market bottom.

It is not possible to follow all stocks or companies with equal intensity, focus, or depth of knowledge. One that I have followed for over ten years is Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG).

I originally bought in at the very bottom, about $7.70 and last year sold about 20% of our position for $192. The stock had reached an all time high about 18 months ago just shy of $360, so my timing was far from ideal, but I was influenced by other factors. In this case a real estate transaction.

Over the past six months I have been buying more shares and have more than doubled our position. I believe that ISRG remains a growth stock, but for quite some time it has been value priced. However, I cannot tell you what exactly is the right price -- that is a big question.

At the end of the regular trading session Tuesday, Cisco Systems (NYSE: CSCO) had a capitalization of $97.36 billion at a stock price of $16.68. The latest company report of February 4, 2009 stated that total cash, cash equivalents and Investments was $29.5 billion.

What can you say but WOW! -- CSCO has 31% cash!

There are other cash rich companies that are holding up well through the economic firestorm but I do not know of any others with this much cash. As consumers and large companies have been trimming their spending, Cisco has had difficulty growing, but I think this is a buying opportunity.

The market has been up all morning and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) has been down. The big cat has been crushed like so many other large industrial companies in the last 18 months, that it probably doesn't know what a good day is.

At the rate they have been slashing payroll and laying off workers in spurts, a good day might be when there is nothing to report.

It is being reported today in the Business Journal that the safest bank in the United States is Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC).

According to Global Finance, which will publish its analysis, "World's 50 Safest Banks" in its April issue, international banks dominate the rankings, which show the effects of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and credit crisis brought on by large Wall Street players. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is the top-rated U.S. bank at No. 21. European banks now dominate the rankings, with only four U.S. banks among the listing.

This morning General Electric (NYSE: GE) finally spoke up about the financial situation of the company. GE's chief financial officer, Keith Sharon, says worries about GE Capital are overdone, reports CNBC's David Faber. I have been ranting about this for months, most recently in Silence is not golden when it creates doubt.

Most market watchers will not be surprised to learn that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) will be slashing its dividend by 68% from 31 cents per share to 10 cents. GE decided to increase it's flexibility in these difficult times and although there have been indications that it could lose it's AAA financial rating, this could prevent or at least might forestall that possibility.

General Electric was included in my picks for the year and has not been holding up well because of its financial division, its largest entity, and the doubt cast by anything with leverage.