David Fried is a leading authority on corporate buybacks, focused exclusively on companies that are involved in repurchasing their own shares.

One of the latest 'buys' in his aptly-named The Buyback Letter, is consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture (NYSE: ACN). Here's the advisor's review.

"Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, collaborating with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

"They use industry knowledge, expertise and technological capabilities to help worldwide clients enter new markets, increase revenues in existing markets, improve operational performance and deliver their products and services more effectively and efficiently.

"Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE: PBG), is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages, with annual sales of nearly $13 billion," says David Fried, a long-standing specialist in companies engaged in corporate repurchases.

The editor of The Buyback Letter, "Pepsi Bottling has gobbled up its own shares, reducing shares outstanding by 5.2% in the past 12 months." Here is his review.

"What is a Pepsi Bottling Group beverage, besides Pepsi? A better question might be what isn't, since Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Aquafina, Tropicana, Mug Root Beer, Lipton, SoBe, Starbucks Frappuccino, Dole, 7UP, KAS, Aqua Minerale, Mirinda, Manzanita Sol, Dr Pepper, Squirt, Electropura, e-pura, and Garci Crespo, among
others, are all part of the PBG drink portfolio.

A trio of leading advisors are looking outside the US for opportnity in the telecom sector: Nick Vardy sees potential with Telefonica S.A. (NYSE: TEF), David Fried looks south of the border to Telefonos de Mexico (NYSE: TMX) and Dave Dyer recommends the more diversified Emerging Markets Telecommunications Fund (ASE: ETF).

In his Global Bull Market Alert, Nick Vardy explains, "Spanish telecom group Telefonica S.A. is like a corporate conquistador, exploiting its historical links to expand into Latin America. This new Spanish explorer is reaping rich profits for itself and its shareholders.

"Telefonica's global footprint extends across three continents and 23 countries with a total population of 670 million. This conquistador planted its first flag in Latin America 15 years ago and today is the leading telecom in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru.

"For an organization that is already the fifth-biggest telecom company in the world with close to 207 million customers, Telefonica's profits are still expanding at a breathtaking rate.

"Just recently, Telefonica announced that its third-quarter net profit rose 39% year-on-year. Overall, net profit jumped to €4.02 billion from €2.9 billion a year earlier. Also important to us, Telefonica is a stock that has held up remarkably well despite the recent market jitters, recently hitting a record high. We recommend buying the shares at market."

David Fried has developed an industry-leading reputation by focusing on companies buying back their shares. Here, his Buyback Letter looks at EnCana Corp. (NYSE: ECA).

"Canadian oil producer EnCana is among the largest holders of oil and gas resource lands in onshore North America, has an extensive drilling inventory with some 40,000 well locations, strong production and reserves growth, and robust project returns. It is focused on natural gas and in-situ oil sands.

"As the dangers of global warming have become more apparent, major energy companies are attempting to capture carbon dioxide and lock it away where it won't trap more heat. Industry leader EnCana has embarked on a pilot project to improve recovery rates from mature oil wells by using carbon dioxide.

"EnCana buys carbon dioxide produced by a power plant and ships it via pipeline to its Weyburn field in southern Saskatchewan. EnCana injects the gas into its oil field, where it reduces the viscosity of the oil, allowing the company to increase its recovery from the field.

David Fried specializes in finding fundamentally strong companies that are also buying back their shares. A recent buy in his The Buyback Letter is defense contractor, Alliant TechSystems (NYSE: ATK)

He explains, "Alliant is a $3.9 billion advanced weapon and space systems company employing some 16,500 people in 21 states. It supplies aerospace and defense products to the U.S. government, allied nations, and prime contractors in the U.S."

Alliant, he notes, recently received a $62.5 million contract from Orbital Sciences Corporation for the main abort motor of the NASA Orion crew exploration vehicle Launch Abort System (LAS).

In addition, he points out that NASA's Orion will succeed the Space Shuttle in transporting humans to and from the International Space Station, as well as carrying crews to the Moon and eventually Mars. In late June, Fried adds, ATK received a contract worth more than $5 million to make rocket motors for the Sidewinder air-to-air missile system.

For his latest recommendation, buyback specialist David Fried is following Carlos Slim – who just past Bill Gates to be the world's richest man.

Telefonos de Mexico (NYSE: TMX), majority controlled by Slim, is the latest buy from The Buyback Letter.

Based in Mexico City, Telmex, as it is commonly called, controls more than 95% of Mexico's fixed-line telephone market and is a major provider of long-distance services, notes Fried. Telefonos de Mexico, he sates, is the leading telecommunications company in Mexico, with more than 15 million telephone lines in service and more than 1 million Internet access accounts.

Fried explains, "It is currently positioned as the regional market leader in telecommunications, and in recent years has bought telephone, cable and data transmission assets in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru.

Formerly owned by the Mexican government, the advisor notes, Telmex was privatized in 1990 and is now majority controlled by billionaire magnate Carlos Slim, the world's third richest man.

Says Fried, "Slim is quite a character, and aside from the sheer magnitude of his $49 billion fortune, he also gained the most wealth in the last year ($19 billion). Slim has also invested in cigarettes, real estate, soda bottling, auto parts, and insurance, and, of course, made a fortune in telecom."

He continues, "Slim also is branching out to other countries. In 2005, Telmex spent $350 million to acquire the majority stake in Colombia's biggest phone company, and bought Chilean mobile telecom Smartcom for $472 million."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com features the latest investment ideas and market commentary from the financial newsletter community.

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.

David Fried, editor of the Buyback Letter, chose Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) as his favorite stock for 2007. It rose 39% as of 6/1/07. Here is David's original recommendation for Big Lots and his new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

Updating the stock, the advisor now says, "Big Lots remains a buy in our stock pickers portfolio. On May 10, the company said its comparable-store sales for Q1 increased 4.9%. The company said Q1 retail sales increased 3.5% to $1.12 billion.

"At the end of May, the company reported that its quarterly profit more than doubled. Big Lots, which has closed stores and revamped its merchandise to improve business, said earnings rose to $28.8 million, or $0.26 a share, from $13.7 million, or $0.12 a share in the year ago period.

"The company said comparable-store sales increased 4.9% for the quarter. Net sales rose 3.4% to $1.13 billion from Q1 of last year. Big Lots also hiked its 2007 earnings outlook to $1.25 to $1.30 a share from continuing operations. It also expects Q2 earnings from continuing operations of $0.07 to $0.10 a share."

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.

David Fried, editor of the Buyback Letter, chose Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) as his favorite stock for 2007, which rose 39% as of 6/1/07. Please see his original recommendation and his current opinion on Big Lots.

Fried's new pick is SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW). He explains, "SkyWest, the nation's largest independently owned regional airline, is a contract carrier for United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and, most recently, Midwest Airlines.

"Nimbler than the big legacy carriers and not burdened by their bloated labor costs, SkyWest has a steady earnings stream, good cash flow, and an attractive P/E of 11. Its reputation as an efficient, low-cost operator and as the best-managed regional airline in the business was enhanced with the 2005 acquisition of Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which made SkyWest a player on the national stage.

"Since the mid-1970s, SkyWest has grown from a company with annual revenue of under $1 million to a publicly held company with annual revenues of more than $1 billion and almost 15,000 employees. SkyWest is set for continued long-term growth.

By focusing on stocks that are buying back their own shares, David Fried has developed a model portfolio that has gained 184% since inception in August 2000, versus a loss of 1.2% in the S&P 500 over the same time period.

In his The Buyback Letter, he looks at two of his newest holdings, both of which are American icons – Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) and Mattel (NYSE: MAT).

In addition to having one of the most recognizable brand names in the world, he notes Harley-Davidson's less-recognized but equally strong asset is its Harley Owners Group -- or H.O.G. - with over 1 million members around the globe. Further, he notes, even those who can't or don't ride Harley's still own the accessories, collectibles and sport the Harley brand clothing.

Fried explains, "With two decades of uninterrupted growth, year 2006 looked breezy. Revenue for the full year was $5.80 billion, an 8.6% increase. Net income for the year was $1.04 billion, an 8.7% increase. During the most recent 10-year period, compound annual growth rates for revenue and earnings have been better than 14% and 24%, respectively."

Even more important that its increasing sales, Fried notes that the company continues to return value to its shareholders, pointing to a 22.5% increase in dividends and the repurchase of 19.3 million shares last year. In fact, he notes, the company has reduced its amount of outstanding shares buy 5.6% over the past 12 months.

With growth forecasted in the range of 11%–17% a year through 2009, Fried says, "To us, Harley-Davidson looks like it still has room to run."

Also new to Fried's buy list is another "American icon" -- Mattel, the largest toymaker in the world. The advisor notes, "At 50 years old, Barbie has had her ups and downs (haven't we all!), but she is still going strong as the most popular fashion doll ever introduced."

Indeed, he points out, Barbie sales were up 43% in 2006, spurred by new products such as a new electronic version that can dance as well as a new Barbie head with hair that can be styled. Fried jests, "Barbie survived her very public breakup with Ken a few years ago...there is no doubt she will bounce back as she reinvents herself."

Meanwhile, the advisor points out that Mattel is about more than Barbie, pointing to such best-selling brands as TMX Elmo, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and the Fisher-Price lines.

In addition, he notes, this past summer Mattel began selling 'Cars' branded toys, based on characters from the popular animated Disney film. The third quarter also was the third consecutive quarter that domestic Barbie sales rose.

Finally, he is attracted to the stock by the fact that the company has has reduced its shares outstanding by 5.5% in the last 12 months.

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a free daily overview of the latest stock picks from the nation's leading financial newsletters.

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.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is a favorite conservative idea from David Fried, editor of The Buyback Letter. He explains, "Investors should indulge their 'inner bargain hunter' and put the nation's largest closeout retailer, Big Lots, in their stock shopping basket.

"Shopping -- and particularly deal hunting -- continue to be hugely popular pastimes, and discount stores are a good pick in a crummy or waffling economy. The company keeps a flexible inventory, has well-located and plentiful retail locations, and its sheer size ($2.5 billion market cap) gives it international buying power smaller chains cannot match.

"A new CEO has focused Big Lots, closing underperforming stores and introducing a new goal to encourage existing customers to spend more per visit. This strategy, called 'raise the ring,' has revived sales growth and paid off in improved earnings.