McDonald's (MCD) is looking to expand its footprint in Russia by increasing its store count by 15%, or about 40 new locations, in an effort to tap the growing demand for fast food. McDonald's competes with Wendy's (WEN), Subway, Burger King (BKC), and Yum! Brands (YUM) in the fast-food market and is the market leader with about 19% share. The company also competes with Starbucks (SBUX) in the specialty coffee market.

We have $78.40 price estimate for McDonald's stock, which is slightly ahead of market price.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Unilever (UL) is the second largest consumer goods company in the world after Procter & Gamble (PG) and sells everything from soaps and deodorants to salad dressings, ice-cream and tea beverages. Its portfolio of billion-dollar brands includes Dove, Lux, Axe, Rexona, Surf, CloseUp, Signal, Wall's, Lipton and Vaseline, to name a few.

Our price estimate for Unilever stands at $35.14, well ahead of market price.

Amid the political and social uprisings in the Middle East, and union protests in the U.S., a recent speech by a pivotal U.S. policy maker received little attention, but it's one that investors should review.

In a speech before the recent G-20 meeting, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged emerging market nations to address the flood of money streaming into their markets.

For investors, the emerging markets have been a great place to find profits. No doubt, there are certainly risks, such as seen recently with the market turmoil in Egypt, but a diversified portfolio should solve these problems. Of course, it also helps to have lots of exposure to markets like China and Brazil.

According to Societe Generale, emerging markets may pale in comparison to the growth in commodities. Interestingly enough, it is rising commodities prices that is putting inflationary pressure on these countries. In other words, it is getting tougher for companies to pass along higher raw materials costs. As a result, there has been a rash of interest rate increases.

Bond money managers are usually glum. Then again, they need to be cautious since they are locking up money at fixed rate of returns. In a volatile world, this can certainly be a risky proposition.

So it should be no surprise that the biggest bond money manager, Bill Gross, is not enthusiastic about 2011. He leads the Pacific Investment Management Co., which has $1.2 trillion under management.

Food producer Tyson Foods (TSN), first discussed here on May 11, 2009, at a price of $12.35, finally appears to have found some traction, and I obviously still like the shares at this stage.

The shares of Tyson downtrended in bear-hug fashion for much of 2010, walking down to about $15 from $20. However, since then the shares found support at $15 and have since popped back up above $17, including a nice move above the key, 50-day moving average.

"Turkey is a country that nearly everybody overlooks -- but probably not much longer," says Jim Powell, editor of Global Changes & Opportunities Report.

The advisor suggests, "The best way for investors to take a position in the country's growth is with the iShares MSCI Turkey Investment Market Index (TUR).

"The ancient nation is rapidly becoming a major Middle Eastern power and an important European power at the same time. And yet, very few investors are paying attention. Those who are stand to make excellent long-term profits as Turkey continues to develop.

• Tuesday, June 15: May Import Prices. Expected decline of -1.5%.
• Wednesday, June 16: May Producer Prices. Expected decline of -0.5%.
• Thursday, June 17: May Consumer Prices. Expected decline of -0.2%.

The financial sector has been a strange double-edged sword in portfolios over the past two years or so. In the wake of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, billions of wealth was erased in what were long thought of as conservative stocks. Then the resurgence of some banks since the lows of last year made other investors a fortune, with Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) both soaring about 300% since historic lows on March 9, 2009.

The drama continues in the financial sector even now with the endless see-saw of mortgage default news and the continued worries over sovereign debt in the eurozone. Any investor jumping into financial stocks right now is really taking the tiger by the tail -- but if you do your homework, there a number of opportunities in the sector become clear -- particularly among financials in Latin America.

In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, top Nike (NKE) executive Mark Parker talked about his ambitious goal to boost global sales 40% by 2015. His strategy? Focus on China, Brazil and India and connect with these emerging markets' emerging middle classes.

And most interesting of all: The company is planning this move under brands that don't bear the trademark swoosh logo.

It's no secret that China's phenomenal growth has been driving the global recovery. China's first-quarter GDP grew at an 11.9% annual pace despite three significant increases to reserve requirements that were designed to cool lending and growth. That's why in much of 2009 and early 2010 I was bullish on China and overweighted my global portfolios in favor of this country.

But all good things must come to an end and right now it's time to get selective about which China stocks you buy. That's why I recommend investors cut back their China holdings and look for new opportunities in emerging markets.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

In celebration of the holiday, I thought it would be nice to remind investors not to forget about the opportunities in our southern neighbor. While Mexico is not a red hot emerging market like China or Brazil, there are still profits to be had there if you know where to look.

Here's why: