"China produces roughly 95% of the global supply of rare earth elements and the Chinese have managed to corner the market on rare earth element," says Glenn Rogers.

The contributing analyst to Internet Wealth Builder explains, "Why you should care? Because without them, many of the high-tech devices we take for granted wouldn't exist.

"It turns out there are 17 rare earth elements (REEs) which are critical to the manufacture of numerous high-tech products such as color TVs and flat-panel displays.

I am maintaining a buy recommendation on Shaw Communications (SJR) despite an underwhelming year-end financial report.

I originally recommended Shaw in my Internet Wealth Builder newsletter on Feb. 4, 2008 at $20.64. Calgary, Alberta-based Shaw, is a telecommunications company, which dominates the rich Alberta market. It recently also purchased the bankrupt CanWest Global television empire. Shaw is a low-risk company that won't suddenly shoot up in price but that compensates with limited downside, steady cash flow, and long-term growth potential.

"Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is an international giant, employing more than 115,000 people and operating in 60 countries," notes Gavin Graham.

The contributing analyst to Internet Wealth Builder explains, "The conservative stock is in a great business in an almost recession-proof field. Indeed, we see this an opportunity to buy a world-class stock at a reasonable price.

"It is a major provider of prescription drugs, including Remicade for arthritis and Procrit for red blood cell production.

Welcome to my new Canada Report blog. Here's where you'll find information about profitable investing in America's northern neighbor.

Why should you care? Start with this fact, which may surprise you. Over the five years to Oct. 28, Canada's benchmark stock index, the S&P/TSX Composite, has gained 21.8% -- and remember this period includes the worst market meltdown since the 1930s. What did the S&P 500 do in that time? It lost 1.2%.

There's more. Those figures are in local currencies. In fact, the Canadian dollar has been steadily appreciating against the U.S. greenback since 2002 and is now up more than 60% since that time. So Americans who put some of their money in Canada not only enjoyed stock market profits but they also benefited from exchange rate gains.

"While I don't see a lot more upside for gold in the coming months, I continue to recommend select mining stocks; for example, Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) is a stable company with significant production growth potential. Even if the price of bullion remains stable, AEM's profits should increase," says Canadian investing specialist Gordon Pape.

The editor of Internet Wealth Builder explains, "AEM is a Canadian company that has operating mines in Quebec and Nunavut as well as in northern Finland and Mexico. Note the geography - all are stable countries with no known political threats to mining ventures.

"One of the first things I learned in this business was to keep an eye on the Dow Jones Transportation Index. Often referred to as the 'Canary in the Coalmine', it's one of the few worthwhile market indicators," suggests Tom Slee.

The contributing analyst with Internet Wealth Builder explains, "An upward movement in the Dow Industrials is only sustainable if confirmed by the Transports. As traders say, one 'makes', one 'takes'. Further, the Transports have led every major rally since 2004. So with our canary alive and well, I remain very encouraged."

"We recommend Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), which bills itself as "the world's largest publicly-traded copper company". However, it also owns large deposits of gold and molybdenum," says Glenn Rogers.

The contributing analyst to The Internet Wealth Builder adds, "We also recommend BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), an Australian-based mining giant that has diversified into other areas such as crude oil, natural gas, and, most recently, potash in Saskatchewan. Its mineral assets include aluminum, silver, uranium, nickel, iron, diamonds, lead, and more.

"The attempted Christmas terrorist attack caused me to assess what stocks would benefit from increased attention to the security sector," says Glenn Rogers.

In Gordon Pape's The Internet Wealth Builder, he reviews four defense plays -- L-3 Communications (LLL), Cogent Systems (COGT), American Scientific & Engineering (ASEI) and OSI Systems (OSIS).

"Suddenly, no one likes Research in Motion (RIMM) any more, at least that's the impression you get from the media," observes Gordon Pape. In his Internet Wealth Builder, he offers a contrary -- and bullish -- view of the smartphone maker.

"To hear some analysts tell it, the BlackBerry maker is going the way of Nortel. It's just a matter of time. For example, analyst Jim Suva of Citigroup Global Markets recently issued a sell signal on the shares, saying that RIM's long-time dominance of the smart phones market is over.

"For the record, many analysts disagree with Suva's assessment. Credit Suisse has reiterated its 'outperform' rating with a target price of $95. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch has a $100 target, Scotia Capital has a $103 target and CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets has a target of $100.

"We believe it is prudent to lock in some profits, and focus on developing an income stream in the event that we get either a major correction or double-dip recession," says Glenn Rogers.

The contributing editor to The Internet Wealth Builder suggests, "It seems to me to that the most promising areas worth considering are high-yield bond funds and international real estate funds, preferably with some underlying income." Here, the reviews four income ideas.

"I like high-yield bond funds, even though there is concern that interest rates will rise in 2010.

In Gordon Pape's Internet Wealth Builder, contributing analyst Tom Slee looks at "recession-resistant" global stocks. Here, he reviews Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP).

Slee explains, "Philip Morris continues to benefit from rising tobacco consumption and 'uptrading' as people in the emerging countries switch to more expensive products.

"Almost recession proof, the international tobacco industry is prospering thanks mainly to new markets, strong cash flows, and reduced litigation.

"It's time to take some profits and play defense for a while," says Glenn Rogers, adding, "Fortunately, we can hedge our bets by taking some profits and building cash reserves and reinvesting in more defensive securities."

In The Internet Wealh Builder, the advisor suggests, a trio of conservative dividend-focused exchange-traded funds.

He explains, "Everybody I talk to these days is nervous, although for different reasons. Some are nervous because they feel left behind. They sat on the sidelines and missed the incredible rally we've had since March. Now they're afraid they won't have a chance to participate because the market has been refusing to correct.

"Others are nervous because they made a pot of money in the rebound and they're afraid they could lose it all in a replay of last year's meltdown. Meanwhile, there some relatively low-risk ETFs where you could park some money while we see how all this plays out.

"We're looking for profits in a sector of the economy that almost everyone has written off -- newspapers," says Glenn Rogers.

In Internet Wealth Builder, he explains, "I have been involved in the newspaper industry for good portion of my career; so it has been with great dismay that I've watched the industry crumble over the last few years." For contrary investors, he looks to New York Times (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett (NYSE: GCI).

"The Internet in general has siphoned off millions of dollars of advertising that used to belong to the newspaper industry.

"Healthcare-related stocks have been trading up and down based on the latest rumor of how the Obama medical plan might be implemented," observes analyst Glenn Rogers.

The contributing editor to Gordon Pape's Internet Wealth Builder asks, "How can we benefit from Obama-Care?" Here, the advisor looks at Walgreen (NYSE: WAG), the largest drugstore chain in the U.S."

"A recent article in Barron's suggested that Walgreens, Caremark CVS, and Target could benefit from whatever new healthcare system emerges from Congress. (Note, Caremark CVS was covered in a previous post today.)

"Like others, I've been trying to figure out how to play President Obama's policy initiatives in healthcare," says Glenn Rogers.

The contributing editor to Internet Wealth Builder adds, "I think the generic drug makers have the best chance of coming out of the upheaval in healthcare smelling like roses." Here, he looks at one favorite: Perrigo (NASDAQ: PRGO).

"I've chosen a lesser-known generic drug maker that I think should reward investors over the next 12 months with a market-beating performance; Perrigo Company is a leading manufacturer of generic over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals.