Amazingly, this week is about to end with stock markets logging gains. Not grim earnings, not glum retail sales, not dismal car sales, nor even weaker-than-expected jobs report seemed able to put a dent in investors' hopes the stimulus bill would pass.

And it's not even the Dow stocks that are leading the advances. As of noon today, the Dow was up about 3% for the week, while the S&P 500 gained about 4.5% and the Nasdaq composite soared some 7%. If you're sorry you didn't take part of this rally, and think perhaps there's more to come after the Senate finally approves the stimulus plan, then BloggingStocks contributors have some ideas for long-term holdings, as well as a few warnings:

With this morning's news that Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) expects to lose $5 billion in its current fiscal year -- three times more than the $1.6 billion loss it originally predicted, this would hardly seem to be the time to be thinking about investing in Japan. Toyota recently built expensive new factories which now sit idle and it has lost its AAA rating. With this Japanese leader in trouble, why would you consider investing there?

If you think Toyota will survive the current financial crisis, then today's announcement provide an opportunity to own the shares at a half off the price you could have gotten it for a year ago. And here are two other stocks to consider -- one which is doing extremely well and another which is likely to do well when things recover:

• Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NYSE: NTT) looks like a winner. It just reported a 69% increase in profit from its mobile communication unit, NTT DoCoMo Inc., and the data communication and computer system development unit, NTT Data Corp., contributed most to the NTT group's profit growth. And at a P/E of 7, the stock looks inexpensive.

Nippon Telephone (NYSE: NTT), a Japanese based telecommunications company, closed at $24.17 Thursday. NTT January option implied volatility of 60 is above its 26-week average of 35 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA), a provider of wireline telecommunication services in China, closed at $39 Thursday. Goldman Sachs has a Sell rating on CHA. CHA overall option implied volatility of 91 is above its 26-week average of 60 according to Chicago, suggesting larger price movement.

Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT), Europe's largest telecommunications carrier by sales, closed at $13.99 Thursday. DT January option implied volatility of 54 is above its 26-week average of 48 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movements.

Telmex (NYSE: TMX), an operator of wireline telecommunication systems in Mexico, closed at $17.28 Thursday. TMX December option implied volatility of 66 is above its 26-week average of 49 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

The telecom business is definitely not recession-proof, as those that have followed the industry have recently realized, but it is not a field that is going to fade into the horizon any time soon either. Simply put, people need to communicate and the telecom business is poised to continue rolling with the new technology and bringing people what they need. If you see the value of telecom companies and agree that their future is, perhaps not golden, but definitely strong, then an investment in an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is an excellent way to invest in the future of the telecom field without placing all of your trust in one specific company.

iShares S&P Global Telecommunications Sector ETF (NYSE: IXP) let's you own shares in some of the most noted and reliable telecom companies by simply purchasing shares of the one ETF. With IXP you'll find your investment basket is loaded with companies such as Amercia Movil, S.A.B. (NYSE: AMX) a fixed and wireless provider in Latin America, AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) a telecom provider for customers in the U.S. and worldwide, Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) a wireline and domestic wireless provider across the globe, as well as several other highly rated and well known telecom leaders.

iShares charges only a 0.48% fee to maintain IXP using computers rather than money managers. IXP also has typically paid about $1.50 per year in dividends -- IXP is down about (41%) this year so that's about a 4% yield -- and these companies seem to have the cash-generating ability to continue dividends.

Of the 44 stocks in IXP, the top 10 holdings total about 71% of all total assets. Take note of the global exposure you'll get by investing in the future of the telecom industry:

• 17.19%: AT&T INC(NYSE:T)
• 10.61%: VODAFONE GROUP PLC(NYSE:VOD)
• 9.47% : TELEFONICA SA(NYSE:TEF)
• 9.05%: VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS IN(NYSE:VZ)
• 5.01%: CHINA MOBILE LTD(NYSE:CHL)
• 4.94%: FRANCE TELECOM SA(NYSE:FTE)
• 4.57%: DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG-REG(NYSE:DT)
• 3.98%: NIPPON TELEGRAPH & TELEPHONE(NYSE:NTT)
• 3.21%: TELSTRA CORP LTD (Other OTC:TLS)
• 2.71%: BCE INCNYSE:BCE)

Mitch Tuchman is founder of MarketRiders an investment website that teaches individuals how to be their own investment advisors using ETFs

Markets in Asia were up sharply.

The Niikkei rose 2.1% to 12,745. Honda (NYSE: HMC) was up 4.4% to 3080 yen. NTT (NYSE: NTT) was down 2.9% to 432000.

The Hang Seng rose 5.1% to 22,192. China Life (NYSE: LFC) was up 7.6% to 27.05 yuan. China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) was up 7.4% to 111.9.

The Shanghai Composite rose .1% to 3,630.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Overnight, the Nikkei fell another 1.7% to 16,013. The index, which was up 5% for the year, was recently down as much as 10%.

Some of the really big name Japanese stocks have sold off, perhaps more than is justified.

Toyota (NYSE: TM), the world's largest and most profitable car company trades at $114, down from $136 in February. The puts its down more than GM (NYSE: GM), a company that is clearly in worse shape.

NTT (NYSE: NTT), the huge telecom conglomerate, is off from $28 in February to $21 recently. While the company is probably more dominant in Japan that AT&T (NYSE: T) is in the US, its stock is off over 10% while the US telecom's is up about 8% year-to-date.

The same point can be made about Docomo (NYSE: DCM), Japan's big cellular carrier. It is down almost 5% year-to-date while Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is up about 12%.

While not all of these companies are in better shape than their US counterparts, it would be hard to argue that they are any worse off.

And, that may be an opportunity.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: MoneyGram (MGI), F5 Networks (FFIV), ARK Restaurants (ARKR), Nara Bancorp (NARA) and St. Jude Medical (STJ) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• AG Edwards initiated MoneyGram (NYSE: MGI) with a Buy rating because it believes the recent pullback in the shares provides an attractive entry point; Stephens started shares of MoneyGram with an Overweight rating, and believes the company is well positioned to create strong transactional growth and take market share.

• CIBC expects F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to benefit from strong fundamentals in application networking solutions and started shares with a Sector Outperformer rating and $85 target.

• Morgan Joseph initiated ARK Restaurants (NASDAQ: ARKR) with a Buy rating and $43 target; they believe ARK is well positioned to benefit from strong SSS & earnings leverage given its strong store locations, wide ranging price points, and stable unit development pipeline.

• Sandler is positive on Nara Bancorp (NASDAQ: NARA), starting shares with a Buy rating and $17 target, based on the company's long-term prospects.

• ThinkEquity believes St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) is poised to take market share in the ICD markets and started shares with a Buy rating and $56 target...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• JP Morgan initiated Softbank (OTC: SFTBF) with an Underweight rating and Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NYSE: NTT) with a Neutral rating.

• Goldman reinstated Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) with a Neutral rating.

• Banc of America initiated PharMerica (NYSE: PMC) with a Buy rating and $18 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

"Investors have shied away from the big telcos in recent years because of concerns that their traditional businesses were shrinking," notes George Putnam III, an expert in uncovering turnarounds.

But now, he explains, "After years of concern about the cable companies invading their turf, the big telecoms are now well positioned to fight back."

In his The Turnaround Letter, the advisor looks at seven leaders in the global telecom space, all of which he says represent global leaders, with dominant positions in their local markets and the "potential to grow steadily by expanding the services they offer."

AT&T (NYSE: T) Putnam notes, gained control of Cingular Wireless due to its merger with Bellsouth. The renamed AT&T Wireless, he says, will account for about 35% of AT&T's revenues.

The advisor observes, "In addition to a strong wireless presence, AT&T is rolling out fiber-based landline services. With revenues expected to be north of $120 billion in 2007 and substantial operating cash flow, AT&T is a force to be reckoned with." Further, he notes, the dividend was just raised for the 22nd consecutive year, and the company is expected to repurchase roughly $7 billion worth of stock in 2007.