Sy Harding, long-known for his work in cycle analysis, takes a look at the history of Presidential Election Cycle and what this portends for the next few years.

Interestingly, he explains how and why this cycle will impact the direction of the stock market in coming years regardless of which candidate becomes the country's next President. Here's his long-term assessment from his Street Smart Investing.

"As Paul Harvey once said, 'In times like these it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.' Yet the world hardly ever comes to an end. The future arrives. The cycles continue. Sunny weather still follows stormy weather, winter still follows summer, spring still follows winter -- every time.

"For investors there's nothing more important than recognizing that business, the economy, and markets also move in cycles, not endless straight lines. Recessions follow boom times, bear markets follow bull markets, bull markets follow bear markets -- every time.

"There are two cycles, one of intermediate-term duration, the other longer-term, which can be of significant importance to investors. The first is the annual seasonal cycle.

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.

ASA Bermuda Ltd. (NYSE: ASA), a precious metals closed-end investment company, is the favorite speculation for 2007 from Sy Harding. The editor of StreetSmart Reports explains, "Its by-laws require that it have at least 80% of its investments in the stocks of gold, silver, platinum, or diamond mining companies.

"Its holdings at year-end 2006 were approximately 70% in gold mining companies, with its largest holdings including Gold Fields Ltd., AngloGold Ashanti, and Barrick Gold. The balance of its assets are in other natural resource stocks including Anglo Platinum, Anglo American PLC, and Impala Platinum.

"We expect the bull market in gold and precious metals, which began in 2001, will continue in 2007. Gold tends to move opposite to the U.S. dollar, and in the same direction as the price of crude oil and inflation in general. Many analysts believe the U.S. dollar will be in a continuing downtrend in 2007. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve says it is still concerned about rising inflation.