"People want to own more gold when there's a perception of growing global economic and political turmoil," explain resource experts Roger Conrad and Yiannis Mostrous.

In their Vital Resource Investor, the advisor offer their long-term bullish assessment for gold as well their favorite gold mining stock: "Goldcorp (NYSE: GG).

"Every commodity bull market eventually ends when consumers permanently reduce demand with conservation and switch to alternatives, and the producers ultimately over-expand. This, however, only happens over a period of many years.

"To be sure, we've seen demand in the US drop for many vital resources, from copper to energy, as the economy has slowed. Demand from developing nations, however, remains entrenched by necessity, as these suddenly more affluent nations struggle to upgrade their vital infrastructure.

"And although we may see Chinese economic growth slow from its current off-the-chart 10% rate, that country will still face critical needs to build out its cities to meet the millions of new migrants that come every year. And that's a huge call on raw materials.

"Gold is the only financial asset that isn't someone else's liability and it's the only asset that's reliably held its value over time," notes global investor and resource expert Yiannis Mostrous.

In his Vital Resource Investor, he adds, "Indeed, gold has held its value for millenia. An ounce of gold still buys a quality men's suit, just as it did in the days of ancient Greece." Here, he reviews a trio of ideas, each for investors with various levels of risk tolerance.

Mostrous explains, "To date, Americans have never had to experience the society-wrenching events that have affected much of the world for centuries. But most of the globe's population hasn't forgotten the value of gold in times of extreme strife and social turmoil.

"And with incomes rising in many of these countries, beneficiaries have used their newfound savings to beef up their holdings. That's a trend with serious legs, particularly as Asia continues to grow.

"Then there's inflation, the ultimate debaser of all paper currencies. Despite surging energy and food prices, core inflation remains at elevated -- but still relatively moderate -- levels in most of the developed world.

"Developing world inflation, however, is a far different story. And many countries have seen sharp price acceleration across the board, including China.

"Global steel producers are thriving, and their stocks are hitting new highs," note Yiannis Mostrous and Roger S. Conrad, who add, "But the best is yet to come."

In the industry-leading Personal Finance, the two advisors explain, "We're still in the early stage of a truly global bull market cycle for steel, and the companies best positioned to take advantage are headed a lot higher." Here, they look at their "Iron Five."

"As is the case with other building blocks of economic growth, steel is enjoying explosive demand from the developing world. And with the world expanding as never before, steel companies are literally selling as fast as they can produce.

"In the August 2007, we highlighted five first-rate global steel producers. Since then, they've returned an average of 67.4%, versus a decline of 3.7% for the S&P 500.

"The Iron Five are five picks that we believe are ripe for even bigger gains. Like the last group, these stocks are often volatile. They're also vulnerable to the possibility of a general stock market slide and most of all to a dip in global demand growth, particularly from China.

"Recent weakness in commodities is just a pause to breathe , not the beginning of the end," says Yiannis Mostrous in Vital Resource Investor. His favorite copper play? Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX).

"Most investors aren't able to grasp this commodities cycle's massive potential. The main reason is that few investors are willing to accept the big transformation that's taking place in several emerging market economies, led by China and India.

"We've been advocating this change for quite some time. And after several years of doing so, investors are more receptive. However, they're not totally convinced yet.

"This is the main reason this bull market in emerging markets and commodities has another strong leg up before it reaches all-time highs. But we're far from that point. Meanwhile, copper remains one of our favorite metals.

"Our long-standing recommendation to take advantage of copper's strength is Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Copper suffered from supply challenges along with investors' underestimation of its potential early in the year.

"There's no doubt about it: vital resources are in a bull market of gigantic proportions," note Yiannis Mostrous and Roger Conrad.

"The co-editors of Vital Resource Investor caution that "no market moves in a straight line, and in commodities, the action is often extremely violent." However, for long-term investors, they offer some favorites in iron ore, aluminum and copper.

"All commodity bull markets are ultimately gored by demand destruction, alternatives and new supply. But it will almost certainly be years before that happens to this one. And that means plenty of money will be made along the way.

"We're still extremely bullish on iron ore as the market remains in deficit and prices continue to rise. Chinese domestic supply has been falling and, if this continues, imports will make up the difference, thereby helping the miners.

"China consumes 51% of the world's iron supply. Portfolio holding Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: RIO), the world's largest iron ore producer, will benefit from the shortage in iron ore supply.

"We favor aluminum in the industrial metals sector. We've been advocating aluminum for some time, and the market's finally going our way. Aluminum prices have been impacted by lack of available power in China and South Africa and higher alumina and bauxite prices.

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.

United Overseas Bank Limited (Other OTC: UOVEY) is the top speculative idea for 2007 from Yiannis Mostrous. The global expert and editor of The Silk Road Investor -- and author of a new book by the same name -- explains, "United Overseas is a play in the positive changes taking place in Singapore, which continues to improve its image and attract the affluent from across Asia.

"United Overseas has been steadily improving operations and asset quality while expanding into Thailand and Indonesia.The bank has achieved a healthy mix of non-interest and interest-based income, with non-interest income growing strongly -- always a good thing. Its non-performing loan ratio dropped from 8.5% to 5.6% during the past year.

"Though Singaporean banks have been slow growers for sometime, improvement is visible as the economy enjoys strong growth amid a reflationary environment. As a result, loan growth could easily reach double digits next year. Banking stocks should eventually trade at a premium to the market, especially as return on equity improves through growth.