If you're a stock trader, then this post is not for you because these stock picks are long-term bets for people looking to beat the traders using the best time-tested strategies. We have been in a very volatile market as of late. It has knocked down many quality companies creating opportunities.

Today I ran a stock screen using six value metrics to find big companies with low stock prices. I found a few dozen, but selected the household names.

The first quarter of 2010 is closed and the results are in. My picks surpassed the primary indices by a large margin. The original story, Chasing Value: 10 Stock Picks for 2010 , was the culmination of a process presented to our readers and finally narrowed down to the select group using final prices from Monday, December 28, 2009.

For comparison I tracked the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the NASDAQ. Each of these produced positive results for the quarter.

During my tenure at BloggingStocks I have expressed my opinion often about the contribution that dividends make to your overall return. Most shrewd investors, and especially "my pal Warren," know this and understand why I re-emphasize the point when I make my annual selections.

By now I hope you have had a chance to peruse my picks for 2010. If not the links below will give you another opportunity.

How hungry are you? The world is becoming hungrier all the time and Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) seeks to fill that need.

It is one of the world's largest processors of oilseeds, corn, and wheat. It turns corn into syrups, sweeteners, citric and lactic acids, and ethanol to fill your tank too. ADM also produces wheat flour for bakeries and pasta makers; cocoa and chocolate products for confectioners; animal-feed ingredients for farmers, and malt for brewers. It operates one of the world's largest crop origination and transportation networks, through which it connects crops and their markets across the globe.

To arrive at this years ten picks I scoured business journals and editorials, online and off. I also ran through a series of stock screens repeatedly over the last few months filtering for five primary value metrics identifying stocks worthy of further consideration.

The 5 data points were price-to-sales (P/S), price-to-book (P/B), price-to-cash flow (P/CF), dividend yield and return-on-equity (ROE). I did look at other things but these were the subject of my initial focus.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), the Decatur, Ill.-based grain processor and crop transporter, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal first-quarter 2010 financial results in a conference call Tuesday at 9:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call and accompanying slide presentation on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in September, ADM saw management changes and declared a quarterly dividend. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect ADM to report that earnings plunged 65.2% from a year ago to $0.56 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to be 18.6% lower to $17.2 billion.

When Americans go to the ball park to watch the World Series, we eat hot dogs. It's a tradition. It is also representative of a developed economy to eat lots of protein.

China is a developing economy with 22% of the world's population. And 1.3 billion Chinese people are developing an appetite for more protein, just as the people of almost all industrialized countries have. To make meat, you need grain. What China doesn't have is a lot of land and water for growing grain.

Baseball fans worldwide continue to warm themselves around the glow of the television to watch the Phillies and Yankees battle it out in the World Series.

Well, sports fans, I know you're psyched, but I have something just as exciting for you: six home run trades.

Peter Lynch had his "take a walk down Main Street" style of investing, so let's call this the "take me out to the ball game" approach to trading. I'm going to give you six trades that I think will knock it out of the park.

Uncertain economic times lead to uncertain corporate performances, which places a premium on demonstrated business models, and that's why I'm reiterating my Buy rating for Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), first recommended on March 25, 2009, at a price of $28.78.

Archer has not appreciated as much as expected since March, but the Buy call remains; look for FY2009 revenue to increase 2-3%, reflecting seven, new agribusiness plants.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), one of the largest grain processors and crop transportation networks in the world, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal fourth quarter 2009 results tomorrow morning in a conference call at 9:00 AM ET, with an accompanying slide presentation. See the company's website for information on listening in on the call or the live webcast.

For the quarter in which ADM declared its 310th consecutive quarterly dividend and completed the acquisition of a German chocolate manufacturer, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the Decatur, Ill.-based agri-giant to report that earnings fell 22.4% from a year ago to $0.45 per share, though that is up from $0.34 per share in the third quarter. Revenue for the fourth quarter is expected to be 30.1% lower to $15.2 billion. Earnings beat estimates in three of the five past quarters, missing by 15 cents per share in the third quarter.

Agricultural issue Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) is sharply lower in today's trading after falling short of Wall Street's earnings expectations. The company confessed to a 98% slide in third-quarter net income, thanks to hefty investment losses and a weak pricing environment.

ADM reported a profit of $8 million, or 1 penny per share, compared to its year-ago results of $517 million, or 80 cents per share. Investment losses for the period totaled 36 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter tumbled 21% to $14.8 billion, impacted by strength in the U.S. dollar and softer commodity prices. As a result, gross margin contracted from 6.2% to 4.4%.

It goes without saying that you'd call this a selective market: select the wrong stock, and there's a 30-40% haircut up ahead; select the correct stock, and you're positioned for the recovery with modest downside exposure. And with the aforementioned in mind, Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is worth a review.

The global recession decreased demand for ADM's products, and the company is likely to face challenging conditions for at least the next two quarters.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is scheduled to discuss fiscal second-quarter 2009 results tomorrow, February 3, in a conference call at 9:00 AM ET. To listen in to the call, dial 800-561-2601 or 617-614-3518; the access code is 81365958. Or catch the live webcast on the company's website.

For the quarter that saw lower commodities prices, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the Atlanta-based company to report earnings of $0.68 per share, down from $0.75 per share in the same period of the previous year. Revenue for the quarter is expected to have risen 2.9% from last year to $17.0 billion. ADM's earnings have topped estimates in the most recent quarters, more than doubling the EPS forecast in its record first quarter.

"If you're going to stay invested, you should look to defensive sectors," explain Ron Rowland and Brandon Clay, who point to consumer staples as a top pick for the current market environment.

In their Invest with an Edge, the advisors explain, "Perhaps the best way to stay defensive is with the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLP), an exchange traded fund.

"In a bear market, opportunities are usually limited to certain sectors. Surveying the investment horizon, we think the consumer staples sector has the best opportunity for growth in this economy.

"Regardless how the economy acts, people still eat. Consumers may not shop at Whole Foods, but they'll still buy groceries. Companies like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Safeway (NYSE: SWY) will continue to rake in revenues from hungry customers.

"In addition, these companies should continue to receive additional revenue from consumers who normally shop at specialty stores, but can no longer afford to.

"Consumers may not be shopping at Sharper Image any more, but there are other creature comforts that will be difficult for Americans to abandon.

"Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) will still sell products during a prolonged downturn. In addition, companies providing toiletries and convenience like Procter and Gamble and CVS Pharmacy stand to do well during a shifty economy.

This post is part of a feature in which we wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

How does the head of one of Archer Daniels Midland's (NYSE: ADM) fastest-growing divisions, a virtual shoo-in to be the company's next president, end up embezzling $9 million dollars while simultaneously acting as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation? And how does the highest-level executive to turn whistleblower receive a sentence much harsher than those of his co-conspirators despite pleas for leniency and clemency from everyone from the FBI and the Justice Department to congressmen, university professors, and even a baseball hall-of-famer?

Sounds like the stuff of motion pictures, doesn't it? And that's exactly what this true story will be in September of 2009 with the release of The Informant, a Warner Brothers film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon as whistleblower turned felon, Mark Whitacre. The movie is based on one of several books written about the case.

When the FBI began an investigation of ADM in 1992, Whitacre admitted that he and other executives were involved in a multinational price-fixing scheme. For the next three years, he helped the FBI gather evidence. Despite that, however, Whitacre was convicted in 1998 for wire fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering. The sentence of more than 10 years in prison was considered excessive by many, given his cooperation with the investigation and the fact that he suffered from bipolar disorder (the pressure drove him to attempt suicide at one point). Whitacre served eight and half years, reportedly as a model prisoner. To this day, efforts continue to win a pardon for Whitacre.