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Stock picks and pans for troubled times: Buy Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto, JPMorgan and closed-end funds

Another volatile week had passed over Wall Street, but by the end of it investors started breathing a sigh of relief in anticipation of the bailout plan. Those hopes were shattered Thursday night. Many believe that if the bailout plan doesn't get approved soon, the landscape on Wall Street will be very different, changing even more than it already has. The consequences of a financial meltdown would reverberate throughout the economy, here and globally.

Once again, BloggingStocks bloggers have looked at different stocks, trying to find the ones you may want to consider during these troubled times should you find yourself with some extra cash. Nerves of steel are a requirement for any investor these days.

Here are some picks from the past week:

Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) - not only do Ron Rowland and Brandon Clay remind us that Johnson and Johnson was rated the world's most respected company, Cramer says that JNJ "is a super stock. Well managed, great earnings, good pipeline ..."

Monsanto (NYSE: MON) - as the undisputed leader in the genetically modified (GM) seed industry, Yiannis Mostrous and Roger Conrad think long-term-oriented investors will be rewarded handsomely with Monsanto.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) - Joe Lazzaro thinks these banks' sizes may be what would save them as the they are simply too big to fail. Cramer agrees both banks stand to gain much and will do very well if the bailout is approved. With the recent acquisition of Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM), Jon Berr thinks John Pierpont Morgan would have been proud of Jamie Dimon.

Continue reading Stock picks and pans for troubled times: Buy Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto, JPMorgan and closed-end funds

Bailout blues? 'Buy closed-end bond funds'

"With the government set to bail out a trillion dollars in debt, what should you buy?" asks Neil George, editor of Personal Finance. "Bond funds are the foundation that steadies your portfolio."

"While the Fed and the Treasury work to bail out a trillion dollars in debt, other governments around the planet seems to be jumping on board this train; similar deals are being cut from the UK to Russia to Japan and beyond.

"The result is a big surge of short-covering and rampant buying as the markets trade and party like it's 1999 again. But is this a good thing?

"Although it might satisfy the political agendas of government leaders, these moves do pretty much nothing to restore normal risk and reward characteristics that make for a productive free market system.

"Meanwhile, bonds are what continue to perform. The rally in stock might continue for a time, but when more and more serious investors and traders begin to figure out the ramifications of the government's heavily expanded role in the formally private sector, it won't take long for another selloff to materialize.

Continue reading Bailout blues? 'Buy closed-end bond funds'

Income expert bets on trio of closed-end bond funds

"Buy bonds," says income expert Neil George, adding "More and more folks are heading for the door on stocks and are moving toward quality."

The senior editor of Personal Finance explains, "This means bonds-but not just any bonds: government and upper-tier corporate bonds." Here's a trio of favorites.

"We start with AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund (NYSE: AWF). This fund owns a collection of government and government agency bonds, along with some selected high-quality domestic and foreign corporates that add to our stability.

"We aren't just locked into the US and the US dollar; we have exposure to the best of Europe, Asia and elsewhere, too. The average duration (measurement of price against changes in yield) is a conservative but attractive 7.4 years.

"The fund generates a yield just shy of 8% and has given us a positive performance of near 100% during the past five years. It trades at a discount of more than 6% to meltdown value.

Continue reading Income expert bets on trio of closed-end bond funds

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-215.458,376.24
NASDAQ-46.821,445.56
S&P 500-25.52845.22

Last updated: December 05, 2008: 12:57 AM

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