For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: EMITF) -- my top speculative idea for 2008 -- is about to change its name to Elbit Imaging, following shareholder approval," notes Vivian Lewis in her Global Investing Pro. Vivian was the top performer in last year's Best Stocks report, with her selection of DryShips rising nearly 400%.
"EMITF is a subsidiary of Europe Israel (M.M.S.) Ltd., which operates in the construction, operation, management and sale of shopping and entertainment centers in Israel, Central and Eastern Europe, and India.
"The company also owns hotels, primarily in major European cities, and manages and sells hotels through its Elscint Ltd. subsidiary.
"The company is also involved in investments in the research and development, production, and marketing of magnetic resonance imaging guided focused ultrasound treatment equipment, through its subsidiary InSightec Ltd.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"This exchange-traded fund is a unique way to play the bank shot of the wildly volatile currency markets. It seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Deutsche Bank G10 Currency Future Harvest Index.
"This index is intended to take advantage of the fact that currencies associated with high-interest rates tend to rise in value relative with those associated with low-interest rates.
"The ten currencies that the index selects from are the US dollar, the euro, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, British pound, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, and Swedish krona.
"The upshot: interest rates are always rising in one of the above economies while falling in another -- 2008 will be no different."
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"My favorite speculative, home run idea for 2008 is Man Sang Holdings, Inc.," says Tony Sagami, editor of The Asia Stock Alert.
He explains, "I run at a pretty fast pace when I'm in Asia. Every day is packed with factory tours, meetings with company executives, pestering government and university leaders for their local knowledge, and hitting the streets to see with my own eyes if the zealous Investor Relations departments are feeding me overly optimistic projections.
"When I was in China in May, I completely turned my schedule upside down after visiting Man Sang Holdings, Inc. (ASE: MHJ). I re-scheduled and postponed my entire South China schedule because what should have been a one-hour meeting at Man Sang turned into two full days of tire kicking and fact checking.
"Man Sang Holdings, together with its subsidiaries, is one of the leading pearl merchants in Greater China. The company primarily sells to jewelry manufacturers, wholesale jewelry distributors, and mass jewelry merchandisers, such as QVC, in the US, Europe, and Asia.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"My favorite conservative stock for 2008 is Mastercard (NYSE: MA)," says Ken Kam, who first added the stock to the 'Best Ideas' portfolio of his Marketscope newsletter in June.
"With the financial sector getting killed as the credit crisis expands, investors are scrambling for quality and safety in financials -- the largest sector of the S&P 500. Mastercard fits the bill because of the reasons we liked it in the first place -- no credit.
"Until recently, most investors thought of Mastercard as a credit card company. Its comparables were American Express, Capital One, and Discover -- all credit card companies that HOLD credit card risk on their balance sheets. Mastercard does not.
"Mastercard processes the transactions and charges an interchange fee. The credit crunch spiraling its way through the market is affecting consumers. Access to credit has dried up so it is difficult, if not impossible, to get new mortgages or home equity loans.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"The India Fund (NYSE: IFN) is our top speculative idea for 2008," says Carla Pasternak, editor of High Yield Investing. "As investors fret that a downturn in the US housing sector could cool global growth, the world's second-fastest growing major economy after China is forging ahead.
"India's economy is expanding at a rapid +9% clip, nearly double the latest growth rate put in by the US economy. It's no wonder India's benchmark Bombay Sensex Index is up 44% this year.
"And the future looks equally strong. Thanks in part to US firms outsourcing their customer service and data-processing jobs, India is seeing the rise of a new middle class. Estimated at some 300 million of the billion-plus population, India's middle class is mushrooming at a rate of about 20% a year.
"A growing consumer class with an insatiable appetite for everything from houses to TV sets, and the money to buy them -- the world's fastest-growing democracy appears to be in the early stages of a major bull market.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"The main reason to own ISIS is the strong potential for an extremely attractive partnership for their exciting anti-cholesterol drug candidate, mipomersen, or an outright acquisition of the company itself at a substantial premium.
"We have seen recent evidence of acceleration in deal activity as the Sanofi-Aventis/Regeneron deal was the richest we have ever seen for drug candidates only in Phase 1 testing. In turn, this has most likely upped the ante for doing a deal with ISIS for mipomersen, which is now in Phase 3.
"We believe that ISIS has the most attractive late-stage anti-cholesterol drug candidate in development and expect the stock to be much higher on a partnership or an acquisition.
"The strong data for mipomersen that was presented at the recent American Heart Association meeting -- which showed it had the stunning ability to reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) levels an additional 48% on top of statin therapy -- has cemented mipomersen as the one of the most valuable drug candidates in development.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"Looking into 2008, one area we like is technology, and one of the stronger sub sectors has been the internet. It is important to note the build-out of the internet is not done. Content is still being created at a rate no one can fathom and technological advances continue to explode.
"This brave new world comes with the ability to provide internet video downloading at a rate that will excite and attract users like never before. Why? First, the ability to increasingly compress data and more effectively use bandwidth and second, the expanding infrastructure of the internet.
"While the sector has struggled since the negative Cisco earnings announcement in November, we see opportunity in this downward move. If we consider the reason for the decline, we find it wasn't fundamental; it was judgmental.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"The drug delivery sector has been revolutionized by the application of nanotechnologies. And one of the fastest up-and-coming countries in this sector is Australia.
"Starpharma has landed a few significant co-development and assessment deals with some major firms in recent months as it awaits FDA approval for its VivaGel, dendrimer-based topical cream that can prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, specifically Herpes and HIV.
"VivaGel also has spermicidal qualities that are so compelling, one of Starpharma's recent co-development deals was with Durex, one of the world's top condom manufacturers. Durex is considering replacing the near-ubiquitous Non-oxynol 9 spermicidal coating with VivaGel, which is proving to be safe and more effective than N-9.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"Over the past 18 months, Canadian oil and gas producer trust has endured a trial by fire. First natural gas prices started tumbling.
"Then the Conservative party government announced it would begin taxing trusts as corporations starting in 2011, and restricted the number of shares trust can issue. Finally, this fall investors have bailed out of everything remotely economically sensitive.
"Through it all, however, the Enerplus has remained rock-solid as a business. For starters, the yield of nearly 13% -- paid monthly -- is backed by a modest 70% payout ratio. And that ratio was achieved by selling oil in the third quarter at less than $70 a barrel.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"Mining is a tough business, with high capital costs and one in which, as the old saw has it, 'Murphy works overtime.' One way to mitigate the risk while remaining exposed to upside in resource prices is through royalties. Royalties come in all shares and sizes; they can be net or gross, fixed or sliding scale, and so on.
"International Royalty Co. has put together an extensive portfolio of over 60 mining royalties, most of which are on properties not currently in production.
"Its crown jewel, accounting for half the company's net asset value, is from a royalty on the world-class Voisey's Bay nickel mine in Labrador, Canada. Many of its other royalties are on gold projects, including its second most important asset, the royalty on Barrick's Pasuca mine in Chile.
"The stock sold off recently after the company raised money for a potential purchase of the royalty division of Newmont Mining; instead, the division was effectively IPO'd. But this decline makes ROY very inexpensive for a low-risk royalty company, selling at just over 10 times next year's estimated cash flow, much less expensive than other royalty companies.
"As metals prices continue to advance and more of the properties on which ROY holds royalties come into production, ROY will benefit tremendously, making it a solid long-term growth story as well as ripe for a rebound from oversold levels."
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"The explosion in cell phone usage is one of my favorite 'top down' themes in global investing. No technology has spread wider and more quickly than cell phones. While it took TV 30 years to penetrate households across the globe, cell phones managed to achieve this in less than a single decade.
"My top pick to profit from this theme is Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular S.A., the 'Indiana Jones' of the cell phone industry. The company is one of a handful of global players that are profiting from expansion in cell phone markets where others fear to tread.
"Millicom's strategy has been unique and daring. It has cobbled together a patchwork empire that consists of 16 countries in Central America, South America, Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Today Millicom has 20 million subscribers.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"In mid-2003, I recommended the purchase of Yellow Pages Income Fund to readers of my Internet Wealth Builder newsletter at C$10.
"Since then, we've received capital gain of $3.48 a share plus cash distributions of $4.33 per unit for a total return of 78%. This return occurred even given the Canadian government's decision to tax trusts starting in 2011.
"Looking ahead, we may not see as much movement in the share price, but the distributions should stay steady or rise marginally. For anyone seeking steady income, that makes this trust very attractive. At the current price the shares are yielding 8.4%, making them very good value.
"Management says that action will be taken to ensure Yellow Pages is not subject to the income trust tax but has not released specifics. Indications are, however, that it will be transformed into a high-dividend corporation.
"The combination of stability, yield, and a dominant position in the Canadian market make this a low-risk choice for conservative investors."
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"If you are looking for a quality company paying an outstanding dividend with excellent upside potential, I recommend Terra Nitrogen (NYSE: TNH), my top conservative selection for 2008," says Dennis Slothower, editor of Stealth Stocks.
"The company produces and distributes nitrogen fertilizer products, used primarily by farmers to improve yield and quality of their crops. With the trend toward bio-fuels, the demand for nitrogen fertilizers has an exponential future.
"The company is one of the largest North American producers of anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate and nitrogen solutions, and is the largest producer of ammonia and ammonium nitrate in the United Kingdom.
"I like this stock for several reasons. It pays a very handsome dividend of 7%, but this is also a growth company that is undervalued with a P/E ratio of 12 times earnings but a sales growth rate of 45%.
"The intrinsic value of this stock is $235 a share. This has the potential of doubling or even tripling your investment over the next three to five years while paying an excellent dividend."
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"My favorite aggressive recommendation for 2008 is Acergy (NASDAQ: ACGY)," says Elliott Gue, editor of The Energy Strategist.
"Acergy provides engineering and construction services for offshore oil and gas developments with a particular focus on deepwater projects. Acergy's most important business is what's known as SURF -- subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines.
"SURF relates only to wells that are developed with subsea completions, meaning that the well is installed directly on the seafloor. When wells are installed on the seafloor, operators need ways to control the well remotely.
"This is done via electrical and hydraulic systems; umbilicals are nothing more than electrical and hydraulic cables that connect a surface-based platform to subsea wells. The term riser refers to a flexible steel pipe that connects underwater pipelines or wells to surface-based floating production platforms. Risers actually carry oil and/or gas from subsea developments to the surface.
"Finally, flowlines are smaller diameter pipes used to transport oil and gas underwater. Obviously, all subsea developments require the installation of SURF. Acergy's heavy concentration in this area gives it extraordinary leverage to deepwater.
For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"This past year, the markets struggled. The question is where 2008 is heading. Our indicators show continued challenges in US equities based upon fundamental economic weakness. Because of subprime mortgage defaults and other related issues, investors should consider a strong but conservative strategy for a portion of their holdings.
"One place to look is Gateway Fund. With over $4 billion in assets and an impressive, long-term track record, Gateway typically meets the objective of a higher total return with less risk than the S&P 500. Its five-year chart resembles a gentle upward slope -- exactly what you want when reviewing conservative funds.
"Other funds have tried a similar strategy, but none have the longevity or track record that GATEX offers. To defend against further market irregularities, look to Gateway Fund in 2008."
"Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: EMITF) -- my top speculative idea for 2008 -- is about to change its name to Elbit Imaging, following shareholder approval," notes Vivian Lewis in her Global Investing Pro. Vivian was the top performer in last year's Best Stocks report, with her selection of DryShips rising nearly 400%.
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