"Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), already a holding on our buy list, was added to Goldman Sachs' Conviction Buy List," says Bill Martin. In BullMarket.com, he offers the reasoning for his continued buy rating.

"Analyst Sarah Friar at Goldman recently raised her price target on the name to $29 from $25 saying, 'We are adding Microsoft to our Conviction List as we think the combination of better revenue drivers, improved expense management, and sizable cash balances provides more opportunities for bottom-line beats.'

"'Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Bing, Xbox 360 and new Halo content, Office 2010, and the Azure Cloud provide renewed innovation beyond anything we have seen in multiple years,' Friar wrote.

"For investors with a more aggressive bent, one stock on our radar is Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN)," says trading and investing expert Bill Martin.

In BullMarket.com, he explains, "The firm's core niche is producing speech-based voice-recognition and synthesis software for use in corporate customer-care operations, mobile applications including the new iPhone and to automate health records."

"Nuance creates those automated voices you have to listen to when what you really need is a human being to tell you why your cable modem isn't delivering the Internet.

"The hottest IPO of late has been the offering from language instruction company Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST)," notes Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com, he suggests, "The desire, not to mention need, to learn other languages in a global economy means the company is looking at a potentially huge market." Here's his review of the IPO:

"Shares of Rosetta Stone were priced at $18, which itself was above the anticipated range, but the price surged in the company's first day of trading on April 16th. The stock rose to $32.54 before retreating.

This post is part of a seven article report -- Food for thought: Best bets in food & beverage stocks.

"Customers are trading down to McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) from higher-end restaurants," says growth stock expert Toby Smith in his ChangeWave Investing.

The fast food operator is also a buy from Bill Martin, who adds, the company continues to serve up solid results. In his BullMarket.com advisory, he reviews the stock's recent quarter.

First, Toby Smith explains, "Given the endless parade of depressing economic news, it's no wonder that most people have lost their appetite for food -- if not altogether, then at least for the finer dining.

"Our proprietary ChangeWave Alliance survey -- ongoing pols of thousands of individuals and investors in various industries and professions -- just 5% of respondents said they would spend more at restaurants, which is unchanged from the all-time low.

In a difficult economic environment, it is often wise for investors to consider stocks in more defensive and relatively recession-resistant sectors. And one such area is food and beverage stocks.

As the long-standing market maxim goes, consumers can pull back on spending for vacations, remodeling, and new cars, but they still need to eat and drink.

In that light, I turned to nine leading newsletter advisors who serve up their current favorite ideas in the food and beverage sector:

"Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) surprised investors with better-than-expected earnings while also raising equity to help replay $10 billion in TARP money," says Bill Martin In BullMarket.com.

"On the earnings front, Goldman swung back to solid profitability after turning in its first-ever quarterly loss at the end of its last fiscal year, which ended November 28th, 2008.

"Goldman earned a net profit of $1.66 billion, or $3.39 a share, compared to a Q1 2008 profit of $1.47 billion, or $3.23 a share. The results are a vast improvement over the loss of -$2.29 billion, or -$4.97 a share, reported for Q4 2008.

"Goldman Sachs has long been the best run of what were previously Wall Street's top investment banks and the strength of its trading operations were evident in the quarter.

In his BullMarket.com advisory, Bill Martin looks to new products from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), such as the next version of the iPhone.

In addition, the advisors looks to the recent stronger-than-expected results announced by Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and why that may bode well for Apple's own upcoming results.

Martin observes, "RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said Apple will launch a new version of the iPhone inJune, which the analyst has dubbed the iPhone 3G Pro.

"In a research note, Abramsky said the new version of the popular smartphone will include a number of new features and improvements over the one introduced last summer to popular appeal.

"The CEO of Target (NYSE: TGT) has purchased $4.6 million in shares of the discount retailer, and we're going to follow suit," says Bill Martin in his BullMarket.com advisory.

"Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel purchased 150K shares at $30.54 on March 18th. On the same day, he also acquired 78K shares at $31.58 for his 401(k) plan in what appears to have been an automated transaction.

"Following the transactions Steinhafel now holds 555.8K shares, exercisable options on 727.7K shares at $34.00 to $58.13, and unexercisable options on 600.9K shares at $48.16 and $58.13.

"Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), having watched Apple's success at running its own stores, has decided to get into retailing as well," reports Bill Martin in his BullMarket.com advisory.

"Microsoft began its new retail effort by announcing last night that it had hired a veteran retail executive to lead it. The software giant hired David Porter away from DreamWorks Animation SKG, where he was head of worldwide product distribution.

"Prior to joining DreamWorks in 2007, Porter had spent 25 years at Wal-Mart, where he held a variety of jobs in store operations, merchandising, and information technology.

"McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) continues to just hum along as a cash flow and profit machine," says trading and investing expert Bill Martin.

In his industry-leading BullMarket.com, he explains, "The king of the quick service restaurant sector once again booked a quarter's worth of same-store sales increases as it benefited from consumers 'trading down' from more expensive dining options."

"Though the headline fourth quarter numbers show a year-over-year drop in profit, McDonald's nonetheless delivered another strong quarter to wrap up 2008 and said sales were continuing to grow on a same-store basis so far in 2009.

This post is part of a special report, A Dozen Ways to Play an Obama Building Boom.

"Some of the most aggressive buying we've seen from insiders has come from Terex (NYSE: TEX), where seven have bought since October 24th," says Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com, he explains, "The Westport, Conn.-based company manufactures capital equipment for construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, shipping, transportation, refining, and utility industries worldwide." Here's his review of the stock.

"The shares recently traded at $9.33, down -86% year to date. The stock hit a 52-week high of $76.25 in May and is currently trading at multi-year lows.

"The company announced Q3 results on October 22nd that fell well short of analyst earnings estimates. For the quarter, Terex reported its profit fell year over year to $93.8 million, or 96 cents per share, down from $151.1 million, or $1.45 per share. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.08, which was well below the $1.33 profit analysts were expecting.

"Looking forward, Terex cut its 2008 earnings outlook for the second time in less than two months, faulting weakness in worldwide construction. As such, the company said it is expecting to post a FY08 profit of $5.69-$5.79 a share, down from earlier guidance of $6.35-$6.65 per share.

"Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is offering a rare opportunity and is now one of our favorite ideas for investors with a multi-year time horizon," says Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com, the trading and investing expert explains, "Our bullish thesis on Apple revolves around cash; both the cash on its balance sheet and the cash it is able to generate."

"With approximately $24.5 billion in cash and no debt, about $27.50 of Apple's share price is cash. Meanwhile, the company generated $9.1 billion in cash the past fiscal year.

"Given the way revenue with the iPhone is reported (it's recognized over the life of a contract, not upfront), the cash Apple generates is actually a lot higher than what its earnings indicate.

"Combined, this makes common metrics like P/E ratios not a great way to value the company. If you instead substitute an Enterprise Value (which is basically the market cap with net debt or cash added back in) to cash flow ratio, the stock is trading at only about a 6x multiple.

"Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL), the nation's largest private landowner with more than eight million acres, has caught our eye," says Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com advisory, he explains, "Earnings have been stunted in recent quarters by the housing slump, but the company sports a strong balance sheet and an asset base that thanks to nature only gets larger and more valuable as time goes by."

"Plum Creek, which operates as a real estate investment trust, reported surprisingly solid Q3 profit. It posted net income of $69 million, or 40 cents per share, for the quarter ended September 30th, compared with a profit of $59 million, or 34 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

"In the 2007 quarter, fire losses in Montana forced the company to report a $4 million non-cash expense, or two cents per share, related to fire losses experienced in Montana.

"The company's EPS results topped the expectations of Wall Street analysts by a penny a share. Revenue grew to $414 million, up 2% from $407 million last year. The sales results were a bit short of the consensus of $419.8 million.

"The CEO of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) is bullish on his own stock; he recently bought $1.1 million in shares," says trading and investing expert Bill Martin in BullMarket.com.

"On October 23, CEO Jim Skinner purchased 20,000 shares at $55.00, increasing his holdings to 236,700 shares. The buy was the first for Skinner in at least five years. "Under the terms of McDonald's stock ownership guidelines, Skinner is expected to hold 6 times his annual base salary in shares, or $7.65 million in stock.

"He exceeded the ownership guidelines prior to his recent purchase and presently owns more than $12.55 million in shares, excluding unvested restricted stock, phantom stock, and options.

"Excluding dividends, shares of McDonald's have risen nearly 90% during Skinner's approximately four-year tenure at the helm, no small feat considering they rose just 2% in the preceding four years and 43% in the preceding eight years.

"Broad-based chemical, agriculture, and 'science technology' company DuPont (NYSE: DD) is about as 'blue chip' as companies get," says Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com, the trading and investing expert explains, "One of the oldest firms in the country DuPont has shown it can continue to remake itself and grow." Here's his review.

"DuPont offers the potential of significant gains once the major weak links in the U.S. economy -- namely housing and the automotive sector -- rebound from their funks and eventually begin to grow.

"DuPont turned in a solid performance in the second quarter, posting a profit of $1.08 billion, or $1.18 per share, up from $972 million, or $1.04 per share, a year ago.

"The bottom line was enhanced by seven cents a share as the result of a lawsuit settlement and a lower tax rate that resulted from a one-time tax settlement. The company cited strength in is agricultural products business as well strong sales in emerging markets for the growth.