"In this recession, consumers are spending less per purchase on their credit cards -- but that hasn't slowed down the credit card company MasterCard (NYSE: MA)," says Paul Tracy.

In his The StreetAuthority Market Advisor, he points out, "In the second quarter, MasterCard's net income grew by +26%, beating Wall Street's expectations by a significant margin." Here's his review.

"MasterCard makes its money from the fees it charges merchants and the banks that issue its cards. The issuing banks make money by charging consumers interest.

"And as we've seen, the banks can lose money when consumers default on their credit card debt. But MasterCard's fee-based business model has been relatively resilient during the downturn.

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.

"My more conservative idea for 2008 is MasterCard (NYSE: MA)," says relative strength expert Dan Sullivan in The Chartist. "The card for 'everything else' is the credit card of choice for millions of Americans. MasterCard offers credit payment solutions, processes payment transactions, and also provides consulting services to customers and merchants.

"Despite a sluggish housing market, people are still spending, and for MasterCard, that's great news. The credit giant announced that its third quarter earnings leapt 63%, helped by rising spending volume and the sale of part of its stake in a Brazilian credit and debit card network.

"Third quarter earnings were $314 million, or $2.31 per share, compared with $193 million, or $1.42 a share in the year-ago period. Third quarter results included a $70 million gain from the sale of a stake in Redecard S.A. Revenue rose 20.1% to $1.08 billion.

"MasterCard is owned in the Chartist Aggressive Account and recently broke out into record-high territory. This stock has a highly bullish chart pattern and continues to exhibit tremendous relative strength. We think this stock could be a big winner in 2008."