"Some 20,000 or more million-dollar block trades are made each day," says Peter Way in Block Traders ETF Monitor, which assesses the activity of these trades. Here's some current top "big block" bets.

"Since it's these big dollar pressures that move markets, we want to know what they are likely to do next. Our analysis determines what the pros' expectations are for the coming prices of stocks, from the way
they protect investments they have or are making.

"Based on our proprietary analysis of this big block activity, we determine the prospects for each ETF sector to determine where prices will be in the next 3 months. We seek the best balance of upside risk and downside exposures.

"We don't want to buy anything that doesn't offer a net payoff of better than 5% over three months, or an annual rate of +22%. International and global ETFs. and emerging markets still hold appeal, with MSCI Brazil iShares (NYSE: EWZ), the best bet.

"Where's the beef? Must be in MOO, the Market Vectors International Agricultural ETF (ASE: MOO). Prospects for it are the best combined odds & payoffs in the group.

"The ETFs that have been providing the most reliable and productive gains of late have been in commodities. Without any leverage, there are currently a number that appear attractive, given the volume market-makers' appraisals. The PowerShares DB Agricultural Index ETF (ASE: DBA) outranks just about all of the 2,500 issues we cover. PowerShares DB Commodities Index ETF (ASE: DBC) also offers strong buy credentials."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

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.

"There's no question that this booming growth in the emerging countries has been a huge factor driving the strongest markets," explains Pamela Aden, editor of The Aden Forecast.

"Three billion people are now participating in the global economy who weren't involved before and that's a dramatic force.

"As these countries build their infrastructure, demand for raw materials has soared. Again, this mega-trend is poised to continue, along with strong growth.

"My favorite conservative way to play this trend is with the Materials Select SPDR (ASE: XLB), which moves with the raw materials sector. Instead of picking individual stocks, this provides a good way to generally profit from what's happening globally.