In a special report on investing in China, global expert John Christy looks at New Oriental Education (NYSE: EDU). Here's the latest from The Forbes International Investment Report.

"No discussion of 'traditional Chinese values' can be complete without mentioning the importance of education. The Chinese education ethic intersects with the country's recent embrace of capitalism in New Oriental Education, China's leading private education company.

"Founded in 1993, New Oriental is one of China's great entrepreneurial success stories, making its founder and chief executive Michael Yu a billionaire. The company operates a network of nearly 250 schools and learning centers in 38 cities across China.

"These schools teach English, foreign languages, test preparation and more. Think of it as a cross between Berlitz and Kaplan, but with a much bigger target audience.

"New Oriental sells for 43 times analyst forecasts for fiscal 2009 earnings. While that's not cheap, New Oriental has a dominant position in its market and a history of delivering growth. Earnings are expected to grow 50% next year.

"And thanks to the high priority that many Chinese place on education, New Oriental's services aren't as much of a 'discretionary' purchase as they might seem. Demand for most of New Oriental's courses should hold up well even if China's economy cools."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

This post is one of six articles on beverage-related stocks. Here are five other investment ideas to sip on.

Each month in The Forbes International Investment Report, editor John Christy interviews top global stock managers. Here, Lou Gerken of Gerken Capital Associates eyes a favorite beverage play from Latin America.

The money manager explains, "Investors should take heart that there are companies they can invest in at very low valuations in emerging markets. And in the particular case of Latin America, many have U.S.-listed ADR's that have plenty of liquidity and are very accessible and cost-effective to buy.

"We think that Mexico is probably the best positioned Latin American country from a risk perspective because, obviously, with 86% exports to the U.S. it's very reliant on the U.S., but it's still seeing very healthy internal growth irrespective of what's going on in the U.S.

"A company that we like there is FEMSA (NYSE: FMX). It produces, markets and distributes Coca-Cola, Dos Equis, Tecate Beer and a lot of other beverages across Latin America. It also operates something that's very comparable to our 7-Eleven stores.

"They're called OXXO convenience stores. Very strong sales and EBITDA growth, despite the presumed slowdown that's been occurring as it relates to the U.S.contagion effect,and valued very attractively at 8 times EBITDA."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

"In Russia, as in many other emerging markets, a new crop of homegrown companies is on the rise," says global expert John Christy, editor of The Forbes International Investment Report.

He says, "While relatively unknown outside their home markets, these firms have proven to be worthy competitors against much bigger multinationals." Here's a look at Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD).

"In a research report in March, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) called these emerging companies 'Local Dynamos'. Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods was one of just three Russian companies to qualify for BCG's exclusive list. WBD is Russia's largest food and beverage company.

"It has a whopping 76% market share for dairy products like milk and yogurt.It is the #3 player in beverages,mainly fruit juices,and it has the #1 market share for baby food in Russia.

"In developed markets, selling baby food and fruit juice is a mature,ifnot mundane business.But in Russia,these can still be considered relatively attractive growth opportunities.

Aflac (NYSE: AFL) is a new addition to the "Borderless Portfolio" maintained by global expert John Christy. Here's the latest from his industry-leading Forbes International Investment Report.

"If you own a television, chances are you're quite familiar with the infamous squawking duck in Aflac's commercials. Aflac has also been in the news lately as the first American company to give shareholders a 'say on pay', or the ability to vote on executive compensation.

"Less well known, however, is Aflac's huge presence in the Japanese insurance market. In 2007, roughly
75% of the company's pre-tax operating earnings were generated in Japan.

"Alfac has been doing business in Japan for more than 30 years, and one in four Japanese households has an Aflac insurance policy. In Japan, Aflac sells healthcare policies for certain things that aren't covered by the national healthcare system, as well as life insurance. And, yes, they have a talking duck in their ads over there too.

"At a time when many financial companies are reporting massive write-offs, Aflac reiterated its target of 15% earnings growth this year, and double-digit growth in 2009. Aflac Japan is doing its part to help drive this growth with 19% operating earnings growth in the first quarter of 2008."

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

"As is the case with most countries in the Middle East, Israel rarely comes up in discussions of global 'safe havens', notes John Christy.

The editor of The Forbes International Investment Report explains, "But so far this year, Israel has been a pretty good place to hide from Wall Street's woes." Here he looks at one Israeli favorite, Cellcom Israel (NYSE: CEL).

"Putting stereotypes about risk aside, Israel offers a lot of interesting opportunities, even for fairly conservative investors. Cellcom Israel is a prime example. The company is Israel's largest mobile phone service provider, with sales of $1.6 billion in 2007.

"Since February 2007, the company has had a dual listing on both the New York and Tel Aviv stock exchanges. Discount Investment Corp. Ltd., one of Israel's largest business groups, owns just over 50% of the company.

"With 3.1 million subscribers, Cellcom has a 34% share of Israel's mobile telecom services market. Roughly three-quarters of Cellcom's subscribers are individuals, and the remaining 25% are corporate customers.

"Many of the industries that we think of as 'mature' in the U.S. are still in their infancy in Russia," notes global expert John Christy.

In his Forbes International Investment Report, he notes, "Advertising is a perfect example. Overall, the Russian ad market is growing at a 25%-30% clip." Here, he looks at CTC Media (NASDAQ: CTCM), one of the leading TV broadcasters in Russia.

"In 2007, total advertising spending in Russia was approximately $9 billion versus just $1.1 billion back in 2000. To put things in perspective, consider that in the U.K., Europe's largest ad market, spending is roughly $22 billion.

"With more than twice the population of the U.K., Russia's advertising market is less than half its size. Of course, it will take a very long time for Russia's economy to become as developed as Britain's but there is clearly a lot of room for growth.

"Television companies will be a prime beneficiary of this trend. TV accounts for about half of all advertising spending in Russia, or about $4.4 billion. And television advertising has been growing at 40% annually, an even faster pace than that of ad spending overall.

"One of the easiest ways for investors to tap into this growth is through CTC Media. The Moscow-based company is Russia's fourth-biggest broadcaster, with an 11.3% audience share.

Global expert John Christy combines Asia and technology in the latest fund recommendation in his Forbes International Investment Report.

"Our latest buy is Matthews Asian Technology Fund (MATFX), which has been added to our Global Core and Asia-Pacific Portfolios. While there's plenty of uncertainty in global markets at the outset of 2008, the tech sector and Asia's economies both look well-positioned to weather the storm.

"The Matthews Asian Technology Fund gives you the best of both worlds. With $245 million in assets, the fund has delivered annualized returns in excess of 25% over the past five years. It invests in a mixture of both large-cap and small-cap companies, with varying degrees of exposure to 'technology.'

"Some holdings, like Chinese search engine Baidu.com and the Japanese social networking site Mixi, are pure technology plays, whereas Korea's Samsung Electronics and Japan's Sony fall into the more mature camp of consumer electronics.

"Telecom is also among the fund's biggest holdings, with China Mobile and India's Bharti Airtel among the top 10 holdings. That means the fund won't always deliver eye-popping returns, but it offers a bit more protection on the downside."

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.

"If China is Asia's ultimate growth story, the Philippines qualifies as the region's biggest turnaround story," says John Christy, editor of The Forbes International Investment Report.

"Long plagued by political instability and disastrous economic policies, the Philippines is finally getting its act together under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Economists expect GDP growth of nearly 7% this year and foreign investment capital is pouring into the country.

"My favorite stock for 2008 is Philippines Long Distance Telecom (NYSE: PHI), which is an easy way for US investors to get a piece of the action. It is the leading provider of wireless telecom services in the Philippines, with nearly a 60% market share.

"But wireless penetration rates in the Philippines are among the lowest in Asia, suggesting considerable room for future growth before the market becomes saturated. And broadband services in the Philippines are still in their infancy.

"PHI is currently trading at 13 times estimated 2008 earnings and roughly 7 times earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). That makes PHI one of the cheapest names in the emerging markets telecom universe. Investors in PHI also enjoy a dividend yield of more than 5% as an added bonus."

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 ideas for 2008 is Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC)," notes John Christy, editor of The Forbes International Investment Report.

"Indeed, I now see Ericsson in a similar situation with my top pick last year, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), which has risen 67%. I am now seeing an almost identical situation unfolding with Sweden's Ericsson.

"But there are many more similarities than geography and industry affiliation. Let's take a look at some of the things I said about Nokia last year and compare them to Ericsson's situation today. Widespread skepticism among analysts: The knock against Nokia was that cell phones were becoming a saturated market. The skeptics also said Nokia would face competition from cheap upstarts in countries like China.

"The argument was that most folks who can afford phones already have them, and those who don't will probably end up buying cheaper ones than Nokia's models. Ericsson, in a slightly different way, is subject to similar skepticism. For example, analysts argue that Ericsson's telecom gear is more expensive than that of some of its upstart competitors and is therefore vulnerable to competitive pricing pressure.

"This is a valid point, but I can't imagine that the folks at Ericsson's headquarters haven't thought of all this and factored the issue of competition into the company's business plan.

"Meanwhile, Ericsson has a compelling valuation: The stock is trading at 14 times earnings and pays a 2% dividend yield. It is debt-free and consistently generates a healthy 20+% return-on-equity. Like Nokia, Ericsson will continue to benefit from booming global growth in mobile phone usage."

"Asia is still the place to be if you are looking for growth," says John Christy in The Forbes International Investment Report. Here, he looks at some favored Asian banking stocks -- in Japan, India and Korea.

"While China tends to get all of the headlines, the rest of Asia is on a solid economic growth trajectory for 2008. According to the latest Economist data, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia are all expected to deliver 5%+ gross domestic product growth next year. Taiwan isn't far behind at 4.6%.

"Of course, these numbers pale in comparison to forecasts of 10% for China and nearly 8% for India, but they're nothing to be ashamed of. With forecasts for Europe, the U.S. and Japan all hovering around 2%, Asia is still the place to be if you're looking for growth.

"Stock prices reflect much of this, but there are still plenty of pockets of opportunity. Asian financials are a good example. These names have been somewhat unfairly dragged down by the global credit mess and subprime fallout.

"As a result, strong banks like Shinhan Financial (NYSE: SHG) and Woori (NYSE: WF) in Korea, and Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE: MTU) are all trading at attractive valuations.

"I expect India-based Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), one of our 'Global Core' holdings, to be one of our big winners in the year ahead," says John Christy.

The editor of the Forbes International Investing Report explains, "The company kicked off earnings reporting season with an 18% net income growth during the quarter. These earnings were in line with expectations. Of course, simply meeting expectations is never good enough for Wall Street, so INFY shares tumbled on the news.

"Infosys also revised its full-year EPS estimate upward to $1.99 per ADR, but again this wasn't good enough -- I guess some folks were expecting a bigger revision.

"The main concern continues to be the strength of the Indian rupee, which is close to a 10-year high. This is a fair point, but 18% earnings growth in the face of a stiff headwind from the rupee is pretty good in my book. And Infosys actually reported higher margins on an operating basis.

"Most importantly, we need to keep the big picture in perspective. Even the skeptics would agree that Infosys is one of the strongest and best-managed companies in the emerging markets universe."

"The silver lining in all the recent gloom is that credit market shakeout is basically a healthy development," says global expert John Christy in his Forbes International Investment Report.

Here, the advisor looks at the state of the market, the credit market problems and the re-pricing of risk as well as several leading European banks that he believes offer strong fundamental value for long-term investors. He notes, "While there's no question that European financial firms will feel a certain degree of pain, a lot of the bad news appears to be priced in at this point."

One favorite is ING ((NYSE: ING). He states, "The bank saw earnings rise 27% in the second quarter, and the Dutch bank-insurer's exposure to the sub-prime mess is negligible. ING looks extremely cheap at 8 times earnings. It also pays a 4.4% dividend yield."

Meanwhile, he notes that Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) is now trading at 7 times earnings and paying a 5% dividend yield. Allied Irish Banks (NYSE: AIB) is also sporting single-digit price-to-earnings multiples, he states. But, he says, "The long-term fundamentals for DB, ING and AIB haven't changed all that much - if at all - and this looks like a good buying opportunity for all three."

Christy is also bullish on UBS (NYSE: UBS) is the biggest bank in Switzerland and the world's largest money manager with $2.6 trillion of invested assets. He notes that while the firm can trace its roots as far back as the 18th century, its "real transformation" came in 2000 when UBS bought PaineWebber. He explains, "The merger gave UBS a major presence in the U.S. and helped lay the framework for a truly global institution."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com features the latest investment ideas and market commentary from the financial newsletter community.

Each month, the Forbes International Investment Report includes a Q&A feature with a fund manager or analyst which editor John Christy has chosen for "exceptional insight into global markets and investing."

His latest interview is with Gonzalo Pangaro at T. Rowe Price. Based in London, Pangaro, with 15 years of experience in Latin America, manages $6 billion in Latin American equities, including the T.Rowe Price Latin America Fund (PRLAX). Here are some highlights.

Forbes/Christy: Latin American stocks are having a great year so far. Is it too late to get on board?

Pangaro: "I don't think so. There are still very attractive opportunities in Latin America.The performance has been extremely strong in the past three years, but before then, Latin America traded sideways for 10 years. So we are coming from a very low base, and the macroeconomic improvement in many countries has been significant.

"Back in 1994, at the time of the 'Tequila Crisis', countries had exchange rates that were fixed at artificially high levels, big current account deficits, poor fiscal positions, and very high dollar-denominated external debt. So they were very vulnerable.

"All of that has changed. All the key countries have paid down their dollar debt, inflation is under control, currencies are floating freely, and current accounts are in surplus. So I think the economic situation has improved meaningfully.

Last December, over 100 stocks were featured in our Top Picks for 2007 report. Now, at mid-year, we turn to the 20 advisors whose picks showed the strongest gains to get an update on their previous picks, as well as a new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

John Christy, editor of the Forbes International Investment Report, chose Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) as his favorite stock for 2007, which rose 38% as of 6/1/07. Here is his original recommendation for Nokia and his new favorite stock for the rest of 2007.

Updating his outlook on Nokia, the advisor says, "I've been arguing for some time that investors have not been giving the company enough credit for its leading position in the global mobile phone market. Fortunately that mind-set appears to be changing, in part because of a strong Q1 earnings report.

"Although Nokia's net income for the quarter fell 7% due to some one-time charges, margins showed solid improvement across the board. At the same time, Nokia is gaining market share in key segments such as emerging markets (low-end) and in multimedia phones (high-end).

"The improvements in profitability suggest that Nokia is not pulling this off simply by selling dirt cheap phones. Instead, it looks more like the result of savvy cost control and continued innovation.

"Separately, Nokia and Siemens said that they plan to cut about 9,000 jobs in their telecom equipment joint venture. The reductions -- which were expected -- should help drive savings of $2 billion a year by 2010. The stock remains a buy in our global portfolio."

Last December, over 100 stocks were featured in our Top Picks for 2007 report. Now, at mid-year, we turn to the 20 advisors whose picks showed the strongest gains to get an update on their previous picks, as well as a new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

John Christy, editor of the Forbes International Investment Report, chose Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) as his favorite stock for 2007, which rose 39% as of 6/1/07. Here is his original recommendation for Nokia and his current opinion on the stock.

For his new favorite stock, the advisor looks south of the border, recommending América Móvil (NYSE: AMX). He explains, "Latin America has been one of the hottest regions for global investors in 2007. As of May 25, the Morgan Stanley Capital International Latin America index is up over 17% in U.S. dollar terms.

"But there's still plenty of money to be made south of the border. AMX is the dominant mobile phone service provider in Mexico. The company's reach extends beyond its home market to more than 125 million subscribers throughout Latin America, with operations in more than a dozen countries.

"Revenue topped $21 billion last year, about half of which came from outside Mexico. The company is controlled by Carlos Slim Helú, who overtook Warren Buffett earlier this year as the world's second-richest man.