"In December of last year, Time Warner (TWX) sold off AOL (AOL) after an eight-year, love-hate affair; both companies are better off divorced," suggests Mark Skousen.

The editor of The Hedge Fund Trader forecasts, "Of the two, AOL has the best chance of a fast turnaround, and analysts are projecting that its earnings will double. The stock is already starting to move up."

"The market sell-off also is creating some attractive, high-income opportunities. Consider Chimera Investment (CIM), for example," says Mark Skousen.

The editor of the High Income Alert explains, "Based in New York, Chimera is a specialty finance company that invests in mortgage loans and other real-estate securities. The real estate investment trust (REIT) is managed by a company we've traded profitably before: Annaly Capital Management.

In his High-Income Alert financial newsletter, Mark Skousen recommends Barnes & Noble (BKS), noting, "Barnes & Noble has almost 800 stores in 50 states. It also owns one of the Web's most-visited Web sites.

The advisor suggests, "The stock has attracted heavy insider buying. In our view, this looks like a superb contrarian buy right now."

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"Asian stocks are also booming as China's growth remains strong," says Mark Skousen, who chooses AsiaInfo Holdings (ASIA) as his top pick for the coming year.

In his specialty trading service, The Hedge Fund Trader, he explains, "The company is China's premier telecommunications software and information technology (IT) play."

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"Ford Motor Co. (F) is in the driver's seat when it comes to innovation, cutting costs, and building global demand," says Mark Skousen.

In his Forecasts & Strategies, which this month is celebrating its 30th anniversary, he cautions, "I've decided to recommend Ford as the best turnaround speculation for 2010. Bear in mind that this is highly speculative, and not recommended for conservative investors."

Two growth stock specialists have turned bullish on the prospects for medical equipment maker Varian Medical Systems (VAR), despite uncertainty surrounding health care legislation.

Here's a look at the company from Louis Basenese, senior analyst with The Oxford Club, along with commentary from Mark Skousen, from his specialty service, The Turnaround Alert.

Mark Skousen suggests, "One stock that should benefit from 'ObamaCare' is Varian Medical Systems, the world's leader in radiation technology and X-ray imaging.

With gold and silver prices testing new highs, we turn to several leading resource experts -- Mary Anne and Pamela Aden, Mark Skousen and Larry Edelson -- for their favorite plays in the sector.

In The Aden Forecast, the Aden sisters explain, "Gold and silver recently moved well into record high territory, and it looks like they are poised to head even higher.

"Most impressive, gold's leading indicator still has room to rise further before it reaches the high area. This tells us that gold's current C rise is very strong and it's now likely headed to our next target level near $1200. Meanwhile, December gold will remain super strong above $1,020.

"Our latest high-dividend stock pick is AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB), a leading global money manager," says Mark Skousen.

In his premium service, High-Income Alert, he explains, "The company offers mutual funds, structured products, and managed accounts to corporations, endowments, institutions, and government agencies.

"Of course, asset managers collect fees based on the quantity of assets under management. As asset values decline, so do net fees. And, needless to say, with the haircut that world bond and equity markets have taken during the past two years, sales and earnings at AllianceBerstein have fallen.

"The smart move in today's market is to stick with companies that are growing right through the recession, such as WMS Industries (NYSE: WMS)," says Mark Skousen.

In his trading oriented service, The Hedge Fund Trader Alert, he explains, "Based in Waukegan, Ill., WMS designs, manufactures, leases and sells gaming machines and video lottery terminals to its customers, the casino operators.

"Earnings at WMS have climbed by at least 24% the past 11 quarters. And they're still accelerating. Most recent quarterly results were up 36% on rising revenue. What's going on here? WMS is a great innovator. And it knows its business.

"Citigroup (NYSE: C) used to be the world's #1 bank; it is now ranked #15 after the financial crisis," points out long-standing investing and trading expert Mark Skousen.

Yet, in his premium Hedge Fund Trader service, the leading advisor ranks the bank as a speculative buy. Here's his review.

"The stock fell to $1 a share from $40 a share two years ago. But now Citigroup is showing some breathing room after selling Smith Barney to Morgan Stanley for $6.7 billion and pushing revenues up to $34 billion.

"Stocks have struggled lately after their huge recovery; still, I continue to see opportunities, and I especially like Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN)," says Mark Skousen in The Turnaround Alert.

"Urban Outfitters, the apparel retailer, after it beat Wall Street analysts' estimates. Two years ago, the stock was selling for $37 a share.

"But today, it's selling for nearly half that. During the deep recession, retailers have seen sales drop as consumers cut back on spending for clothing and other discretionary purchases. As a result, retail apparel stocks fell sharply.

"Stocks have struggled lately after their huge recovery; still, I continue to see opportunities in the market, and I especially like Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN)," says Mark Skousen in The Turnaround Alert.

"Urban Outfitters, the apparel retailer, after it beat Wall Street analysts' estimates. Two years ago, the stock was selling for $37 a share.

"But today, it's selling for nearly half that. During the deep recession, retailers have seen sales drop as consumers cut back on spending for clothing and other discretionary purchases. As a result, retail apparel stocks fell sharply.

"Asia is booming again, and one industry that is growing like wildfire is 'green' tech in China," says Mark Skousen. In The Turnaround Alert, he eyes China Green Agriculture (AMEX: CGA)."

"Urban population and demand for energy is exploding, causing pollution and a reduction in per capita arable land to feed 1.4 billion Chinese.

"One way to profit is to buy China Green Agriculture, one of the fastest-growing agricultural technology companies in China.

"It's time to invest in Hong Kong, which is the gateway to China," says Mark Skousen, who looks to the iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF (NYSE: EWH).

In his High Income Alert, the leading advisor explains, "While China's stock markets are wild, illiquid and unregulated, the Hong Kong market is among the freest and most transparent in the world."

"iShares Hong Kong, an exchange-traded fund, replicates the performance of the Hong Kong market. And I like the outlook here, as Hong Kong is home to many of the premier companies in the region.

This post is part of a special report, Global advisors look to China.

"Sure, China is slowing down along with the rest of the global economy; but it's still growing faster than everyone else," says Mark Skousen.

In his specialized service, High Income Alert, he looks to Huaneng Power (NYSE: HNP), "This power product is an excellent, recession-resistant China play. And we'll be collecting a 6.5% dividend too."

Skousen explains, "China's Premier Wen Jiabao's goal is 8% annual growth. He may not achieve it. But the outlook for certain industries -- especially utilities -- remains robust.