"Although Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) recently posted an 18% drop in its first-quarter earnings, I remain a long-term bull on the shares," notes Nilus Mattive in the income and growth oriented Dividend Superstars.

"Results were hurt by tougher generic competition for the company's blood-pressure drug Norvasc and allergy treatment Zyrtec. Pfizer pulled in $0.41 a share in the quarter, but would have earned $0.61 excluding costs associated with two acquisitions.

"A lot of investors are treating the poor earnings as a death knell for the company, especially since Lipitor - PFE's biggest product - will also lose patent protection in 2010. However, I've watched countless drug stocks go through these cycles before, and I continue to believe it's smarter to buy when things look the worst.

"This is still the world's largest drug company ... it still delivers big, fat dividend checks ... and it is making strong moves to reorganize its operations and focus on new drug development. For all those reasons, I remain positive on the shares."

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 global income investing, I ran a screen of Chinese ADRs, and my favorite from the list is Huaneng Power (NYSE: HNP), with an indicated yield of 5.3%," says Nilus Mattive, editor of Dividend Superstars.

"Tons of power is being consumed in China, and Huaneng is right there to serve it up - the company is China's largest independent power producer. All told, Huaneng owns 17 plants outright, controls another 12, and has minority interests in five power companies.

"Profits have been rolling in at a steady clip. However, investors have recently become concerned about shrinking profit margins at Chinese utilities.

"There is certainly cause for concern: Coal is the main power source for utilities' plants, and the price of the raw material has been rising because of increased demand around the world. To make matters worse, the severe winter weather that struck China in January pushed up coal prices even further and created a
whole host of other challenges for Chinese utilities.

"However, it looks to me like investors have been far too aggressive in their selling. They're now pricing Huaneng at 10.5 times next year's earnings. The stock is so oversold that it's currently yielding 5.3%.

"What about the coal situation? Well, I think supply and demand will come back in line, and I also think this politically well-connected company will be granted price hikes to compensate for its higher input costs. I recommend income investors buy at the market."

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.

"My favorite speculative stock for 2008 is Toronto-based Biovail (NYSE: BVF)," says Nilus Mattive, editor of Dividend Superstars.

"The company makes branded and generic drugs that are delivered orally. It used to concentrate on research & development for other companies, but lately it's become more of a fully integrated pharmaceutical concern.

"Some of its products are marketed and sold by other companies -- a good example is its pain medication Ultram ER, which is marketed by Johnson & Johnson.

"Investors have punished Biovail because of development setbacks in BVF-033, one of the company's most promising compounds. The FDA issued a non-approval letter, and more recently said it would not be examining newly submitted data until April. Biovail is also dealing with intensifying generic competition in other product lines.

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 Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)," says Nilus Mattive, editor of Dividend Superstars. "Everyone's heard of this company -- it's the largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

"The company boasts a stable of well-known drugs, including Viagra, Celebrex and its current best-seller, cholesterol-lowering agent Lipitor.

"Despite its bellwether status, investors haven't been too keen on Pfizer recently. They're concerned about generic competition for the company's Zoloft and Norvasc. And although Lipitor's patent expires in 2011, there are also worries about increasing competition in the cholesterol market. I can see why -- $12.9 billion worth of Lipitor was sold in 2006, more than any other single drug in the world!