The New York Times has come along with a novel theory. Small cap stocks will be the leaders as the market comes out of its current funk. The paper writes "Despite all the bad news surrounding record-high oil prices, mounting job losses, and continuing troubles in housing, the Russell 2000 index of small stocks has soared 12.7 percent since mid-March."

All theories have a counter-theory. Small cap stocks are not taking the market anywhere.

One of the reasons that the Russell has done well is that it has no large bank or financial stocks in it like the S&P 500 and Dow do. The Dow has too many troubled companies in it to be doing well, with Citigroup (NYSE: C) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) as two examples.

It is not hard to argue that small cap stocks will have a sharp sell-off in the second half. Their access to credit for expansion is modest because they usually do not have the balance sheets to support big borrowing. The customers are just as likely to be hurt by a recession as the customers at big companies.

The move up in the Russell is nothing more than a sucker rally.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Judging from previous articles like this, can you guess what I'm going to write about? By now I think you should know my core beliefs-while everyone and their mother is covering the wheeling and dealings of hugely important corporations hence efficient stocks like Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), my blog's readers and I are having much more fun profiting from trading mostly short selling...well actually all short selling-smaller infinitely more inefficiently priced companies like GRO, PTEK and STXX, all of which were "pumped up" by various temporary catalysts.

For Agria Corp (NYSE: GRO), it was message board hype, PokerTek Inc (NASDAQ: PTEK) had a combination of message board hype, rumors and press coverage and South Texas Oil Co (NASDAQ: STXX) got a stock promoter mention, and now that those temporary catalysts have come and gone, all three have reversed hard off their highs. And mind you, while many pumps are accomplished on the infinitely ore sketchy OTCBB and Pink Sheet exchanges, all three of these companies are trades on more reputable markets like the NYSE and NASDAQ. And yes, I profited solidly on all three, increasing my yearly gain to around 40%.

Now I'm looking at stocks like Source Interlink (NASDAQ: SORC) as a potential short, which is up on insider buying, a catalyst I don't respect, but since there's not enough space for me to cover all the details of exactly what I look for here--it's about chart patterns, price action and volume. Today, I am doing a special Friday the 13th marathon episode of my LiveStock show. To the untrained eye, I know these small stocks seem scary, but maybe after this journey, I can help you better understand them.

Timothy Sykes writes the blog timothysykes.com, is a former hedge fund manager, star of the TV show Wall Street Warriors and author of the book, An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund

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.

"Silicom Ltd. (NASDAQ: SILC) is my favorite speculative pick for 2008," says Benson George, in Rising Star Stocks.

"The company's focus is on high-performance Ethernet server adapters. Its products facilitate interaction between servers and enable them to communicate with each other through a number of ports. Silicom's solutions are designed to increase server availability, security and throughput for server gateways.

"The company markets its products directly to OEMs that in turn sell Silicom's products under their own private labels or integrate Silicom's products into their own products.

"The company is exclusively focused on being the leader in server adapter card technology and markets. Revenues for the first nine months of 2007 increased by 74% to a record $19.3 million compared with $11.1 million for the first nine months of 2006. Net income for the period increased by 191% to $4.5 million.

"Silicom is on track for what will be a record-breaking year; the only question is by how much? The company is on pace with double what it earned per share in all of 2006 (49 cents). If demand continues unabated, revenues should reach $26 to $27 million for all of 2007, almost 70% ahead of 2006's $16 million revenues.

"Silicom is well positioned to succeed. It offers superior products in a market experiencing superlative growth. We are initiating coverage with a 'buy' rating and price target of $22, which represents a multiple of 20 times the forward year consensus analyst estimate of $1.08 in EPS."

I can only think of two words to describe embattled multi-level marketing firm Mannatech's (NASDAQ: MTEX) latest press release: transparent and pathetic.

In case you haven't been following, the Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot filed a lawsuit against the company in July accusing the company of illegal sales and marketing practices, "falsely claiming its products cure, mitigate, treat or prevent diseases such as cancer, autism and Down's syndrome, in violation of state and federal laws." (source: WSJ).

Well now Mannatech has a whipping boy of sorts. With great fanfare, including a press release, the company announced it had terminated the distributorship or Raymond Gebauer, who has been convicted of tax evasion:

"Mr. Gebauer's conviction places him in violation of his Associate agreement with Mannatech," said Terry Persinger, President and COO of Mannatech. "We expect, and the Company's policies require, all Mannatech Associates to comply with applicable laws, including tax laws."

Is Mannatech just putting out this press release to brag that it does take compliance with the law very seriously? Of course. Is anyone likely to buy it? Of course not. The Attorney General's complaint contained ample evidence to show just how seriously Mannatech takes the law. Now that it's under scrutiny, it has some work to do. But for now, we'll have to settle for PR work.

Gebauer was one of the company's top distributors, with a down-line of 718,000 people. The stock is up 2% in early-morning trading.

In his small cap growth oriented newsletter, Upside, editor Richard Moroney uses a ranking system known as Quadrix that assesses a stock based on a wide variety of fundamental, financial and technical factors.

A rarity in this system, Chaparral Steel (NASDAQ: CHAP) earns a 100 out of 100 rating. Chaparral, he notes, is the second-largest supplier of structural steel in North America.

The firm specializes in structural beams and steel bars, which are used for commercial construction. Its two minimill plants, he notes, use recycled steel that comes primarily from shredded automobiles.

Looking ahead, he says, "the company should benefit from robust demand, decent pricing, and strict cost controls." In addition, he notes that last November the company paid its first quarterly dividend, initially set at $0.10 per share.

Further, he observes, management has authorized a share-repurchase program of to $100 million. Earnings estimates for this year and next have trended higher and for fiscal 2007 ending May, he notes that consensus estimates project per-share profits will be up 50% to $4.99.

He concludes, "With the maximum overall Quadrix score of 100, Chaparral is being added to our coverage as a Buy."

For more stock picks from the leading financial newsletter advisors, visit Steven Halpern's free daily website, TheStockAdvisors.com.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

CDC Corp. (NASDAQ: CHINA) is a favorite speculative idea for 2007 from momentum trading expert, Kevin Kennedy. The editor of The Coolcat Report notes, "CDC operates companies focused on enterprise software applications and services, mobile applications, online games, and the Chinese portal China.com.

"The company's software solutions are used by more than 5,000 customers worldwide within the manufacturing, financial services, health care, home building, real estate, and wholesale and retail distribution industries.

"Its China.com unit is a leading Mobile Value Added Services (MVAS) provider and Internet services company operating principally in China. CDC Mobile is focused on providing MVAS products to subscribers in China. CDC Games Limited is one of the market leaders of online and mobile games in China with more than 37 million registered users.

"CDC reported blowout third-quarter results in November. Total revenue was $78.2 million, an increase of 26%. Earnings per share tripled to $0.09 per share. Future plans include an initial public offering of either CDC Software or CDC Games and a continued emphasis on acquisitions. The stock is on a five-month win streak, including a 41% surge in November."

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Philadelphia Consolidated Hldg (NASDAQ: PHLY) is the top speculative idea from Rich Moroney, editor of the small-cap oriented service, Upside.

The advisor says, "PHLY markets and underwrites property-and-casualty insurance, focusing on underserved markets. Product launches and service enhancements should help sustain premium growth and decent pricing.

"The company boasts a long history of selective and highly disciplined underwriting. The company consistently has one of the lowest loss ratios in the industry -- along with exceptionally high renewal rates. At 26%, the company's return on equity is well above the 15% of the average property and casualty insurer.

"September-quarter earnings per share surged 172% to $1.28, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.55. Sales increased 19%. Total net earned premiums climbed 21%. Results benefited from the release of reserves due to favorable prior years' claims experience.