"The urge to merge is growing among global corporations. Near-record cash holdings, improved stock markets and increased regulations (which often drive consolidation) should fuel an increase in deal activity," says dividend expert Chuck Carlson.

Th editor of The DRIP Investor explains, "While I don't recommend stocks simply because they represent attractive takeover stocks, takeover appeal is an added kicker. Three such targets are Cabot Corp. (CBT), Molex (MOLX) and Hess Corp. (HES).

"As tradition holds, Celgene (CELG) gave the first presentation at the recent 29th JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, where CEO Bog Hugin focused on Celgene's ongoing plans to become a world-wide company and expansion into global markets," reports John McCamant.

The biotech specialist and editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter explains, "They expect 2011 to be the first year where the company earns a majority of sales outside the U.S. The company is currently conducting 25 Phase III trials on its various drugs.

"Celgene also announced 4th quarter 2010 earnings last week, and revenue was down 16%, mostly based on costs incurred due to the Abraxis acquisition.

"Merger Fund (MERFX) offers a non-traditional way to invest, using merger arbitrage," says fund specialist Leonard Goodall.

The editor of No-Load Fund Portfolios explains, "Managers Green, Shannon and Behren focus on acquisitions. The success of the fund depends upon the skill of the managers to pick the mergers that will go through, along with a good measure of luck.

"They make us of the 'spread' -- buying shares in the target company after the acquisition is announced and selling those shares at a higher price when the deal is completed.

"The oil services and equipment industries have been a hotbed of M&A activity over the past few years, a trend that should continue into 2011," says energy sector specialist Elliott Gue.

The editor of The Energy Strategist explains, Three of my top 10 takeover plays hail from this part of the energy patch: Core Laboratories (CLB), Dresser-Rand (DRC) and Dril-Quip (DRQ).

"With a market capitalization of more than $100 billion, Schlumberger (SLB) should add to the dozens of acquisitions it's closed over the past few years.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Northern Dynasty (NAK) -- my top pick for 2011 -- is an exploration and development mining company that has discovered and drilled off one of the largest gold-copper deposits in the world," says Tom Bishop.

The editor of BI Research explains, "The Pebble deposit, discovered by and still 50% owned by Northern Dynasty, is located in southwestern Alaska and contains 80 billion pounds of copper and 107 million ounces of gold.

"I love when a stock that I own soars in value because of a takeover -- though such situations only occur rarely for individual investors," notes Doug Fabian.

The fund expert and editor of Making Money Alert adds, "Now, I have found one way to increase your odds of benefiting from mergers and acquisitions: the IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (MNA).

"IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF offers an alternative to a hedge fund that aims to provide investors with exposure to the disparities caused in the share prices of companies involved in M&A activity.

"With sluggish economic growth expectations, companies need to make acquisitions to boost profitability; the recent sell-off has made takeover targets more affordable and represents an ideal time to pounce," says Louis Basenese.

In a report from White Cap Research Group, he explains, "All told, over $9 billion in deals have been announced in the US in the aftermath of the recent sell off. And for every deal that's been announced, there's at least three more offers being contemplated.

"In short, the recent sell off sent many due diligence teams into hyperdrive. Any subsequent selling should prompt the big wigs to pull the trigger on more deals before the opportunities disappear.

"And that's decidedly good news for these four of our White Cap recommendations: Acme Packet (APKT), Medidata Solutions (MDSO), CAMAC Energy (CAK), and Chemed Corp. (CHE).

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.

"Continental Minerals (KMKCF), my top pick for 2010, holds high-grade copper and gold deposits that are located in Tibet/China," notes Tom Bishop.

In his BI Research, an advisory focused on small-cap, high-growth stocks that has been published for over 30 years, he adds, "I also believe the company is a juicy takeover target."

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) may get a bit of a lift this morning, as the company's corporate credit rating was raised by Standard & Poor's (S&P). The ratings agency upped SIRI's rating to "CCC+" from "CCC" and raised the issue-level ratings a notch. That said, S&P did keep SIRI's senior unsecured notes at "CCC-."

S&P analyst Hal Diamond attributed the move to "increased comfort with the company's near-term liquidity needs," following a loan from Liberty Media. Liberty loaned SIRI money in exchange for preferred stock, which is convertible into 40% of SIRI's common shares. This investment pushed significant debt maturities from 2009 to 2011.

"Is Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) ripe for a buyout?," asks growth expert Karim Rahemtulla. Here's an assessment from the investment director of Xcelerated Profits Report.

"I've predicted over the last several months that the larger pharmaceutical companies would be on the prowl for possible acquisitions.

"As it stands now, we probably haven't seen the last of such offers - and thanks to the previous two large mergers recently announced Merck acquiring Schering Plough and Pfizer buying Wyeth, many analysts are now speculating that Bristol-Myers Squibb could be next.

"I believe the #1 rule for making money in the next decade is to get long whatever the Chinese are buying," says Tony Sagami in the Asia Stock Alert.

"China will need to consume an unprecedented amount of natural resources to fuel its red-hot economy," says the advisor who offers his speculations as to the most likely takeover candidates in three areas -- energy, metals and food.

"There's no doubt in my mind that China is on a buying spree. And I'm not just talking about oil, either. Fact is, the Chinese have a ravenous appetite for virtually all commodities.

"While I don't have any inside knowledge about what companies the Chinese have in their sights, I do know what industries are strategically important to their lofty growth objectives.

"China needs energy - and lots of it - so you can expect frenzied buying activity to lock up reliable supplies of multiple sources of energy. In my book, oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium are all key players. My #1 pick for an energy takeover: Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), the largest uranium producer in the world.

"Harvest Energy Trust (NYSE: HTE) is exactly what we love – a company with incredible upside and hefty 'dividends' that's being ignored byWall Street," says Keith Fitz-Gerald.

The editor of Money Morning explains, "But the stock is not being ignored by the company's executives. In fact, insiders are buying like crazy. And while this by itself doesn't guarantee higher prices, it's an important indicator of things to come, especially when oil prices are destined to increase in the coming years.

"Harvest Energy is located in Calgary and functions as a Canadian royalty trust, which means its profits are funneled back to investors in the form of 'distributions.' Harvest engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in western Canada.

"And the best part is, it's been tamped down in the last two quarters. You see, management has reduced its distribution by 21%, citing volatile energy prices and the new tax rules set to take effect in Canada in 2012. It also carries a lot of debt after having consolidated purchases of other oil and gas trusts and large private producers over the last two years. The company also purchased a refinery complex – and that didn't come cheap.

"Now here's where things get really good: Plain and simple, Harvest is sitting on oil – a lot of it. Large multi-million barrel reserves, with an estimated 9.3 years of proven and probable reserves using conventional extraction techniques. It's also sitting on over 1 billion barrels of untapped oil sands.

E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) "is a high higher-risk trade, so do not bet the house; however, I believe the opportunity is still compelling," says Ian Cooper in Small Cap Trading Pit.

"About 10 insiders are betting heavy that E*Trade Financial will turn itself around this year. The filings are revealed here:

• Hayter, director 4,917 at $4.06
• Layton, director 245,800 at $4.06
• Fisher, director 31,806 at $4.06
• Randall, director 29,500 at $4.06
• Parks, director 24,586 at $4.06
• Raffaeli, director 12,293 at $4.06
• Lilien, acting CEO 7,376 at $4.06
• Weaver, director 68,843 at $4.06
• Brewster, director 24,586 at $4.06
• Willard, director 11,942 at $3.98 and 13,058 at $3.99

"And for them to be buying after a one-month triple digit move speaks volumes on confidence, which may explain the latest surge in option volume. Sure, the stock took a major dive in 2007, but that's because it got itself involved in a business it shouldn't have been in -- subprime.

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.

"For more conservative investors, my favorite idea for 2008 is First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN), the Tennessee-based holding company for First Tennessee Bank," says Keith Fitz-Gerald, editor of Money Morning.

"Its banks feature all the offerings you might expect from a good regional bank: Savings, checking, mortgages, investment banking, and brokerage services. It's not exactly an innovative idea -- minimize risks and maximize profits.

"But let's face it, it's a tried-and-true strategy that most US banks have abandoned as they chase after the (allegedly) big profits that subprime-backed debt, leveraged buyouts and other similarly esoteric investments appeared to promise.

"Yes, FHN really over-extended itself in the credit markets and recently announced a loss of $14.2 million. More losses may be coming. And its ultra-high dividend yield off 7.93% may be in jeopardy. Nonetheless, we think the stock's beating was overdone.

"The Internet and Media sectors have been exploding with merger talks lately," notes Wayne Mulligan in The Tycoon Report, noting that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) have been part of the most talked about "potential" merger over the last year, even though nothing has yet come of their "supposed talks."

Says Mulligan, "I'm not quite sure where a software based operating system company has any business owning a pure-play Internet company like Yahoo, but they seem to think it'll work."

Rather, he notes, "I feel that a spin-off of MSN-Yahoo would make the most sense from a competitive perspective and possibly include Microsoft's Live unit and its experimental entertainment division (Zune player, Xbox, etc.) in the mix as well."

This, he notes, would allow the company to have a substantially larger piece of the search engine and search marketing pie. However, he adds, consolidating those operations under a single technology standard would prove to be extremely difficult "considering the fact that both companies have yet to really refine their advertising software offerings."

Yahoo, he points out, being the smaller company (at $50 billion), would have to be the one to get "swallowed up by the Redmond giant." He notes, "This would obviously do wonders for Yahoo's languishing share price, but that's not the issue here."

But, he asks, "Can this add exponential value to the combined entity?" He explains, "With Microsoft's product line and Yahoo's existing traffic base, I definitely think some cross-promotional ventures could add a lot of fuel to both businesses."

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