"Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) is my favorite stock for gains over the next 12 months," says Chuck Carlson. Here's his bullish assessment from The DRIP Investor newsletter.

"Yes, the market is declining. And, yes, it is often scary to buy during such market periods. Nevertheless, there's an adage that 'the best time to invest was yesterday; the next best time is today'.

"Indeed, countless studies have shown that the best thing any investor can do is invest early and often. That is the best way to maximize the power of time, and time will have the greatest bearing on your investment results.

"Thus, investors need to be willing to buy even when it is difficult to do so, or should I so especially when it is difficult to do so. The reason is that we usually are reluctant to buy stocks during market declines. Yet, if you think about it, declining markets should be precisely the time we buy since stocks are cheaper.

"The stock has demonstrated impressive price performance throughout the market volatility in recent months, rising to its highest level in a year above $50 before pulling back.

Sprint (NYSE:S) often shows up in customer services surveys as one of the least respected companies in America. That has caused a number of its cellular subscribers to drop service and take their business elsewhere.

To try to win back customers, Sprint's CEO is even going on TV. According to The New York Times, "In the commercials, Mr. Hesse asks customers to e-mail him with complaints and to give Sprint another chance." Daniel R. Hesse is Sprint's new top man.

Hitting the airwaves with a new message hardly seems worth the time, or money.

Sprint may be able to get some customers back with its new Samsung Instinct phone, which has gotten good reviews. But, there is no evidence in polls about how subscribers view the company to indicate that the firm has become a symbol of an American cellular provider with happy customers.

Fix the problem. Stay off the tube.

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

"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.

"Wall Street has recently been very negative about Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN)," notes wireless sector expert Nikhil Hutheesing. In his Forbes Wireless Stock Watch, the advisor explains, "But things may not be as dire as they sounded last month and I think that with expectations down, the company will end up exceeding expectations in the second half of this year."

"One reason Wall Street has been negiative is that TXN's biggest wireless customer, Nokia, announced a fundamental shift, stating it would no longer depend mostly on Texas Instruments for its chips. Ericsson also said it had shifted to a multi-supplier strategy.

"Besides that, in April, at TXN's earnings conference, CEO Rich Templeton talked of a cloudy economy and said that his company had become become more conservative with its outlook for the second quarter.

"Meanwhile, I've spoken with a number of experts in the wireless area who tell me that orders for TI's chips are significantly higher for the second half of this year than they have been in previous years. These orders are even coming from Nokia. (So far, Nokia's muti-supplier strategy has not had an impact on Texas Instruments.)

"In 1999, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) went from less than $4 to over $92; but the party came to a screeching halt over the next three years," recalls Chuck Carlson, an expert on stocks that offer dividend reinvestment plans.

In The DRIP Investor, he explains, "The stock has been stuck in a trading range for the last four years. But that looks like it is about to end, as it recently moved to a new 52-week high and is setting its sites on its 2006 high of $53."

"Strong earnings and greater visibility on some litigation matters should pave the way for solid gains in the second half of 2008. Technology stocks should remain among the market's leading sectors, and Qualcomm offers an excellent play in the group.

"Qualcomm generates 90% of its revenue from cell-phone chipsets and license royalties paid by users of its intellectual property. Qualcomm's chips are used in mobile phones and wireless infrastructures around the globe.

"Growth here should remain strong as networks convert to third-generation technology and emerging markets expand and upgrade their infrastructure.

Now that Verizon Wireless has agreed to purchase privately held Alltel from its private equity owners (giving them a small profit and an out), what else is on tap for the soon-to-be largest wireless carrier in the U.S.? Verizon Wireless is chomping at the bit to overtake AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) as the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., and its acquisition of Alltel will give it an 8 million+ wireless subscriber advantage over Ma Bell.

Although Alltel's buyout by Verizon was expected last year, it's now going to finally happen. Both companies use the same technical wireless standard, so this will be an easy merger. There will be no issues like when Sprint merged with Nextel in 2005 and the two incompatible networks caused an epic failure of those two companies to merge into one. Speaking of Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), where does it play into the Verizon-Alltel landscape? Does its WiMAX plans now become derailed with the Verizon announcement, adding more insult to injury about the state of the company?

If anything, look for Verizon to take a strong look at buying Sprint Nextel shortly after its deal with Alltel closes. There would be way more regulatory scrutiny than the Alltel deal (overlapping markets, etc.), but a one-two knockout punch like this would make Verizon Wireless the pre-eminent wireless carrier in the U.S. for a long time. AT&T would have no choice but to plead with Deutsche Telekom to buy T-Mobile USA, the nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier, and one who also shares the same type of technical network as AT&T. Perhaps 2009 will see some of the neatest consolidation in the wireless world yet.

"The ongoing renaissance of Eastern Europe is generating tremendous economic activity, boosting profits for companies across the continent," says Nick Lanyi in High Yield International.

He explains, "As Europe's largest economy, Germany is well positioned to continue benefiting from this growth." And within Germany, his current top pick is Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT), which offers a dividend yield of 6.7%.

"German stocks are currently available at historically low valuations. The country's DAX Index is trading at only about 12 times 2008 earnings estimates, with an average dividend yield of 3.4%.

"One of the world's largest telecommunications companies, Deutsche Telekom is much more than the descendant of Germany's monopoly local phone utility. It generates more than half its revenue from outside Germany -- from diversified operations across Europe and in the U.S.

"Outside of Germany, DT garners more growth from its wireless operations in Eastern Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. Most of these operate under the well-known T-Mobile brand. Overall, worldwide wireless activities account for about 55% of the company's revenue.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today posted strong first quarter results thanks to the continuing popularity of the iPhone and its ability to squeeze more savings from the BellSouth merger.

Net income rose to $3.46 billion, or 57 cents a share, from $2.85 billion, or 45 cents. Sales climbed 6% to $30.7 billion. On an adjusted basis, profit was 74 cents. The results matched the estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, which in this market is good news. Shares of the telecommunications company were trading up in early morning market action.

"Revenue growth continues to ramp, we have good momentum across key growth areas, major cost initiatives are on track, and our operational results reinforce the confidence we have in our outlook," said Chief Executive Randall Stephenson in the earnings release.

Among the highlights:

• Total wireless revenue increased 18.3% year-over-year to $11.8 billion. Wireless service revenue, which excludes handset and accessory sales, grew 17.1% to $10.6 billion. Growth was driven by strong subscriber gains and continued improvement in ARPU (average monthly revenues per subscriber).
• Wireless data revenues grew 57.3% to $2.3 billion, reflecting surging demand for Internet access, e-mail, messaging, data access and media bundles.
• The first quarter net gain in wireless subscribers totaled 1.3 million. AT&T ended the quarter with 71.4 million subscribers.
• AT&T's broadband revenue grew 13.2% in the first quarter to $1.4 billion.
• Total video connections, which include AT&T U-verse service and bundled satellite television service, increased by 264,000 to 2.6 million.

The mean price target of Wall Street analysts is $44.39, well above where it currently trades. Perhaps investors are expecting the next earnings report to show signs of a slowdown.

Validea is a fascinating newsletter that assesses stocks based on the known criteria of "legendary" stock investors, such as Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch.

Here, editor John Reese reviews Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) -- a Spain-based telecom firm with operates in Europe and Latin America -- based on the strategy of quantitative analyst James O'Shaughnessy.

"James O'Shaughnessy has noted that 'disciplined implementation of active strategies is the key to performance.' He should know; his study of 44 years of stock market data is one of the most extensive ever of the market.

"The system he devised based on that research produced average back-tested returns of 22% per year for those 44 years. At times like these, it's more important than ever to heed his advice, and keep your emotions in check by focusing on fundamentals.

"Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), based in Madrid, Telefonica is involved in the communications, information, and entertainment arenas in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The firm has a presence in more than 20 countries and more than 218 million customers.

So, the Dow dropped 220 points today and investors felt the New Year was spoiled. It will probably get much worse so today may actually have been a good warm up.

Wall St. expected the financial, housing, and auto sectors to be hard hit. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) hit a 52-week low today. A number of the banks, investment firms, and home builders are as far down as they have been in years. CNBC made comments at mid-day that both Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER) and Citigroup, Inc. NYSE: C) were preparing lay-offs and that Citi might have another $10 billion in write-downs. No one sane expects the sectors involved with housing, finance, or credit to rebound in the first half of the year.

The malaise among consumers has already spread to retail shares. Holiday spending was weak. Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) has already warned it will miss numbers. Most of the other large retailer are likely to follow suit.

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 stock for 2008 is Motorola (NYSE: MOT)," says George Putnam, editor of The Turnaround Letter. "There is a lot more to Motorola than its latest cell phone.

"The company has continually delivered innovative engineering, and it has a diverse product line, a strong global distribution network and a powerful brand name. Beyond cell phones, Motorola's other divisions have leading positions in a number of high-growth markets including set-top boxes, RFID and Wi-Max.

"We believe it won't be long before these products are joined by a new cell phone that will capture the fancy of both consumers and investors.

"Motorola has a very solid balance sheet with $7.6 billion in cash and relatively little debt. The company has been aggressively repurchasing stock, and it has paid a dividend for 240 consecutive quarters, a rarity for a technology company."

"Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has the 'Swedish blues'," jests global expert Yiannis Mostrous, noting the stock fell sharply after issuing a warning. Nevertheless, he remains bullish.

In his The Silk Road Investor, the adviser explains, "Ericsson issued a warning for its gross and operating margins for the third quarter, which fell to 35.6% (43.0% last quarter) and 12.9% (19.4% previously). Promptly, the stock tumbled 24%."

He contends, "Although this is a severe blow to the stock price, the company remains one of the long-term holdings in the global infrastructure area."

The reason? He suggests, "Wireless telecom remains one of the best long-term growth stories. The beauty is that this growth story is applicable to both developed and developing economies. Emerging markets, in particular, are important because they continue to build huge wireless networks, with China and India at the forefront."

Last night Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) gave the Street much more than it had expected. For the quarter, the company earned 55 cents per share (excluding its investment arm) compared with estimates of 51 cents per share. Revenues also came in above consensus -- $2.33 billion versus $2.26 billion.

Qualcomm also managed to increase expectations or average selling price of mobile phones for 2007 fiscal year ending in September from $208 to $216.

However, Wall Street still isn't completely sure about the stock's prospects, primarily due to patent litigation risks. For example, this quarter the company paid almost $20 million to Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM). Qualcom shares are trading down today in active trading.

The stock's valuation looks fairly in-line with comps -- cheaper than Motorola (NASDAQ: MOT) but more expensive than Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO). Although the handset markets are very healthy, Qualcomm remains a rather risky play due to the litigation risk, as aforementioned.

All in all, Qualcomm's quarter was certainly nothing to scoff at. If litigation issues aren't raised this quarter, the stock will most likely be higher in coming months simply due to strength in its handset business as the overall fundamentals for that sector are very strong.

"We've scoured the world for stable businesses with high yields and the potential for currency-based gains," says Martin Weiss.

In his Safe Money Report he notes that he is focused on firms with steady, stable businesses. And two global telecoms that fit this profile are Telecom Corp. of New Zealand (NYSE: NZT) and Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE: CHT).

He explains, "Telecom Corp. of New Zealand is benefiting from both the strong New Zealand economy and the continuing sharp rise in the NZ dollar. Right now, the company is in the midst of a debate with the government over how to split up its operations."

He continues, "The government wants a reorganization that will promote phone competition and boost high-speed Internet use. NZT wants to make sure any changes won't prove too costly or complex. It's too soon to predict the details, but we're confident that any plan will treat all parties fairly -- including shareholders."

I've just returned from the World Money Show in Orlando where more than 10,000 investors gathered to learn about global investing. I had a chance to meet with many of the U.S. and foreign financial experts featured at the show, and over the next week I will share some of their top investment ideas. To view all of the stocks featured in this special global report, click here.

Investors seeking growth and income should look to New Zealand -- a "gem that shouldn't be ignored," says Martin Weiss. The editor of Safe Money Report notes that New Zealand's short-term government yields of 7.25% are two full percentage points more than the federal funds rate in the U.S.

And, he expects the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to hike rates even further in March -- probably to 7.5%. Meanwhile, he adds, "Growth is strong. While home sales in the U.S. are falling, in New Zealand, they rose 19% year-over-year in December. Consumer spending is rising. So are corporate profits. And the New Zealand dollar is on the upswing, rising about 13% in the past six months.

His top buy on this market is Telecom Corp. of New Zealand (NYSE:NZT), that country's pre-eminent telecom utility. And he points out, investors can buy its American Depository Receipts in the U.S. through a regular brokerage account.