When I look at the numbers for Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO), it is hard for me to believe the company has not been bought out already. Capitalized at $22 billion, it would be easy for most of the major oil companies to swallow whole.

Contrarian that I am, my view differs from that of Credit Suisse, which downgraded the stock yesterday based on valuation and lack of a visible catalyst for near-term growth.

I have written many times in the past year about Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and since it is up another 23.66% today, I'd like to come back to it. As an investor I have done more than just blab (or blog) about it. I have been loading up on the stock, acquiring shares at $12.00 when the bears were ruling the market only a short time ago -- a very short time ago!

In the last month, Wells is up an amazing 48.41%, and that for the safest bank in the United States. The stock closed today at $24.25, up $4.64.

In addition to buying the stock, I have been playing with naked put options at multiple levels. The extreme negativity in the market created a huge opportunity, so much so that I wrote Chasing Value: Will we be eating out of trash cans? which includes a discussion of naked put options.

It is not possible to follow all stocks or companies with equal intensity, focus, or depth of knowledge. One that I have followed for over ten years is Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG).

I originally bought in at the very bottom, about $7.70 and last year sold about 20% of our position for $192. The stock had reached an all time high about 18 months ago just shy of $360, so my timing was far from ideal, but I was influenced by other factors. In this case a real estate transaction.

Over the past six months I have been buying more shares and have more than doubled our position. I believe that ISRG remains a growth stock, but for quite some time it has been value priced. However, I cannot tell you what exactly is the right price -- that is a big question.

Concerning the current debate over executive bonuses, value investor Charles Mizrahi contents, "As a shareholder, I have the choice of becoming partners with more than 7,000 businesses on the American stock exchanges."

In his Hidden Values Alert he states, "I've found two companies with managers who are aligned with shareholders. Their compensation packages put them in the same boat as shareholders, and as an owner that is exactly where you want them to be."

Here, the advisor looks at insurance firm Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL) and business supplies retailer Staples (NYSE: SPLS).

"Loews (NYSE: L), the holding company of the New York-based Tisch family, is a way of buying a collection of good stocks at a discount, with much else thrown in free," says Adrian Day.

The editor of the top-notch The Global Analyst explains, "These value investors have a long record of buying quality assets cheaply when they are out of favor, nurturing them, and eventually monetizing them."

"Everyone loves a sale, right? Typically, the Tisch family buys major chunks of out-of-favor businesses, often publicly traded, and holds them for many years. They exemplify the important traits of successful value investors: discipline and patience.

"I calculate a New Asset Value for Loews-taking current (depressed) stock prices for its publicly traded holdings, the cash, and conservative valuations for the private assets-of almost $39 per share.

When oil prices were rising quarter after quarter through July of this year -- topping $147 per barrel -- it was very problematic for United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) to run its television commercials bragging they had the largest fleet of planes and trucks in the world.

Fuel prices that hurt the economy have hurt UPS more. The stock is down from the high $80s a few years ago to the current lows closing Monday at $52.77. It is trading below its 2001 IPO price after averaging around $70 for most of its "public life."

Just about every business journal is coming out with its stock picks for 2009, and among them are many blue chip stocks. These include familiar names like General Electric (NYSE: GE) Chasing Value: Add General Electric to the list, Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), to name a few.

While I was reading this weekend I saw a UPS ad and realized that nobody was directing investor attention to this fine company.

That got me thinking. UPS has a clean balance sheet, great cash flow and is AAA rated. The company has weathered the high fuel prices and reduced business. UPS itself has become a valuable barometer over the years to measure the state of the economy and I often check with our carrier about his business traffic. On Friday he said they were laying off 10% of the drivers but he would be above the cut.

It was only a couple of days ago I posted Serious Money: What's on your watch list? suggesting you had to be ready because you never know when an opportunity might arise to acquire a value proposition.

Then yesterday the market was up but sluggish in anticipation of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke possibly announcing a cut in the overnight rate, so I pulled the trigger on the one stock I could get at the right right price that was the most interest rate sensitive.

• Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) is one of the stocks mentioned in Fortune Magazines "Ten Promising Stocks for 2009" and is currently paying almost a 15% yield at Friday's closing price of $14.92. The company borrows money at short term rates and only invests in long-term Federally backed mortgages. They have avoided subprime loans and derivatives entirely.

I bought NLY for $14.80 per share locking in at an actual yield of 15.01%. Sure enough, Bernanke slashed rates to the bone letting the rate float from 0% to .5% and the DJIA jumped finishing the day up several hundred points, while Annally closed at $15.84, one of my big gainers for the day.

"Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) matches the value criteria used by our Benjamin Graham stock screening model by 100%," suggests John Reese.

In his Validea newsletter, he assesses stocks based on the strategies of numerous "legendary" stock market investors. Here's his review of the apparel retailing chain.

"Jos. A. Bank is a designer, retailer and direct marketer of men's tailored and casual clothing and accessories through stores, catalog and Internet.

"The company sells substantially all of its products exclusively under the Jos. A. Bank label through its 422 retail stores, as well as through the company's nationwide catalog and Internet operations.

"Our Ben Graham stock selection model requires that the current ratio must be greater than or equal to 2. Companies that meet this criterion are typically financially secure and defensive. JOSB's current ratio of 2.81 passes the test.

Weakness in oil prices, trading around $42 per barrel this morning due to global economic fears and a real recession are creating opportunities for those with cash to invest.

The volatility in the market is raising many questions among investors, and friends and acquaintances often use me as a sounding board. Hey Wally, this is a partial answer to this morning's question.

As usual I am putting my money where my mouth is, and buying. For quite some time I have been touting the value of Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC). I recommended it at $40, followed it up to $80, took something off the table and today I am back in at $32.

If I would have had a real crystal ball I might have taken all of it off the table, alas, I have to settle for humbly admitting mine is sometimes on the hazy side. Crushing markets like the one we're in are a very humbling experience indeed. I did learn something from the last go around in 2000-01 and have done better this time.

"We've followed Warren Buffett's advice to 'buy American'," says Mark Skousen; his Hedge Fund Trader eyes Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and FPL Group (NYSE: FPL).

"Johnson & Johnson as well as FPL Group are two strong positions in companies that have suffered a few 'hiccups' during this historic panic selling, but are likely to survive and prosper in the next year.

"First, Johnson & Johnson, the health care and pharmaceutical giant, beat expectations in its most recent earnings report. The company's earnings jumped 30% to $3.3 billion on revenues of $15.9 billion. It currently is selling for only 15 times forward earnings -- a bargain price.

"Second,, FPL Group -- known as Florida Power & Light -- is a large Florida utility company that is holding up well. It, too, is a solid company that now is on sale because of the financial crisis.

"Revenues are down slightly to $15 billion, and earnings dropped 40% during the past year. But Florida Power is still profitable, and at 10 times next year's earnings, it should continue to recover.

"We think it is wise at this time to limit our exposure to the markets, and to keep our powder dry by focusing strictly on a few well-financed utilities and consumer product firms.

"Overall, we consider both Johnson & Johnson and FPL Group to be solid companies selling at a substantial discount to their real value."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

"If you think filling up an SUV is painful, try footing the bill for a massive 1,000-foot ocean liner -- or in the case of Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL), an entire fleet of 84 floating cities," notes value investor Nathan Slaughter.

In his Half-Priced Stocks he explains, "Despite unprecedented fuel costs, the company continues to power forward." Here's his bullish review.

"Last quarter, Carnival shelled out $530 per metric ton for fuel, up sharply from $330 per ton a year ago. And after pumping about 800,000 metric tons, the company rang up a total fuel bill of $425 million.

"For the year, management is expecting fuel costs to come in about $750 million higher than in 2007, which will trim earnings by about $0.92 per share. Fortunately, the company is in a position to absorb those higher costs.

"Over the past three months, two million passengers have boarded a Carnival ship, for an occupancy rate of 104.8% (indicating some berths held more than two guests). And those visitors paid $2.6 billion for their tickets and plunked down another $743 million in the lounges, casinos and gift shops after they arrived on board.

The news couldn't get much worse. Commodity prices keep soaring, consumer confidence is in the gutter, inflation has reared its ugly head, the US dollar loses value by the day and each day we read of more company layoffs. With all this seemingly endless stream of negativity the question is if now is the time to start buying stocks?

There is an old investing adage that says that you should invest when there is "blood in the streets." There is no doubt that it takes some serious courage to buy stocks at this point, but if you are a long term investor, you have to think that the tide will turn at some point in the not too distant future. I know many of you will say that we haven't even gotten close to hearing the worst of the news. That we are in store for consumer bankruptcies, and maybe a large bank or two to fail. My point is that the market is already pricing that in. Or at least most of that has been priced in. Even stocks like Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) have fallen to levels that they could be considered value stocks as opposed to growth stories. Stocks just seem cheap.

No one can predict if the market will drop another 15% from our current levels. What is indisputable is that the market is selling at a large discount to where we were eight months ago. While some of the sell-off is justified, keep in mind that the market generally overshoots both when it rises and when it falls.Then it finds a middle ground.

With all of today's bad news, maybe it's time to back up the truck and start buying stocks.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 6/29/08.

"The indiscriminate sell-off in the financial sector has left some banks at valuations that haven't been seen in 20 years," says value investor Nathan Slaughter.

In his Half-Priced Stocks newsletter, the advisors looks to one out-of-favor favorite among banks: Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB). Incidentally, he notes that Warren Buffett recently added to his position in the banking stock.

"US Bancorp is the nation's sixth-largest bank in terms of assets, with nearly $238 billion at last count. The firm operates over 2,500 branches in 24 states, mostly in the western and midwestern parts of the country, including an established presence in key markets such as St. Louis, Denver and Seattle.

"Over the past year, the company has seen solid increases in both loans and deposits. More importantly, it paid out just 3.8% on those interest-bearing liabilities, far below what it earned on loans and other investments -- with the net interest margin expanding to 3.91%.

"And, that rate could move even higher in the coming months thanks to a more favorable interest rate environment. And as for credit quality, U.S. Bank remains at the very top of its peer group.

"Value stocks are those whose prices are relatively low compared to their fundamental value, as measured by factors such as earnings and net worth," notes Mark Hulbert.

"Value stocks can be considered all-season stocks, as history shows that they can perform well in both up and down markets." Here, the editor of The Hulbert Financial Digest also offers a list of value stocks that recommended by the most advisors who have also beaten the broad market over the last decade on a risk-adjusted basis.

"Value stocks are to be distinguished from so-called growth stocks, which have relatively high price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios.

"Consider first how value stocks perform during bear markets. Believe it or not, they on average actually tend to make money. It's not only that they lose less money than the overall market, they actually gain.

"Take the 2000-2002 bear market, for example, during which the overall stock market declined by 48.6% (as measured by the dividend-adjusted version of the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 index (97199001:Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index

"In contrast, according to data compiled by University of Chicago finance professor Eugene Fama and Dartmouth University finance professor Kenneth French, the average value stock over this time gained over 80%.

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 conservative choice for 2008 is The Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW), one of the largest specialty retailers of men's suits," says value investor Charles Mizrahi, editor of Hidden Values Alert.

"Men's Wearhouse stores offer a broad selection of designer, brand-name and private label merchandise at prices 20% to 30% below the regular prices found at traditional department and specialty stores.

"The firm's US operations include 636 retail apparel stores. The brand targets middle- and upper-middle-income men by offering quality merchandise at everyday low prices. In addition to value, the company believes it provides a superior level of customer service.

"The shares outstanding have decreased by 10% over the past five years. In addition, long-term debt/equity is only 9% and it has $135 million in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet (as of August 7, 2007).