"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.

"Uncertainty about the legal disputes has weighed on Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM)," says Richard Moroney, who rates the stock a long-term buy. The editor of Dow Theory Forecasts explains, "Though the court case may distract investors, Qualcomm's long-term fundamentals appear solid." Here's his bullish outlook.

"The company is embroiled in disputes over royalty fees paid for use of its patents, particularly by one of its largest customers, Nokia. In March, the combatants agreed to consolidate a host of lawsuits into one case to be heard later this year and likely to be decided by year's end.

"Barring a disastrous court loss, which seems unlikely, Qualcomm shares should benefit. Any resolution will reduce uncertainty. By the end of this year, Qualcomm should be able to jettison some of the baggage holding back its stock.

"While the U.S. economic slowdown has sparked fears of a decline in demand for microchips, Qualcomm should benefit as cell-phone users worldwide transition to third-generation technology, which allows for faster downloading of video, music and other data.

"On the strength of two key acquisitions, Brightpoint (NASDAQ: CELL) has become the largest global distributor of wireless devices," says quantitative analyst Vahan Janjigian of Forbes Growth Investor.

"The acquisitons helped boost the number of wireless products handled in 2007 by 55% to 83 million. The company is also the leading provider of customized logistics services to the wireless industry.

"CELL purchases cell phones, batteries, chargers, and memory cards, and then sells them to a global network of 25,000 customers.

"The objective is to acquire distribution rights to products offering the greatest potential for growth. It sells brands made by LG Electronics, Nokia, Kyocera, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, Siemens, and Ericsson. This category produced 92% of total 2007 revenues, but it had a gross profit margin of just 4.24%.

Shares of Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) are rising on a Wall Street Journal (subscription required) report that Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) is poised to make a bid for the wireless telecommunication company. If the report is accurate, Sprint's long suffering shareholders should do as the Steve Miller Band song suggests "take the money and run" because the deal may not happen.

For Sprint, though, this may be its only hope. Sprint shares have slumped almost 40% this year as the Overland Park Kansas-based company tried in vain to gain marketshare against larger rivals including Verizon and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). The commercials starring the company's affable CEO Daniel Hesse haven't helped much either. Remember when Hesse was named CEO last December, board member Irvine O. Hockaday Jr. remarked that Hesse "has the board's full support to take decisive actions necessary to improve our performance."

Does that mean a sale to the former German telecom monopoly? The deal makes sense in theory because combining Sprint and Deutsche Telekom would create the top wireless company with more than 82 million customers. Verizon, which is a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone Group Plc. (NYSE: VOD) has 67.2 million customers while AT&T has about 71 million wireless subscribers.

But as Bloomberg News points out, analysts argue that integrating the Deutsche Telekom and Sprint Nextel networks wouldn't be easy. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security may not look kindly on a foreign company taking over a U.S. telecom provider for national security reasons, the news service notes.

Even so, the arguments for the merger are so compelling that it might be worth the risk.

"I am recommending shares of American Tower (NYSE: AMT), a leader in the wireless transmission space," says industry expert Nikhil Hutheesing.

The editor of The Forbes Wireless Stock Watch explains, "The stock is down, the company has top notch customers, strong free cash flow, a growing business within the U.S. and increasingly, its building up its business in emerging markets. AMT is a strong company with strong prospects."

"American Tower, based in Boston, is the leader in the wireless tower business. These towers are essentially real-estate for antennae of wireless service providers. The service providers need the towers because their antennae must be elevated so that their signals propagate, allowing their networks to provide wireless coverage.

"The good news, is that this is a growing business. American Tower's CEO just recently said that he expects 2008 to be one of the best years ever for American Tower. That, of course, is great news.

"It also means that it is very likely that the company's subscriber base will also continue to grow at a steady pace. Among its subscribers are wireless service providers-companies such as Verizon, Sprint Nextel and AT&T.

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 pick for 2008 is Mobile TeleSystems (NYSE: MBT), the largest cellular operator in Eastern Europe, with 50 million subscribers," says Yiannis Mostrous in The Silk Road Investor.

"The company has licenses in 87 Russian regions, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, covering a population of more than 233 million people. Russia accounts for almost 80% of consolidated revenue, while Ukraine is the second largest contributor.

"This is a company that offers good exposure to Russia's domestic demand growth. Russia is currently in a sweet spot: It's a net oil exporter, has good GDP growth, isn't dependent on foreign capital flows, is relatively stable politically, boasts reasonable market valuations and, above all, enjoys solid exposure to the biggest growth story of our time, Asia.

"Mobile Telesystems will continue to experience strong growth given the regional economic strength. Its valuations are still reasonable and it actually trades at a discount to a lot of its peers in the emerging market universe. This should make it a stock to own going into what is shaping up to be an uncertain New Year.

"The company's investments in its various markets have started producing positive results and it also continues to consolidate operations while taking advantage of market growth. Buy Mobile TeleSystems up to $110."

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."

"Sometimes it takes a while for the market to recognize a company's achievements. When it ultimately does, however, the result is super-charged returns," says Roger Conrad, editor of The Utility Forecaster.

"Over the past decade, few companies have risen as quickly to dominate their industries as Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ)." Here is the advisor's review.

"Verizon began its ascent with a series of mergers, combining with the former NYNEX, GTE and finally MCI Communications. It simultaneously unified its wireless operation with that of Vodafone, keeping 55% of the venture known as Verizon Wireless.

"Since then, Verizon Wireless has grown rapidly and today boasts the biggest consumer network in the US, along with the lowest turnover and highest margins. The former MCI coupled with Verizon's former business operation continues to expand globally.

"Even the wireline division -- which is steadily losing customers to competitors, including the company's own wireless service -- is finding new life upselling broadband services.

"There are still many years of spectacular growth ahead for China, which should culminate with the Olympics," notes Charles Payne, editor of the top-tier Wall Street Strategies newsletter. Payne is also well known from his weekly appearances on FOX TV's Bulls & Bears and FOX and Friends.

And while he cautions, "You definitely want to be out of that market when the trumpet begins playing the Olympic theme," he currently highlights select opportunities, such as his latest recommendation, NetEase.com (NASDAQ: NTES).

The company -- headquartered in Beijin -- was founded in 1997. Payne notes, "Netease operates an interactive online and wireless community in China, providing Chinese language content and services through its online games, wireless value-added services, and Internet portals."

The firm's online games business, he notes, focuses on massively multiplayer online role-playing games. In order to participate in these online games, users purchase prepaid point cards which he notes are are sold in China through wholesalers, Internet cafes, software stores, supermarkets, bookstores, newspaper stands, and convenience stores.

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.

Airspan Networks (NASDAQ: AIRN) is the favorite speculative idea for 2007 from Nikhil Hutheesing. The editor of The Forbes Wireless Stock Watch explains, "It's clear that over the course of 2007 and into 2008, WiMax (a high-speed next generation wireless network) will become a big story for wireless stocks.

"Investors should consider investing in some potentially exciting WiMax companies now, before hype and WiMax rollouts drive stock prices up. One way is to buy shares of Airspan Networks, a company that makes equipment for these networks.

"Shares of the Boca Raton, FL-based company have fallen about 60% since April of this year because of uncertainty in orders from two customers. One is Yozan, a Japanese wireless carrier that was the first to provide WiMax service in Japan. The other is Axtel, a Mexican telecom operator.

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.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the favorite conservative stock selection from wireless and telecom industry analyst Nikhil Hutheesing, editor of The Forbes Wireless Stock Watch.

He notes, "From May through August of 2006, shares of Qualcomm fell by 37%, spurred in large measure by Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia announcing in June that it would stop making cell phones based on Qualcomm's CDMA (code division multiple access) technology, which it licenses to manufacturers of wireless equipment.

"Qualcomm refused to buckle under pressure from Nokia to reduce its licensing fees and the two companies are now in talks about extending the current licensing agreements, which end in April. If there is no extension, Nokia could stop paying Qualcomm about $500 million in fees annually.

"Also lingering over the company has been a bitter patent dispute battle with Irvine, California-based Broadcom. In October, a judge ruled against Qualcomm in the dispute over one particular patent, saying that Qualcomm violated parts of the patent that help cell phones conserve battery power when out of network coverage. Qualcomm said it would appeal the decision -- the final determination comes next year.