"The smart move in today's market is to stick with companies that are growing right through the recession, such as WMS Industries (NYSE: WMS)," says Mark Skousen.

In his trading oriented service, The Hedge Fund Trader Alert, he explains, "Based in Waukegan, Ill., WMS designs, manufactures, leases and sells gaming machines and video lottery terminals to its customers, the casino operators.

"Earnings at WMS have climbed by at least 24% the past 11 quarters. And they're still accelerating. Most recent quarterly results were up 36% on rising revenue. What's going on here? WMS is a great innovator. And it knows its business.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"Situated well within a niche that appears to be an oasis in the desert is gaming machine maker WMS Industries (NYSE: WMS)," says growth stock specialist Ian Wyatt.

The editor of Top Stock Insights explains, "Gaming technology has not struggled as much as casino operators as there is still a need for new equipment to drive traffic to casinos."

The advisor continues, "WMS is engaged in the design, manufacture, and distribution of gaming machines and video lottery terminals (VLTs) for customers in gaming jurisdictions worldwide. Its offering consists of video gaming machines, mechanical reel gaming machines, and video poker gaming machines.

"While gaming certainly has taken a hit in the wake of the economic downturn, slot machine makers operate in a unique space that may be one of the few that has the ability to weather economic volatility, as states look to slots as a way to boost tax receipts.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: OptionXpress, China Precision Steel and WMS Industries were today's noteworthy initiations:

• JMP Securities expects OptionXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) to continue to benefit from continued retail adoption of options and futures trading and expansion of its platform outside the U.S. Shares were assumed with an Outperform rating and $29 target.
  
• Merriman believes China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL) should be able to gain market share as it mainly competes against foreign imports and currently has a lower cost to manufacture. The firm started shares with a Buy rating.
  
• Soleil expects WMS Industries (NYSE: WMS) to do well as it benefits from market share gains and continues to boost operating efficiencies. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $34 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was initiated at Societe Generale with a Sell rating.
  
• Pacific Growth initiated Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS) was started at JP Morgan with a Neutral rating.

After a sharp decline yesterday, U.S. stock futures are indicating a higher start this morning as the market is looking to recover. Little economic data is due today so the focus will no doubt turn to Altria as it meets to decide the fate of its international arm, and is expected to announce its spinoff.

Yesterday, U.S. equity markets dropped sharply, giving back most of the previous week's gains. The Dow industrials dropped 280 points, or 2.1% and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell over 2.3%. Data indicated lower consumer confidence and housing prices while the Fed minutes didn't indicate a possible rate cut (while this wasn't surprising as more has happened since the last Fed meeting, the market still reacted). Credit concerns continued as Merrill Lynch downgraded three financial companies.

Today, with the lack of economic reports stocks may be ready to stage a small comeback barring any surprises. Investors will watch crude inventories report due at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Crude oil futures fell in Asia but recovered later ahead of the report.

Overseas, Asian stocks fell sharply early overnight following Wall Street's sell-off. European shares are mixed at the moment after weakening in early trading today.

In corporate news:

Altria (NYSE: MO) is up 0.91% in premarket trading (7:13 a.m.) as it meets today to decide the fate of its Philip Morris International division. Many expect it to announce the spinoff of this division.

Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) CFO, George Reyes, plans to retire by the end of the year according to the company, ending "one wacky ride." Google didn't name a replacement and the stock isn't moving much in premarket action.

Companies reporting warnings today include Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) -- up 2.6% in premarket trading after posting better-than-expected results -- and Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WMS).

Finally, Wendy's International (NYSE: WEN) agreed to give Arby's owner and major shareholder, Nelson Peltz, access to proprietary information as he considers his investment and bid for Wendy's.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Gaming sector and CBS Corp (CBS) were the most notable companies on today's initiation list.

• Prudential initiated the Gaming sector with a Favorable rating,
  
• They initiated Boyd Gaming Corp (NYSE: BYD), Town Sports International Holdings (NASDAQ: CLUB), Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN), Shuffle Master Inc (NASDAQ: SHFL), Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ: STNR) and Great Wolf Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: WOLF) with Outperform ratings.
  
• Ameristar Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA), MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) and WMS Industries Inc (NYSE: WMS) were initiated with Neutral ratings.
• Underweight ratings were given to International Game Tech (NYSE: IGT), Isle of Capri Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ISLE), Life Time Fitness Inc (NYSE: LTM), Pinnacle Entertainment Inc (NYSE: PNK) and Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: TRMP).

• UBS initiated CBS Corp (NYSE: CBS) with a Buy rating and $38 target, citing valuation, dividends and buybacks.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Nollenberger believes International Rectifier Corp (NYSE: IRF) is the way to play the trend for energy efficiency, initiating the company with a Buy rating and $60 target.

• Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) with a Buy rating and Level 3 Communications inc (NASDAQ: LVLT) with a Neutral rating.

• Stanford started EDO Corp (NYSE: EDO) with a Hold rating and $25 target; the firm believes EDO can be a turnaround story in 2007, but they recommend investors to stay on the sidelines until after Q4 earnings given their concerns over the quarter and guidance.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).