"Gold is the only financial asset that isn't someone else's liability and it's the only asset that's reliably held its value over time," notes global investor and resource expert Yiannis Mostrous.

In his Vital Resource Investor, he adds, "Indeed, gold has held its value for millenia. An ounce of gold still buys a quality men's suit, just as it did in the days of ancient Greece." Here, he reviews a trio of ideas, each for investors with various levels of risk tolerance.

Mostrous explains, "To date, Americans have never had to experience the society-wrenching events that have affected much of the world for centuries. But most of the globe's population hasn't forgotten the value of gold in times of extreme strife and social turmoil.

"And with incomes rising in many of these countries, beneficiaries have used their newfound savings to beef up their holdings. That's a trend with serious legs, particularly as Asia continues to grow.

"Then there's inflation, the ultimate debaser of all paper currencies. Despite surging energy and food prices, core inflation remains at elevated -- but still relatively moderate -- levels in most of the developed world.

"Developing world inflation, however, is a far different story. And many countries have seen sharp price acceleration across the board, including China.

"Global steel producers are thriving, and their stocks are hitting new highs," note Yiannis Mostrous and Roger S. Conrad, who add, "But the best is yet to come."

In the industry-leading Personal Finance, the two advisors explain, "We're still in the early stage of a truly global bull market cycle for steel, and the companies best positioned to take advantage are headed a lot higher." Here, they look at their "Iron Five."

"As is the case with other building blocks of economic growth, steel is enjoying explosive demand from the developing world. And with the world expanding as never before, steel companies are literally selling as fast as they can produce.

"In the August 2007, we highlighted five first-rate global steel producers. Since then, they've returned an average of 67.4%, versus a decline of 3.7% for the S&P 500.

"The Iron Five are five picks that we believe are ripe for even bigger gains. Like the last group, these stocks are often volatile. They're also vulnerable to the possibility of a general stock market slide and most of all to a dip in global demand growth, particularly from China.

"Recent weakness in commodities is just a pause to breathe , not the beginning of the end," says Yiannis Mostrous in Vital Resource Investor. His favorite copper play? Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX).

"Most investors aren't able to grasp this commodities cycle's massive potential. The main reason is that few investors are willing to accept the big transformation that's taking place in several emerging market economies, led by China and India.

"We've been advocating this change for quite some time. And after several years of doing so, investors are more receptive. However, they're not totally convinced yet.

"This is the main reason this bull market in emerging markets and commodities has another strong leg up before it reaches all-time highs. But we're far from that point. Meanwhile, copper remains one of our favorite metals.

"Our long-standing recommendation to take advantage of copper's strength is Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Copper suffered from supply challenges along with investors' underestimation of its potential early in the year.

Resource industry specialists Roger Conrad and Yiannis Mostrous are bullish on the agriculture and water sectors; in their model portfolio they already hold 6 stocks in these sectors.

The co-editors of Vital Resource Investor explain, "We see strong underpinnings for continued higher agricultural prices for many years to come." Here's their latest agrculture play: EI du Pont de Nemours (NYSE: DD).

"Recently the United Nations Food Agency warned of civil war in some countries because of global food shortages. With the rapid urbanization of Asian countries, we see a growing global dependence on a shrinking number of food producing nations, particularly with the world adding 78.5 million people each year.

"There will be ups and downs for prices along the way. A throttling back of America's efforts to develop ethanol so extensively or a move to use something besides corn to brew ethanol could take some of the upward pressure off corn prices.

"A real global recession could also cause food prices to back off for a time and it's also possible we'll see some form of US government intervention to curb food prices, particularly as the presidential election develops.

"There's no doubt about it: vital resources are in a bull market of gigantic proportions," note Yiannis Mostrous and Roger Conrad.

"The co-editors of Vital Resource Investor caution that "no market moves in a straight line, and in commodities, the action is often extremely violent." However, for long-term investors, they offer some favorites in iron ore, aluminum and copper.

"All commodity bull markets are ultimately gored by demand destruction, alternatives and new supply. But it will almost certainly be years before that happens to this one. And that means plenty of money will be made along the way.

"We're still extremely bullish on iron ore as the market remains in deficit and prices continue to rise. Chinese domestic supply has been falling and, if this continues, imports will make up the difference, thereby helping the miners.

"China consumes 51% of the world's iron supply. Portfolio holding Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: RIO), the world's largest iron ore producer, will benefit from the shortage in iron ore supply.

"We favor aluminum in the industrial metals sector. We've been advocating aluminum for some time, and the market's finally going our way. Aluminum prices have been impacted by lack of available power in China and South Africa and higher alumina and bauxite prices.

"One of the simplest and most genuine global long-term investment stories is the food sector," notes Yiannis Mostrous in Silk Road Investor. Here's a look at two ways to play this trend.

"Long-term, this should reward patient investors handsomely. As the world's population increases, demand will also grow, allowing companies in the food industry to handsomely profitWe continue to favor the theme and recommend you allocate some of your funds to it.

"There are myriad ways to play the burgeoning demand for vital resources used in food production. Our favorite is portfolio holding PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (AMEX: DBA). It's an exchange traded fund that is based on the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index.

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 top speculative idea for 2008 is Alibaba.com (HK: 1688), which trades on the Hong Kong exchange," says Yiannis Mostrous, editor of The Silk Road Investor. "Alibaba.com was one of the biggest IPOs of the year and although the initial excitement has subsided, the longer-term story remains intact.

"Alibaba's business is simple. Companies can post products for sale or purchase from Alibaba's web site for free. It charges suppliers from China and Hong Kong an annual fee of as much as US$8,027 to become premium members. A similar service is offered to suppliers from other regions for an annual fee of US$589.

"Alibaba.com is the flagship company of the Alibaba Group that includes Taobao, which operates an online shopping marketplace for consumers in China; Alipay, China's leading online payment service; Yahoo! China and Alisoft, an internet-based business management software company targeting small and medium enterprises in China.

"According to the latest statistics, China was home to 162 million internet users at the end of June, second only to the US. The country is expected to surpass the US as the world's largest web market by users next year.

"Given the company's high valuations, viewing it as a speculative play should be the right approach for now. But don't underestimate its potential if the markets and the economy remain reasonable strong entering 2008. Buy Alibaba up to HK$50."

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.

"Aluminum is one of our favorite commodities for 2008 and the best leveraged play on aluminum is Australia-based Alumina (NYSE: AWC)," explain co-editors Roger Conrad and Yiannis Mostrous in Vital Resource Investor.

"The company, our top conservative pick for 2008, owns 40% of Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals, which, in turn, holds the world's largest, low-cost portfolio of quality bauxite and alumina assets.

"Having the world's largest integrated bauxite mining and alumina refining system (it provides approximately 13% of the world's alumina supply) in one place is the company's main attraction.

"As energy, raw materials and freight costs continue to increase, Alumina's setup makes its operations increasingly competitive and low cost versus those of rivals.

This article is part of a 20 article special report on "Metals, miners and money".

"We've added a high potential acquisition play to our model portfolio, Alumina Ltd. (NYSE: AWC)," note Elliott Gue and Yiannis Mostrous in their Vital Resource Investor.

The advisors explain, "The company is a leveraged bet on the recovery of aluminum prices in the next few quarters as China rationalizes output and exports by taking its high cost, heavily subsidized producers out of the game. Its small size and 40% stake in the world's largest low-cost portfolio of quality bauxite and alumina assets is a tempting target.

"Having the world's largest integrated bauxite mining and alumina refining system (it provides approximately 13% of the world's alumina supply) in one place is the company's main attraction. As energy, raw materials, and freight costs continue to increase, Alumina's setup enables its operations to be extremely efficient and low cost.

"The company is at a sweet spot because China's aluminum demand has been so strong that it's taken the industry by surprise. Although a large number of experts were at the start of the year forecasting 14% growth of China's aluminum demand for 2007, the latest projections (as per Alcoa's calculations) are pointing toward 35% growth.

"Further, China has a long way to go before it reaches the levels of consumption that more mature economies have achieved. And although it won't happen in one go, it will be a long and steady process. The bottom line: To meet this demand as well as demand from other countries like rapidly urbanizing rural India, aluminum production will have to grow much more rapidly than at any time in history."

What are the best speculations and investments among metals, miners, and other resource plays? To find out, I turned to 20 of the nation's leading newsletter editors, as well as speakers from the recent New Orleans Conference, a leading forum for resource advisors.

Their current top ideas cover a wide diversity of ideas, from gold and silver, from alumina and copper, to platinum and palladium. These picks cover markets from Chile to China and from Canada to Russia. These ideas also range from large cap, well-established, and diversified companies to small cap, development-stage junior speculations.

Readers should only consider these ideas as a starting place for their own research and should keep in mind the caveat that any stock you buy should only be considered within the framework of your own time horizon and risk parameters. Meanwhile, here are 20 different advisors assessing various aspects of the metals, mining, and resources sectors:

"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."

"Investors continue to underestimate the growth potential at Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC)," says global analyst Yiannis Mostrous in The Silk Road Investor. He considers the stock a core holding.

The Sweden-based company develops and produces advanced systems and products for wired and mobile communications in public and private networks and produces mobile phones through a joint venture with Sony.

Mostrous notes, "The company operates in one of the most promising segments of the global economy, where the demands of bigger and better networks increase almost daily."

According to the advisor, "It's currently upgrading networks for more than 50 phone companies, with about 6 million customers signing up for faster mobile access each month globally." Industry experts, he points out, expect mobile subscribers to surpass 5 billion in the next five years.

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.

United Overseas Bank Limited (Other OTC: UOVEY) is the top speculative idea for 2007 from Yiannis Mostrous. The global expert and editor of The Silk Road Investor -- and author of a new book by the same name -- explains, "United Overseas is a play in the positive changes taking place in Singapore, which continues to improve its image and attract the affluent from across Asia.

"United Overseas has been steadily improving operations and asset quality while expanding into Thailand and Indonesia.The bank has achieved a healthy mix of non-interest and interest-based income, with non-interest income growing strongly -- always a good thing. Its non-performing loan ratio dropped from 8.5% to 5.6% during the past year.

"Though Singaporean banks have been slow growers for sometime, improvement is visible as the economy enjoys strong growth amid a reflationary environment. As a result, loan growth could easily reach double digits next year. Banking stocks should eventually trade at a premium to the market, especially as return on equity improves through growth.