Okay, back to hot stocks and my daily stock picks.  Well back to South America.  Right now almost every country is showing huge growth as the world needs the non durables that Mexico, Central America and South America are exporting.  The year over year growth in these countries is staggering.  In addition, the average age and buying power is shifting as there is increasing buying power from a younger average demographic and a burgeoning middle class or lower middle class.  Any country exporting to these countries or even investing in some of the foreign markets as securities creates enormous opportunity.  We are involved in exportation to the aforementioned countries and always are asked by our distributors if we can send electronics, recreational items and other durables.  They are so expensive in these countries and limited that there is a huge opportunity for those who are willing to respect the cultural demand of doing business primarily in Spanish, respecting the culture and providing good customer service.  The cell phone business is exploding with just a few carriers providing coverage for potentially millions of subscribers.  These are good companies to invest in as a sector, ADR or direct investment as recommended by your FINRA registered investment advisor.

All tourist businesses are flourishing in these countries as they are incredible destinations.  Having traveled to many of these countries, it is mind boggling how affordable a vacation is.  Casinos, jungles, volcanoes, pristine empty beaches, surf breaks, archeological discoveries of Mayan temples and Inca architectural brilliance, countries embracing foreigners…just a portion of what a couple thousand dollars US will buy you for two.  You can’t spend money even if you try.  5 lobsters, 5 beers and all the fresh fish you can eat will set you back 10 dollars.  3,000 sq foot luxury hotel rooms with your own pool overlooking the ocean will set you back 50 dollars a night.  The only sad note that must be added here is that the relative cost of traveling reflects upon the rampant poverty as the gap between the rich and poor is staggering.
Some of these countries have an average annual income of approximately $2,000.  The strengthening exporting power in these countries is helping this situation a bit in addition to the growing tourist industry, but this disparity is an enormous gap not to be soon narrowed.  Surprisingly, Columbia is now considered one of the safest countries to travel in with Nicaragua being the second fastest growing economy in Central America while sadly Mexico has one of the highest murder rates per capita in the world.  Kidnapping and ransom is another issue in some countries so caution is always recommended while investing or traveling though the most dangerous thing you can do is get behind the wheel in the US with someone texting next to you.  Just a bit of perspective on the warped sense of reality the US media feeds us.

So I’m just going to break it down on investing in the current market from the macro side.  I just spoke to a close friend who returned from Columbia.  Basically everything laid out from an economic analysis of their observations regarding the country further strengthens the stock market trends that we have been observing and reporting in our various stock newsletters.  The fact is that the strongest economies currently are those of exporters.

More specifically exporters of non durables where the country has limited exposure to the primary tidal wave of bank debacles associated with mortgage backed securities and the coming tidal wave of potentially devastating exposure of banks that own the debt from the commercial real estate market.  In the US, the regional banks have been falling like dominos and are either taken over by the FDIC or absorbed by investing groups that plan on creating the next round of debt related exotic securities.  This time the notes are from the billions of bad debt related to commercial property.

It is a simple pattern in the US that has been repeated a number of times.  This is perhaps the most devastating economic crisis the country has ever faced.  Basically the dollar is weak.  Companies in the US laid people off. This in combination with a huge number of loans on residential property handed out like hot cakes to non qualified investors.  Then the trading of this d and f or Omega in reality as my economist friend likes to liken it too, the last letter in a dead language quality wise.  Companies are no longer able to pay their rent.  Retail space has also been built out too quickly and even those buildings and strip malls once considered sure bets for high occupancy rates instead have record rates of available space.  This creates another phenomenon of commercial notes becoming non-performing and the banks are forced to rate it as bad debt.

Now the big four banks are decently positioned with their (our) TARP bailout money and other revenue streams to handle the bad debt on their books.  They have just stopped loaning and are pushing towards opening new accounts and fee based money management.  The huge problem is the billions of commercial real estate debt owned by the regional banks that did not receive any bailout money.  In Southern California, there are many regional banks that fit into this sad reality.  In fact, we’ve had a chance to look over many opportunities for investing in notes from various regional banks.  So investing tip number one, and this is difficult for us to admit as my life has been surrounded by stock picks for more than 15 years, BUY debt on commercial properties.  There are amazing opportunities out there to pick up the debt on commercial properties that are still performing.  Often the debt can be purchased for a 50%-70% discount to face value.  Further negotiations with the current owners of the property can increase that margin significantly as eventual failure and non-performance on the debt is likely and complete ownership will ensue.

SpeculatingStocks.com has released two stock picks for Christmas 2008: WFMI and M.

December 16, 2008 — SpeculatingStocks.com has announced two new stock picks that may become big winners this Christmas season 2008 and into 2009. The two stock picks below aren’t the usual stocks we discuss, they aren’t penny stocks or small cap stock picks, but they do hold a lot of upside potential to become hot Christmas stocks for the end of 2008.

Russ Urban, founder of the stock market site SpeculatingStocks.com, commented, “We believe investors will find these two stocks when they look for stocks for Christmas 2008 and stocks that have the potential to end 2008 on a positive note and roar into 2009.”

SpeculatingStocks.com Stock Pick: Macy’s, Inc. (M)

Stock Price: $8.15

Macy’s, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates department stores in the United States. Its retail stores sell a range of merchandise, including men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel; and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods.

M has been around so long that they have one of the rare one letter stock symbols. Their brand is one of the most well recognized retail brands in the United States.

Investors finding M now are finding it at a significant bargain. Retail stocks have been sold down significantly, but those in at the bottom are discovering real bargains like M.

M is currently trading significantly below its book value of $23.55. M is trading at a severe discount to book value. M is also in a short-term uptrend after hitting bottom and if it breaks through its 50-day moving average around $9.11, we could see M possibly gain around 50% from its current price.

SpeculatingStocks.com Stock Pick: Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFMI)
Stock Price: $10.41

Whole Foods Market, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership and operation of natural and organic foods supermarkets primarily in the United States. As of September 28, 2008, the company operated 275 stores.

WFMI has grown revenue the past three fiscal years from $5.60 billion in 2006 to $6.59 billion in 2007 to $7.95 billion in 2008. WFMI’s net income for the last fiscal year came in at $114 million.

WFMI can be thought of as a recession proof stock and a company with stores that will only receive greater interest as interest in natural and organic foods continues to grow.

WFMI is trading slightly below its book value of $10.73 and has support around the $10.00 level. There is a major short interest of around 17% in WFMI shares. We could see a major short squeeze in WFMI shares in the future.

SpeculatingStocks.com is a stock market site dedicated full time to finding the best stock picks, penny stock picks and hot stocks at the right time in their stock charts while using market trends and stock market analysis.

SpeculatingStocks.com has released penny stocks NSU, EMKR and DNN as its three latest stock picks.

December 3, 2008: 12:01 AM — SpeculatingStocks.com has released three stock picks. All three are penny stocks in different sectors. The first penny stock pick discussed below operates in the gold sector in Africa, the second of the penny stock picks is on the cutting edge of the solar power market, while the third stock pick released by SpeculatingStocks.com operates in the uranium production space.

Russ Urban, founder of SpeculatingStocks.com commented, “SpeculatingStocks.com releases these three stock picks on the heels of several recent stock pick successes.”

SpeculatingStocks.com Stock Pick: Nevsun Resources Ltd. (NSU)

Stock Price: $0.41

Nevsun Resources, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. It primarily focuses on properties with gold, as well as base metal, such as copper and zinc resources/reserves in Africa.

NSU is a small cap gold company trading at a market cap of less than $55 million. It has received a lot of attention in the past and has now pulled back. We believe gold stocks will continue to shine now that gold prices are back in an uptrend. Small cap gold stocks could provide the biggest gains for investors in the gold mining sector.

NSU is trading significantly off of its highs of $2.50+ from earlier this year and off its short-term high of $0.74 in a recent uptrend. Gold moved off its sideways pattern and reached a high above $820 and has now corrected down to around $780 where it has begun to stabilize. We expect gold prices to move back above $800 and challenge $900 in the short-term and in the long-term we believe we will see gold up over $1,000 per ounce as inflation attracts investors to gold mining stocks.

NSU received approval on October 30th for an $89 million commitment to the development of the company’s Bisha Project. The development of this project places NSU in a favorable position to take advantage of rising gold prices. The company has commented that the project has low site operating costs throughout the projected mine life and high returns. Production is expected to start on this project is during Q2 2010. We expect this project to be priced into NSU shares moving forward.

SpeculatingStocks.com Stock Pick: EMCORE Corporation (EMKR)

Stock Price: $1.62

EMCORE Corporation is a leading provider of compound semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the broadband, fiber optic, satellite and solar power markets.

The solar sector has suffered and EMKR has suffered along with it, but we expect the solar sector to rise and become hot again. We believe EMKR is a real bargain right now trading at a market cap of only around $125 million.

EMKR is trading significantly below its book value of $3.74. EMKR has created a new concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology that holds a more efficient solar cell than those created by FSLR’s thin-film technology. EMKR could win a lot of new solar business with their new technology. FSLR has been a leader in the CPV space moving from under $50 to over $300 at one point.

If EMKR’s solar technology catches on, we could see EMKR become a major play from its current level. In the past, EMKR moved from the $4.00 level to close to $16.00.

SpeculatingStocks.com Stock Pick: Denison Mines Corporation (DNN)

Stock Price: $0.79

Denison Mines Corporation is a premier intermediate uranium producer in North America, with mining assets in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan, Canada and the southwest United States including Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Further, the Company has ownership interests in two of the four conventional uranium mills operating in North America today.

For the third quarter, DNN sold 517,000 pounds of uranium at an average price of approximately $64.75 per pound. DNN expects uranium production in 2009 to increase by approximately between 25% and 50%.

Several nuclear reactors are being constructed around the world and several more are in the planning stage. Uranium demand will surge as these nuclear reactors start to come online. We believe uranium prices will surge from where they’re at now and investors will look back wishing they had invested in a uranium producer like DNN.

DNN is working off of its lows right now and is a real value at its current price with short-term potential to move higher as well significant long-term potential. General Electric has been investing huge in nuclear related projects. DNN is well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunity in the nuclear wave.

SpeculatingStocks.com searches for great companies and stocks in the right point in their stock chart and in the right sector. We believe the stock picks above will become hot stocks in the short term.

SpeculatingStocks.com Releases 3 Scary Good Stock Picks for Halloween

SpeculatingStocks.com has chosen BIDZ, IVN and ATVI as its 3 Scary Good Stock Picks for Halloween and beyond!

October 28, 2008 — SpeculatingStocks.com has released 3 Stock Picks for Halloween and beyond! Begin watching the stock picks below. SpeculatingStocks.com believes they will start moving to the upside this Halloween week.

BIDZ is an online jeweler, somewhat of a niche mini-eBay in the used jewelry space online. SpeculatingStocks.com’s second stock pick, IVN is a small cap, gold penny stock currently in talks with the Mongolian government to receive approval to develop a copper and gold mine in the country. For IVN, approval from the Mongolian government could be a watershed event for them and their partner Rio Tinto. Their third scary good stock pick released is ATVI. Activision Blizzard (ATVI) is positioned for rapid growth through their World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Guitar Hero brands.

SpeculatingStocks.com founder Russ Urban commented, “We believe these stock picks have a great shot at creating significant returns for investors.”

SpeculatingStocks.com Stock Pick: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN)

Stock Price: $1.94

Ivanhoe Mines, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mineral exploration and development company. The company holds interests in and conducting operations on mineral resource properties principally located in Central Asia and Australia as well as projects in Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

On September 30th, a company executive from IVN commented that he saw no reason for IVN’s drop. At that time, IVN was trading at $6.40. IVN has been severely oversold and now appears to have finally found a bottom just below the $2.00 level.

Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the World, is a strategic partner of Ivanhoe Mines. IVN and Rio Tinto are negotiating with Mongolia’s government to develop a copper and gold mine in the country.

They are looking to develop the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia’s South Gobi Region. If IVN receives approval by the Mongolian government, we could see IVN shares rebound and correct big to the upside.

We believe gold will rebound and benefit IVN as well.

SpeculatingStocks.com Stock Pick: BIDZ.com, Inc. (BIDZ)

Stock Price: $6.22

BIDZ.com, Inc. is an online jewelry retailer offering its products through a live auction format at Bidz.com as well as a fixed price online retail store at Buyz.com.

BIDZ has been profitable the past several quarters. We believe BIDZ will benefit by people selling their gold jewelry.

BIDZ is currently trading at a market cap of only around $147 million, which we believe is low considering their growing brand and future potential.

BIDZ could see a major short squeeze with over 25% of its 12.12 million float short.

SpeculatingStocks.com Stock Pick: Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI)

Stock Price: $11.69

Activision Blizzard, Inc. operates as an online and console game publisher. Some of the company’s brands include World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Guitar Hero and Call of Duty.

We believe ATVI is the #1 gaming stock in the stock market right now with the most future potential in its industry. World of Warcraft is about as big of a money maker as it gets in the gaming industry.

It is speculated that ATVI could be releasing Starcraft II around February or March of 2009. The original Starcraft is still regarded as one of the greatest games of all time and Starcraft II is expected to be a huge money maker as well.

Guitar Hero is very popular with console gamers. Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft create a ton of positive buzz marketing for Activision Blizzard. We believe it will be hard for any other gaming company to compete with ATVI.

ATVI is down at pre-Blizzard merger levels and appears significantly undervalued at a market capitalization of around $15.4 billion.

It is important to find great companies at the right time in their stock charts. We expect the stocks mentioned above to become hot stocks after the recent stock market downturn.

SpeculatingStocks.com is dedicated to finding the hottest penny stocks in the stock market. We have discovered several stocks under $5.00 and stocks at low market caps that have moved up several times their value. We find those stocks that are undervalued and have a real shot at getting noticed and becoming very exciting plays for investors. Penny stocks can be very speculative and can carry a great deal of risk/reward to with them.

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