Sneak Peek 2008: Aerospace & Defense

What does 2008 hold in store for a surging aerospace business? Here, in their own words, are bullish views from the two analysts who took the top spots for aerospace and defense in Forbes' annual tally of Wall Street's best stock pickers: J.B. Groh of D.A. Davidson & Co. and Troy Lahr of Stifel Nicolaus.

Full story at Forbes.com

Scorecard: 2007 Beltway Stock Bets

Washington, D.C. - Investing is a focus of our Business in the Beltway coverage on Forbes.com. The proposition is straightforward--what goes on in Washington has ramifications on Wall Street, for good or ill. So we regularly serve up ideas on publicly traded companies that could get a lift from policy action, procurement or crack lobbying squads.

In 2007, this author wrote 23 stories with a view toward the Beltway-minded investor. On average, stocks highlighted in those stories show an average total return of 11%, using prices from the date of publication through market close on Dec. 13, vs. a return of 3% for the S&P 500 during equivalent time periods.

The usual caveats apply. That 11% return for these Beltway stocks is overstated by at least a couple of percentage points, since it doesn't factor in trading expenses. Also, we'll note that most folks should think about owning individual stocks for longer than one year.

Nevertheless, December is a time for retrospectives. It's also a chance for active investors to think about either taking profits or dumping stinkers to harvest a capital loss.

Full story at Forbes.com

True Believer Stocks

We call it love only one, our contest pitting 17 financial pros against the S&P 500 on a single stock call. We have a dozen bulls and five bears.

The 12 months ended Oct. 31 were great for both sets. Our 12 long picks delivered an average price increase of 30%, 18 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500. Four of the five short recommendations finished the period deep in the red; the five averaged a 21% loss.

Paul Noglows, research director at Lazard (nyse: LAZ - news - people ) Capital Markets, smacked a home run for last year's bulls. A Love Only One newcomer in 2006, he went for Deckers Outdoor (nasdaq: DECK - news - people ), an idea supplied to Noglows by Lazard retail analyst Todd Slater. Deckers, which makes footwear (Teva, Ugg) and keeps beating earnings forecasts, rose 163%.

For 2008 Noglows goes with another Slater recommendation and picks Endeavor Acquisition (amex: EDA - news - people ), a holding company poised to acquire American Apparel of Los Angeles. Noglows believes the deal will close and that American Apparel, whose name Endeavor will assume once the acquisition is complete, is a company worth buying. A vertically integrated purveyor of casual wear like T shirts and underwear, American Apparel had 2006 sales of $265 million. Noglows expects revenues to hit $340 million this year and $1 billion by 2010.

Full story at Forbes.com

Carbon Emissions: The Next Sarbox

Washington, D.C. - A modest crowd of 50 or so gathered Wednesday in Washington, D.C., for a conference on global warming. The event, organized by a fledgling trade association called the Carbon Management Council, contemplated impacts on business as governments seek to check global warming with restrictions on carbon emissions.

The crowd may have been small, but the discussion covered the major--and relatively immediate--implications of climate change.

One of those implications: Given the emerging regulatory response to global warming, all businesses should get their ducks in a row now when it comes to keeping track of their output of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for climate change.

"The assumption is going to be that, as an organization, you will already have your data in line," said Jerry Schmits, a conference panelist and director of product marketing for expense-management consultancy Cadence Network. "All this is going to almost act like the next Sarbanes-Oxley."

Full story at Forbes.com