Ecuador, Ghana and Tunisia are the only equity markets up in 2008. But Marc Lichtenfeld says there are still profit opportunities closer to home. Many undervalued US stocks are due a rebound in 2009. Marc picks seven proven survivors that are among the biggest and best in their fields. He also selects two small caps that are well place to lead a market recovery next year.

The economic calendar this week isn’t particularly exciting, but coming off the pain inflicted on the markets last week, that could be a good thing. The market will have its hands full with earnings season starting up again, so a full week of reports could have been dangerous.

Blindly following stock tips from Wall Street analysts is a bad idea, says Marc Lichtenfeld in The Smart Profits Report. For most investment bankers, drumming up business and trading commissions is more of a priority than getting every forecast right. Finding a quality company that Wall Street ignores is a surefire way to book considerable profits. More from Marc…

It might seem a bit late to jump on the digital photography bandwagon. But Penny Sleuth’s Greg Guenthner says he has found the last hidden opportunity in the industry.

A hectic week on the economic calendar is highlighted by the initial look at second quarter gross domestic product (GDP). Remember, a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, so doomsayers have targeted this week’s release as confirmation of their pessimism.

Last year, eight out of ten major sectors went up, according to the Dow Jones Indexes, says Andrew Gordon in Investor’s Daily Edge. This year, eight out of the ten are now in negative territory. Materials and energy are the only holdouts – and of those two, the materials sector is down 2.5 percent for the month of June. That means energy is the only game in town. But you have to chose wisely or loose your shirt…

Retailers Report 4.3% Bump in Sales; Toyota Changes Direction; Whirlpool Closes Two Factories; Brazil and Vietnam Come Together; GE Spin-Off; New Wachovia CEO; IAM Wants Fair Bidding; Oil Jumps Over $5 on Political Tension

Bear Stearns Shareholders Approve JPMorgan Sale; Sears Expects More Pain After Loss; Weak Economy Emboldening Costco; Pacific Rim GDP Growth; Staff Reduction at GM.

When U.S. Department of Energy analysts told you more than a month ago that gasoline prices would peak at about $4 a gallon around Memorial Day, we told you they were wrong. Gas prices, we said, were destined to head much, much higher.

How does the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline sound to you? Undoubtedly, it doesn’t sound all that great. But what if I said that gasoline prices were headed for the $4 a gallon level, but once they got there, they’d head no higher?