Where are we now? Still in the Twilight Zone economy as far as we’re concerned. US stocks ended strongly on Friday. And they’re set to rise again today if Europe’s strong morning performance is anything to go by. Commodities are up too. Nymex crude oil futures are at $74.24 a barrel at writing. Gold is trading at $953.50 an ounce – not far off Friday’s one-week high.

Can you notch up profits and earn solid, steady income at the same time? Usually, the two don’t go hand-in-hand – especially not in the small-cap sector. But that doesn’t mean to say that it’s impossible to grab the best of both worlds.

President Elect Barack Obama promises to rebuild America “calloused hand by calloused hand.” David Fessler says Airgas Inc. (NYSE:ARG) is an great way to play an infrastructure boom. The company is the largest manufacturer and distributor of industrial, medical and speciality gases in the country. It’s business is well insulated from the economic slowdown, and it just hiked its dividend payment by 33%.