BofA Fast Tracks TARP Payback; Brazil Unemployment Reverses in April; Taiwan GDP Falls 10.24%; Emirates Airline Posts 80% Profit Nosedive; Dollar Swoons Against Euro, Yen; GM and UAW Reach Tentative Accord; Leading Indicators Surge to 4-Year High; Copper Slumps on Poor Sentiment

Stocks edged up in early morning trading today (Thursday) as an uptick in producer prices and steady earnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) outweighed a surge in jobless claims last week.

Smart investors are looking beyond the current financial crisis. For a good shot at long-term profits, look towards the oil industry.

We shouldn’t get too attached to low gas prices, says Keith Fitz-Gerald. Crude oil prices will soar before long, making driving an expensive habit again. But Keith says savvy investors can ‘hedge’ against this rise by buying into these three oil and gas ETFs now.

Crude oil prices will likely remain low in the short term. Supply cuts will not keep pace with demand destruction in the near future. And that could send gas prices below $1 a gallon by Easter, says David Fessler. He gives two ways investors can turn their savings at the pump into big profits.

With all of this talk about saving Detroit and bailing out the American manufacturing industry, I am stunned that more people are not seeing the fallacy smack dab in the middle of this debate. Take a look at the proposed business plans the Big Three handed Congress last week and you will quickly see “green” technology is at the heart of their plan.

Rick Pendergraft says you shouldn’t underestimate the lift that tumbling gas prices can give consumers in 2009. Compared to the $4 a gallon peak in July, drivers will save $162 billion a year at today’s prices. Add that to a boost in confidence from the Presidential changeover, and Rick says a slow recovery could be on the horizon.

Americans might rejoice as fuel prices tumble. But it means catastrophe for Russia. Its stock market is already down 80% this year, and Andrew Snyder says the country faces more economic woes in 2009. That’s why he recommends shorting the Market Vectors Russian ETF (NYSE:RSX).

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Although consumers and businesses have gotten a bit of a reprieve at the gas pump as of late, says William Patalon in Money Morning, the escalation in oil prices we’ve seen over the past year has led to some major changes in overall consumer behavior. Many car-owners have dumped their gas-guzzling pickup trucks and SUVs at the nearest used-car lot and used the proceeds to buy some gas-sipping rides.