– Lehman Brothers is doomed opines Bloomberg’s Michael Lewis this morning. Ironically, Lewis says Lehman’s (NYSE:LEH) fate is sealed because, following the government’s bailout of rival Bear Stearns, those who do business with Lehman don’t care too much if it stands or falls. The belief is the government will step in to pick up the pieces should Lehman fall apart.

The Bear Stearns bailout was supposed to prevent the crisis from rippling through Wall Street. Obviously it hasn’t done that. It’s merely thrown the crisis into slow motion and prolonged the agony.

Yesterday’s existing-home sales news was mixed.

Existing-home sales were up 3.1% in July. But the sales rate was still 13.2% below a year ago. Meanwhile, inventories spiked 3.9% from last month to a record 4.67 million homes for sale at the end of July - 11.2 months of supply at the current prices.

The sector’s drubbing could be a great opportunity for value investors. But Ian Davis in The Growth Stock Wire advises investors to hold off on bottom fishing for homebuilders…

Is China a buy or isn’t it?

Last week, Taipan Daily editor Justice Litle gave six reasons why the China bears are wrong. Justice says continued growth, the recent correction in oil and the country’s personal savings rate mean China’s fundamentals are strong.

However, J. Christoph Amberger in Today’s Financial News says analysts who predict Armageddon for America based on a 20% drop in the Dow and discount a 60% drop in the Shanghai Stock Exchange may just have sand in their slide rules. 

Ian Davis in The Growth Stock Wire says it’s a tale of two contests in China…

US stock markets began to show signs of life on Friday. But many investors are still steering clear of stocks until a clear trend emerges.

One sector that’s taken a pummeling recently is insurers, says Ian Davis in The Growth Stock Wire. The Datastream Property and Casualty Insurance sector has lost 28 percent of its value since last summer.

This could lead to a great profit play when the time is right. Ian is an expert in finding stocks that are hated, cheap and in an uptrend. Right now, the insurance sector is certainly hated and cheap… the trick is finding the right moment to buy in. More from Ian…

On June 16, Ian Davis predicted an imminent “nasty correction” in crude oil prices.

That correction may now be underway. Crude oil has dropped more than $15 in the last three days. And Ian says there’s a lot more downside is in the works. In fact, he says oil could be headed as low as $50.

And if oil crashes natural gas will be close behind. Ian advises staying out of both markets until the current correction plays out…

When times are hard consumers cut back on luxury items. But they don’t cut back on beer.

On Sunday Anheuser-Busch (BUD) accepted a $49.9 billion takeover bid from Belgian-based InBev (INB). This consolidation in the market has sent brewery stocks rallying while US benchmark indexes tumble.

If the takeover goes through, Ian Davis  in The Growth Stock Wire says InBev will be the undisputed leader in the global market. This is not only a safe option during an economic downturn, but it’s also a great way of investing in emerging markets…

Stansberry Research’s Tom Dyson has been pushing Taiwanese stocks lately. Now Stansberry’s Ian Davis is tipping another overlooked Asian market: Thailand. Ian is calling it a commodity play. For starters, Thailand is rich in rubber and iron ore — two commodities that nearby China can’t get enough of. Ian recommends investing in Thailand with three special Thai ETFs…

Editor’s Note: Conventional gold is rising higher than ever, but have you considered investing in ‘e-gold,’ says Ian Davis. A ton of rock will give you about 0.18 ounces of gold, but a ton of cellphones contains about 5.3 ounces. Is it time to take a closer look at the recycling industry?

Editors’ Note: What’s the best-performing US stock for the last half-century?

It’s a blue-chip company. But it’s not a bank. Or a car manufacturer. Or Mircorsoft. Or Google.