There has been a lot of strong recommendations around biotech lately on Contrarian Profits.

Phase 1 Investor editor Rob Fannon recently wrote that biotech was one of the few market sectors to show positive returns as  many other stocks were getting hammered. He sees great values in the sector.

There’s a good reason for this strength. A struggling economy won’t hurt biotech and medical as much as, say, an automaker, retailer, or restaurant chain… And biotech is one of the few industries showing solid sales growth.

As investors plowed into financial and housing stocks in the last few years, they forgot about the pharmaceutical industry, says Jim Nelson in Penny Sleuth.

But now that the party is over, biotech stocks are coming back in a big way. According to mutual-fund research firm Lipper, two biotech funds were amongst the top five best-performing vehicles in July – a dramatic reversal from June when commodities funds were leading the charge.

Big Pharma is buying up promising biotech companies in an effort to boost profit margins. This creates great opportunities for investors, and it’ only just the beginning…

If you want to invest like Warren Buffett, you have to think very small says Jim Nelson in Penny Sleuth.

Buffett’s investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BKR.A), made its best gains in the ’70s and ’80s, when its tight budget meant it could only investment in small-caps. It is much easier to make huge gains when starting from a low base.

Berkshire now deals with the world’s largest organizations. The next Buffett will be investing in today’s penny stocks. More from Jim…

People terminate $930 billion worth of life assurance policies every year. And a growing many of these policies are sold to outside investors.

Few people know about this option, says Penny Sleuth editor Jim Nelson. But the number in the know is growing. This makes Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (LPHI) a great profit play right now.

LPHI is a market leader in the life settlement market, which as of 2006 was worth $6 billion a year. And its stock is incredibly cheap: It trades for less than 13 times trailing earnings. More from Jim…

The US stock market has been in freefall this last month. But Jim Nelson says there’s still a way to make money from the stock market – derivatives, or options. Just bear the pitfalls in mind, and know when to sell…

What’s the best recession strategy? Invest in stocks that won’t take a hit, no matter what the economic climate is, says Jim Nelson. Garbage stocks can still soar in bad markets…

One of the most important terms in investing is “market cap.” Every company is some kind of “cap.” There are large-caps, small-caps, mid-caps and even microcaps. I’ll get into the differences among them in a minute.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported another sharp increase in producer prices during March. Finished goods were up 1.1% and intermediate-level goods rose 2.3%, pushing the year-over-year rates to 6.9% and 10.6%, respectively, in the month of March — the biggest yearly increases in this price indicator since 1981.