DHL Withdraws From U.S.; China ‘Stimulates’ Railway and Steel Industries; YouTube to Show Full-Length Flicks; McDonald’s October Sales Solid; DB Analysts Says GM Stock Worthless; Fannie Mae to Tap Fed Fund; Starbucks Profit Down 97%; U.S. Cotton Production Declines by a Third

A fun little bit of news out of the beautiful city of Prague today…

The first Burger King (NYSE:BKC) will open in Prague in the next few months. And it’s not only targeting the Czech Repbulic. It wants to become number one in European markets. To do that, it’s already got operations in Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary, and it planning joints in Slovakia and Slovenia.

But it’s got tough competition from McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), who is top dog right now with 70 restaurants serving 53 million customers. It’s spent more than $172.2 million on restaurants in the Czech Republic.

When I was in Budapest, I grabbed a Whopper for a quick lunch before meeting my guide back at the hotel, Buro Panzio. It cost me 750 Forint,…

Stocks are whipsawing again today as Mr. Market digests a coordinated worldwide rate cut. After opening 200 points down, the Dow zoomed to a net gain of 150 points before sliding back into negative territory.

These violent swings can be devastating for the short-term investor. But Jon Herring says market volatility is handing long-term investors a once-in-a-generation chance to buy world-dominating companies at bargain prices.

Jon recommends seven stocks that are price leaders or have pricing power.

William Patalon III says the US economy is heading into recession and there is little the Fed or Treasury can do to stop it.

But that doesn’t mean contrarian investors can’t make a profit. History is littered with examples of investors that made a fortune during the darkest days for the economy.

William has a four-point plan to beat the bear this time round: 1) Load up on high dividend stocks; 2) Buy gold; 3) Stick to ‘global titan’ companies; and 4) Stay relaxed…

Fast-food chain McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is more credit worthy than the US government, according to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. We’re not surprised one little bit. After almost eight years of the “CEO president” George Bush in the White House this is where we’re at. The market now sees a fast-food chain’s corporate loan to be a safer investment than the bonds of the world’s most powerful country.

Both gold and silver were off to the races the moment that trading began on the Globex early Monday morning in the Far East. But then they both mysteriously got sold off for a couple of hours. The bottom was in shortly after Hong Kong opened. From there gold and silver rose more or less steadily until the top came during after the close of trading on the Comex in New York late yesterday afternoon.

Right before yesterday afternoon’s spectacular rally in US stocks, Andrew Snyder recommended investors buy oversold shares. In particular, he said Nortel (NYSE:NT), which was down 45% since the start of the week, didn’t merit the plunge and was due a short-term bounce. NT today is up by only a fraction of a percent. This means there’s time to get in on this trade.

China is renovating, expanding or introducing public transport systems in nearly all of its major urban centers. This is clearing the way for a revolution in advertising.

Penny Sleuth’s Jim Nelson says small cap VisionChina Media (NASDAQ:VISN) is perfectly poised to profit in this fast-growing sector. The company installs digital TVs and sells advertising time on them.

VISN has an established client base, its revenues are soaring, and it has no debt. Best of all: Its stock has been vastly oversold in a recent correction.

Gas prices have soared in the aftermath of hurricane Ike due to damage inflicted on major Gulf Coast refineries. Unleaded regular has risen 17 cents since the storm hit to reach $3.842 a gallon. Money Morning’s William Patalon III says gas shortages from a tough hurricane season are likely to affect much of the Southern US.

Wall Street is on its knees, and the taxpayer is on the hook for well over a trillion dollars to prop up the financial system.

Meanwhile, the wider US economy is sliding into a recession.

William Patalon III says there are four solid ways to protect your portfolio from these forces: 1) Buy dividend-paying stocks; 2) Buy gold; 3) Buy companies focused on overseas market; and 4) Don’t panic…